What is wrong with my betta?

[electrorum]

Hey all! First post here. Nice to meet yall!

So I've had this betta for about a year and a half now with very few issues. He's normally a very active, curious fish. However, about a month ago I had to move him from his 6.5 gallon tank to a temporary 2.5 gallon. I made sure all the parameters in the tank were okay before I put him in, and he's been doing fine up until this point.

A day or two ago I noticed that he's very lethargic and not really reacting to much anymore. He hangs out at the top of the tank with his fins a little clamped and just doesn't move. He still eats but isn't as interested in his food as usual. Even when I tap the tank right in front of him he doesn't react.

All of the parameters in the tank are fine and the temperature of the water is okay. I've been trying 25% water changes twice a week and it doesn't seem to help. I have no idea what's wrong with him.

For reference I included a few pictures of him (his fins are open just because he had just moved a little to eat). The white spot on his gills have been developing for a while, but over the past few months increased in size. I just don't know what to do to help him. Any advice would be helpful!

 

[fearlessfisch]

Start with an 80 to 90 percent water change. Match temperature carefully, and be sure to use dechlorinator. That is likely to bring him some immediate relief no matter what the problem is.

After that, please come back and post more about your setup. Does this little tank have a heater or a filter, or neither of these?

When you said that parameters were fine, what exactly did you mean? If you own a test kit, is it strips (often unreliable) or a liquid test? What exactly did you test for, and what were the readings?

When you transferred the fish to the new tank, did anything move with him from the old tank (e.g., gravel, filter)? If you moved a filter with him, did you clean it out first, or was the old filter material still wet inside?

It's likely that you lost your cycle when you moved him from one tank to another. It's difficult to cycle a tiny tank, and once-weekly 25 percent water changes wouldn't be enough to protect him from being poisoned by his own waste in an uncycled tank. His gills look affected, which suggests possible ammonia poisoning from an uncycled tank.

Some people with tiny tanks never cycle them, but rather change water daily as a matter of course. A better route would be to move him into a larger tank (e.g., 10 gallon, but even going back to the 6 would be better than this...), where it's much easier to keep water conditions stable and where you can more easily complete a proper cycle, after which water changes wouldn't have to be so frequent. If an incomplete cycle is what you are dealing with, you will need to be doing water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite below 0.25 at all times, until your cycle is complete. That may take a month or two.

Even if I am wrong and an incomplete cycle isn't the problem, water changes with dechlorinator (because chlorine in tap water burns gills, too...) are a good idea right now, because pristine water is the best medicine for most fish ailments. Then you can treat further with medications if necessary.

Answers to the questions above will help us know better what you are dealing with and what to do next...Please start with the water change, though.

 

[squirrilah fish]

He has some white spots around his face in the first picture, is that normal?

It’s hard to diagnose by a photo, but look at the fish closely for signs of fin-rot (common for Betas) or a bacterial infection.

I would go get an API master test kit. Strips suck.

How old is the Beta?