Betta Unknown Illness

[BettaGal]

I noticed this a few hours ago. He has this film stuff on his back and the defined line at the base of his fin. He's slowed down slightly, only stays at the bottom a very little bit, and that's usually nap time. His gills are fine, his appetite is fine, everything seems pretty much fine except this weird filmy stuff. What is it, and how can I get rid of it?

 

[TaylorAnuar]

That kind of seems like a bacterial infection, what's the setup?

 

[shellieca]

I noticed this a few hours ago. He has this film stuff on his back and the defined line at the base of his fin. He's slowed down slightly, only stays at the bottom a very little bit, and that's usually nap time. His gills are fine, his appetite is fine, everything seems pretty much fine except this weird filmy stuff. What is it, and how can I get rid of it?

It's hard for me to tell with the pic. How long have you had him? What kind of water conditioner do you use? Could it be his slime coat? I've heard they can lose it. What size tank? Is it heated? Water parameters, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates? If you shine a flashlight on him does it look kind of like gold dust? Possibly velvet? Not that this matters, are you sure he is a he and not a she? The short finnage is typically female but there are some males with short fins, just asking.

 

[Calypso77]

Is this the Betta you said was leaving food behind and not eating it all?

 

[BettaGal]

I finally figured it out at 2 AM last night. My culprit is velvet. When I looked closer there was kinda like the orangy dust all over except on clear spot on his side. It was much finer all over his body than at the base of the fins, which is probably why I missed that one. Thank you all for trying to help at least. And Calypso, he was eating his food. I watch him eat every day. He chases the bloodworms around the surface as the airstone and filter make them move. And whichever one asked about his gender, he's a very young betta. I got him from the store as a betta baby. I know, every forum I looked at said that was a horrible thing to do and he was destined to die a quick and needless death, but he's had no health problems until now. In comparison to his body size, he has a very definite male veiltail with the fins on his back and belly. As far as I can tell, it's a young male veiltail. If you would like, I have some older pictures from a month or two ago that are closer.

 

[shellieca]

I finally figured it out at 2 AM last night. My culprit is velvet. When I looked closer there was kinda like the orangy dust all over except on clear spot on his side. It was much finer all over his body than at the base of the fins, which is probably why I missed that one. Thank you all for trying to help at least. And Calypso, he was eating his food. I watch him eat every day. He chases the bloodworms around the surface as the airstone and filter make them move. And whichever one asked about his gender, he's a very young betta. I got him from the store as a betta baby. I know, every forum I looked at said that was a horrible thing to do and he was destined to die a quick and needless death, but he's had no health problems until now. In comparison to his body size, he has a very definite male veiltail with the fins on his back and belly. As far as I can tell, it's a young male veiltail. If you would like, I have some older pictures from a month or two ago that are closer.

I'm glad you figured it out & can now treat appropriately. I asked about gender because I know many times the stores sex them wrong. I've bought them as babies as well but females & I always double check for the white dot on the underside to make sure. I hope you're able to treat him successfully.

 

[Calypso77]

I finally figured it out at 2 AM last night. My culprit is velvet. When I looked closer there was kinda like the orangy dust all over except on clear spot on his side. It was much finer all over his body than at the base of the fins, which is probably why I missed that one. Thank you all for trying to help at least. And Calypso, he was eating his food. I watch him eat every day. He chases the bloodworms around the surface as the airstone and filter make them move. And whichever one asked about his gender, he's a very young betta. I got him from the store as a betta baby. I know, every forum I looked at said that was a horrible thing to do and he was destined to die a quick and needless death, but he's had no health problems until now. In comparison to his body size, he has a very definite male veiltail with the fins on his back and belly. As far as I can tell, it's a young male veiltail. If you would like, I have some older pictures from a month or two ago that are closer.

Ya I knew you said he was eating. I was simply asking if this was the same Betta in the other thread that you said you were finding food left behind in the tank... Must have you confused with someone else that wrote the thread...

 

[BettaGal]

It's the same betta. The filmy stuff only showed up yesterday, and I didn't notice it until I added the snail, which, by the way, scared the crap out of my betta. Poor little guy won't go to the front of the snail anymore. He will go to the back of it and explore it, but he's afraid of the feelers.

 

[Calypso77]

So what are you treating him with?

 

[BettaGal]

Sentry Mardel Parashield. There were two in the store, this and another one. This one says on the front of the box Ick, Velvet, and other parasites. The other one said ick and additional parasites. Also, this one says to treat every twelve hours for six days in a tank with invertebrates. The other one said treatment can take 5 weeks. Sorry, but I like six days better. And I looked and made sure there was no copper in it, so it appears to be snail safe, so I don't have to chase my cheetah betta around the tank for eight hours.

 

[BettaGal]

I can't find anything on this. I bought algae wafers at the same time I bought the velvet treatment. Is it okay to use them at the same time, or should I wait to drop one in for my snail?

 

[shellieca]

I can't find anything on this. I bought algae wafers at the same time I bought the velvet treatment. Is it okay to use them at the same time, or should I wait to drop one in for my snail?

Hmmm, I would think because it says its safe for invertebrates that you'd be able to feed them while treating. Hopefully someone with experience with it will chime in. Word of warning, your Betta may also eat them mine do & one of my females gorges so badly I swear she's going to explode. I only drop the wafers very 2 or 3 days & zucchini or cucumber once or twice a week instead of the wafers.

 

[BettaGal]

I haven't added any yet. I haven't put any snail food in, just betta food. I can get a hold of zucchini really easily, but everything I read said that they really only eat algae, and algae wafers are a really good idea. I checked those, too. No copper anything and it has that one algae friend spiro-something. Does it do anything to the betta if he decides upon his usual investigation that it tastes good?

 

[shellieca]

I haven't added any yet. I haven't put any snail food in, just betta food. I can get a hold of zucchini really easily, but everything I read said that they really only eat algae, and algae wafers are a really good idea. I checked those, too. No copper anything and it has that one algae friend spiro-something. Does it do anything to the betta if he decides upon his usual investigation that it tastes good?

I have mystery snails & they love the veggies as well as the wafers. As for the wafer & the Betta, so far the only problem I've seen is one of mine that doesn't know when to quit eating which could cause bloat which can lead to other problems. As I previously stated I don't drop the wafers everyday that way the snail & CAE's eat the algae in the tank & my Betta doesn't explode.

 

[BettaGal]

I put one in while he wasn't looking. He went to investigate, and decided it was a rock, I guess. He's not interested in it. Guess I won't have to worry too much about bloating in this scenario. I'm just waiting for my snail (grandma named him Energizer) to discover the yummies and eat it.

 

[shellieca]

I put one in while he wasn't looking. He went to investigate, and decided it was a rock, I guess. He's not interested in it. Guess I won't have to worry too much about bloating in this scenario. I'm just waiting for my snail (grandma named him Energizer) to discover the yummies and eat it.

LOL. Good name for a snail. He or she will find it. I've been fascinated by my snail.

 

[BettaGal]

Whichever gender it is, it's stayed on the algae wafer for a good three or four hours now. Next time I'll put the wafer at the front of the tank since Buddy doesn't seem to care about it. That way I can watch the snail go to town on a nice, puffed up, gross to a human but caviar to a snail hunk of green algae. Energizer was under the filter at the time, so the wafer got dropped right next to him while Buddy was on the other side of the tank.