Why is my betta not looking like he used to? Fungus on side

The first three pics are now and the last two are a few weeks ago. Sonic my plakat koi has been looking stressed lately, has clamped fins, and seems to have fin rot. How do I fix this besides constant water changes and IAL? I’ll try those out but in my experience they aren’t the most efficient. Idk tho, this guy swam up the filter intake a few months back and I did do constant water changes and he healed from missing scales and ripped fins. I’m just wondering why this even happened in the first place. I’ve haven’t changed pretty much anything in routine and the parameters, and temp are good. There’s no ammonia, no nitrites, and 10ppm nitrates. Ph is 7.5. He has a filter heating the tank to abt 80 degrees. He lives in a 5 gallon with a hang on back filter with low flow. He has a few Java ferns, Anubias, red root floaters, pothos, and ludwigia. I’ve always had a really bad mulm problem in the tank but haven’t thought much abt it since parameters stayed good. I do weekly water changes of 25-50%. I use seachem prime. I use api master test kit to test water. He eats frozen bloodworms, omega one betta pellets and occasional flakes of the same brand. Anything helps, but in the meantime I will be doing lots of water changes. If anyone has advice on how to prevent this or how it happened, the help will be greatly appreciated.

 

Sure the black on the edges isn't just coloration? Besides nick in his tail, the fins look pretty good to me. I would at least try vaccing out some of that mulm. Might help something.

 

Sure the black on the edges isn't just coloration? Besides nick in his tail, the fins look pretty good to me. I would at least try vaccing out some of that mulm. Might help something.

Yeah he does naturally have black tips? But I’m mainly talking abt them being clamped all the time and getting shorter. Thanks for your response!

 

Doesn't look clamped here at least. Is a sign of stress though, does he have places he can hide from the light when it is on?

 

Doesn't look clamped here at least. Is a sign of stress though, does he have places he can hide from the light when it is on?

Yeah he does…. Idk I’ll try keeping the lights off and doing more frequent water changes for the next two or so weeks and see how it helps. Thank you

 

The stringy stuff is very hard to see but I promise it’s there. Is this parasites, fungus, messed up slime coat? I dearly love this fish so please suggest the best things for him!
Also, this guy is acting spectacular as always. I don’t think it’s something that got stuck on him in the tank. I saw it a few days ago and just that it was something that he got stuck on him in the tank.

 

My betta has these stringy, kind of fungus looking things hanging from his body. I noticed this a few days ago and though something just got stuck to him. It’s only on his body. His care/setup is a 5 gallon with gravel, spider wood, some live plants, a hang on back filter (gentle flow) and a heater. The water temp is around 78-80 degrees. The ph is 7.5, ammonia is 0ppm, nitrite is 0ppm, and nitrates are always around 5-10 ppm. He eats omega one pellets occasionally flakes and bloodworms. Any help is appreciated and this is a fish I prize dearly.

 

External parasites maybe? Aquarium salt is a safe method to kill them (certain medications can be harmful to bettas)

 

External parasites maybe? Aquarium salt is a safe method to kill them (certain medications can be harmful to bettas)

Thanks! Is paracleanse good? How do I safely do salt baths?

 

If you don't have any shrimp/snails (nerites are fine) with him then you can add aquarium salt right to the tank. That way it would kill any eggs in the tank as well.
Not sure about paracleanse, I've never used it.

 

If you don't have any shrimp/snails (nerites are fine) with him then you can add aquarium salt right to the tank. That way it would kill any eggs in the tank as well.
Not sure about paracleanse, I've never used it.

Thanks! I’m actually glad bc the only other thing in the tank is a nerite lol! I’ll get the salt since I need it on hand anyways

 

There’s these stringy things on my betta. He doesn’t seem to act sick and it’s not parasites from the looks of it irl. Is it anything to worry abt? Pics are when it first started and now there is less of it

 

Hi,

That is a beautiful betta boy!!!

I don't think that you have anything to worry about. I had the same thing happen to a few of my bettas. I even grabbed some of it with one of my hands to take a closer look. Are you using aquarium salt or any other type of additive? If so, that may be a little excess mucus that your betta is producing due to additives. I also saw this after water changes when I was using spring water, which has a ton of minerals.

If he isn't acting weird, rubbing against something, swimming erratically, or showing any other signs of stress, then he is ok.

Hope this helps!

 

Hi,

That is a beautiful betta boy!!!

I don't think that you have anything to worry about. I had the same thing happen to a few of my bettas. I even grabbed some of it with one of my hands to take a closer look. Are you using aquarium salt or any other type of additive? If so, that may be a little excess mucus that your betta is producing due to additives. I also saw this after water changes when I was using spring water, which has a ton of minerals.

If he isn't acting weird, rubbing against something, swimming erratically, or showing any other signs of stress, then he is ok.

Hope this helps!

I don’t use spring water or any additives. I recently started using seachem iron so it may be that? Idk tho but that’s the only thing I’ve added to his tank. Hopefully he’s alright!

 

He looks fine in your pics. If you are concerned, just keep a close eye on him for a few days to see if there is a change in his behavior.

Are your plants showing an iron deficiency?

 

Hi,

That is a beautiful betta boy!!!

I don't think that you have anything to worry about. I had the same thing happen to a few of my bettas. I even grabbed some of it with one of my hands to take a closer look. Are you using aquarium salt or any other type of additive? If so, that may be a little excess mucus that your betta is producing due to additives. I also saw this after water changes when I was using spring water, which has a ton of minerals.

If he isn't acting weird, rubbing against something, swimming erratically, or showing any other signs of stress, then he is ok.

Hope this helps!

I don’t use spring water or any additives. I recently started using seachem iron so it may be that? Idk tho but that’s the only thing I’ve added to his tank. Hopefully he’s alright

He looks fine in your pics. If you are concerned, just keep a close eye on him for a few days to see if there is a change in his behavior.

Are your plants showing an iron deficiency?

yes they have been but the iron has helped them. He’s had this for like a month but it’s decreased so I think he’s good but I just wanted to double check on here.