Betta - red bump on tail

[JohnnyEck]

I have a betta nearing 1.5 years, and yesterday I noticed a red bump on his tail, which kind of looks like a blood blister. Today, it looks a little larger. He is otherwise behaving all right, but staying a bit near the bottom. Also, I have been unsure for a while, but I think he has fin rot.

I have a 5-gallon heated tank with no other fish. The only recent change (about a month ago) is that I started using ultrapure water (my tap water contains ammonia...), but I condition it and add aquarium salts for electrolytes. I clean the gravel and do a weekly water change of 25-75%, depending on the ammonia reading. I turn on the filter every once in a while for a few hours at a time, because he doesn't like the current.

Please let me know if you've seen something like this before, what it might be, how I can treat him. Thank you in advance!

 

[Hubert90]

I have a betta nearing 1.5 years, and yesterday I noticed a red bump on his tail, which kind of looks like a blood blister. Today, it looks a little larger. He is otherwise behaving all right, but staying a bit near the bottom. Also, I have been unsure for a while, but I think he has fin rot.

I have a 5-gallon heated tank with no other fish. The only recent change (about a month ago) is that I started using ultrapure water (my tap water contains ammonia...), but I condition it and add aquarium salts for electrolytes. I clean the gravel and do a weekly water change of 25-75%, depending on the ammonia reading. I turn on the filter every once in a while for a few hours at a time, because he doesn't like the current.

Please let me know if you've seen something like this before, what it might be, how I can treat him. Thank you in advance!

O looks like an infection. I'm not good with Betta diseases though. But allow me by saying u should have ur filter on 24/7. U can mod outlet to kill the current. What kinda filter do u have? Do u have a heater? What is Ur current temp? Also adding aquarium salt isn't necessaries! I've heard from siva (Betta expert) that it does more harm than good in the long run.

 

[JohnnyEck]

Since I haven't received any information on what it definitely is, I'm going with what it could be, which is an infection. This Betta's had fin rot before, maybe I did not completely eradicate it. Maybe this information will help someone in the future.

I started him on 50 ppm (mg/L) Kanamycin. The bump seems to have either popped or otherwise diminished in size. He's not acting down, so I'm guessing he's otherwise all right. I will be doing large water changes every few days followed by additional antibiotic.

You may or may not be able to get Kanamycin under the brand name Aquavet; if not, I'd sub with another broad-spectrum antibiotic. I have read somewhere that fish do not respond to Ampicillin as well, but I don't know if I can find that reference now.

I will not, however, be stopping adding aquarium salt, because using de-ionized water in an aquarium (as I do) without replacing electrolytes is equivalent to slowly killing your fish. If you're not using de-ionized waster, you may have more leeway.

 

[Hubert90]

Since I haven't received any information on what it definitely is, I'm going with what it could be, which is an infection. This Betta's had fin rot before, maybe I did not completely eradicate it. Maybe this information will help someone in the future.

I started him on 50 ppm (mg/L) Kanamycin. The bump seems to have either popped or otherwise diminished in size. He's not acting down, so I'm guessing he's otherwise all right. I will be doing large water changes every few days followed by additional antibiotic.

You may or may not be able to get Kanamycin under the brand name Aquavet; if not, I'd sub with another broad-spectrum antibiotic. I have read somewhere that fish do not respond to Ampicillin as well, but I don't know if I can find that reference now.

I will not, however, be stopping adding aquarium salt, because using de-ionized water in an aquarium (as I do) without replacing electrolytes is equivalent to slowly killing your fish. If you're not using de-ionized waster, you may have more leeway.

What kinda filter do u have? U can leave the filter on and kill the current using this method
http://www.petfish.net/articles/Do-It-Yourself/currentkill.php
Ur Betta will be much happier with clean water! Also do u have a heater?

Good to hear that Ur Betta is doin good! Keep us (me) posted with his progress! all the best and good luck!

 

[JohnnyEck]

I have this AquaClear Biomax filter for 5-10 gallon tanks, which would be pretty nifty if I could use it all the time. Thanks for posting the filter baffle link - I tried that once, but it didn't look great and it didn't really help with the current. I had also tied a sponge under my outflow, but he seemed to hate that too.

I haven't gotten around to it yet, but I was going to try another method of killing the current by placing some sort of wider plate under the outflow to diffuse the current over the surface of the tank, as well as putting some plants under it to absorb the residual flow. This is my next project.

I have a heater on 78*C, which is pretty standard for Bettas, I think.

Thanks for the help!