Need help! Betta White Patches on Fins, fin loss.

[LaylaLayla24]

Hello,

I am desperate to help my 2 year old betta white the white patches in the attached photos. Here is an explanation of the issue:

1. It all started about a year ago with fin rot. We used Maracyn 2 and it seemed to stop the fin rot for a bit. However, the fin rot always returned, and eventually the white patches started appearing slowly on top of the fins and as pin holes in the fins.

2. We tried Maracyn 2 again as soon as we saw the white patches, but it did not help much this time.

3. We then decided to see an exotic pet veterinarian. The vet took a smear of the white growth, and said that it did not look like a bacteria under the microscope. The vet mentioned the visible lump in the fish body and that it could be a tumor. As far as I remember, this lump has always been there and didn't seem to cause any issues previously.

The vet prescribed Tricide Neo powder, which we used exactly as instructed, but this also did not help with the white area.

4. We then tried Methalyn Blue. The white patches never really became stained with the blue color.

5. After a few weeks, we tried Kanaplex, which also did not help.

5. After a few week break from Kanaplex, we tried API Fin and Body cure. This again did not help.

Behavior wise, the fish spends most of the time in a little cave at the bottom of the tank and on the betta bed by the surface of the tank. He does seem weak and does not swim around the tank anymore. He does come up to the surface of the tank twice a day for feeding, and eats well.

I change about 25% of the water 2 times a week. The tank has a heater, an air stone, and a filter. I test the water parameters once a week, and they are mostly within the recommended limits for a Betta.

Could anyone please help with thoughts and recommendations on how I can save my Betta at this point.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello,

I am desperate to help my 2 year old betta white the white patches in the attached photos. Here is an explanation of the issue:

1. It all started about a year ago with fin rot. We used Maracyn 2 and it seemed to stop the fin rot for a bit. However, the fin rot always returned, and eventually the white patches started appearing slowly on top of the fins and as pin holes in the fins.

2. We tried Maracyn 2 again as soon as we saw the white patches, but it did not help much this time.

3. We then decided to see an exotic pet veterinarian. The vet took a smear of the white growth, and said that it did not look like a bacteria under the microscope. The vet mentioned the visible lump in the fish body and that it could be a tumor. As far as I remember, this lump has always been there and didn't seem to cause any issues previously.

The vet prescribed Tricide Neo powder, which we used exactly as instructed, but this also did not help with the white area.

4. We then tried Methalyn Blue. The white patches never really became stained with the blue color.

5. After a few weeks, we tried Kanaplex, which also did not help.

5. After a few week break from Kanaplex, we tried API Fin and Body cure. This again did not help.

Behavior wise, the fish spends most of the time in a little cave at the bottom of the tank and on the betta bed by the surface of the tank. He does seem weak and does not swim around the tank anymore. He does come up to the surface of the tank twice a day for feeding, and eats well.

I change about 25% of the water 2 times a week. The tank has a heater, an air stone, and a filter. I test the water parameters once a week, and they are mostly within the recommended limits for a Betta.

Could anyone please help with thoughts and recommendations on how I can save my Betta at this point.

May be bacterial or reaction to water. Other would be aging if approaching 3 or more years in age
Do not use tap water and add a pinch of aquarium salt in water- not sea salt

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hello,

I am desperate to help my 2 year old betta white the white patches in the attached photos. Here is an explanation of the issue:

1. It all started about a year ago with fin rot. We used Maracyn 2 and it seemed to stop the fin rot for a bit. However, the fin rot always returned, and eventually the white patches started appearing slowly on top of the fins and as pin holes in the fins.

2. We tried Maracyn 2 again as soon as we saw the white patches, but it did not help much this time.

3. We then decided to see an exotic pet veterinarian. The vet took a smear of the white growth, and said that it did not look like a bacteria under the microscope. The vet mentioned the visible lump in the fish body and that it could be a tumor. As far as I remember, this lump has always been there and didn't seem to cause any issues previously.

The vet prescribed Tricide Neo powder, which we used exactly as instructed, but this also did not help with the white area.

4. We then tried Methalyn Blue. The white patches never really became stained with the blue color.

5. After a few weeks, we tried Kanaplex, which also did not help.

5. After a few week break from Kanaplex, we tried API Fin and Body cure. This again did not help.

Behavior wise, the fish spends most of the time in a little cave at the bottom of the tank and on the betta bed by the surface of the tank. He does seem weak and does not swim around the tank anymore. He does come up to the surface of the tank twice a day for feeding, and eats well.

I change about 25% of the water 2 times a week. The tank has a heater, an air stone, and a filter. I test the water parameters once a week, and they are mostly within the recommended limits for a Betta.

Could anyone please help with thoughts and recommendations on how I can save my Betta at this point.

Bettas are not long lived fish and are sometimes sold as post breeding adults.
I see chronic issues in the current picture - the eroded areas could be infections, but I’ve seen neoplasms look like that. The spine looks curved and the fish is generally bedraggled looking - that can be a sign of mycobacterium infection. This is a disease of old age in fish and isn’t treatable.
I think you should consider euthanizing this fish.
Jay

 

[Sarcasm Included]

It looks like columnaris, most likely the slower progressing strains which are harder to eliminate. A second round of Kanamycin combined with Nitrofurazone should take care of it. After you have completed the regiment the wound will need to heal, so make sure that you keep the water pristine clean (nitrates below 0-10ppm).

That said, Jay is right the betta is nearing the end of its lifespan so you should keep that in mind before choosing to stress the fish further with treatment.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

It looks like columnaris, most likely the slower progressing strains which are harder to eliminate. A second round of Kanamycin combined with Nitrofurazone should take care of it. After you have completed the regiment the wound will need to heal, so make sure that you keep the water pristine clean (nitrates below 0-10ppm).

That said, Jay is right the betta is nearing the end of its lifespan so you should keep that in mind before choosing to stress the fish further with treatment.

The OP said they had a veterinarian do a skin scrape, and they didn't see anything. Columnaris (Flavobacterium) is pretty hard to miss under a scope, so I ruled that out - but betta do get this fairly often.

Jay

 

[Sarcasm Included]

The OP said they had a veterinarian do a skin scrape, and they didn't see anything. Columnaris (Flavobacterium) is pretty hard to miss under a scope, so I ruled that out - but betta do get this fairly often.

Jay

I saw that he ruled out, (technically said it didn't look like bacteria) a bacterial infection and prescribed neomycin to treat a bacterial ulceration. The fish may not have had columnaris originally, but the rolling edge of the wound leads me to believe that it what we are looking at in the picture. The OP stated that it started as pin holes and progressed to white patches, which is descriptive of a fungus (white patch) on top of a bacterial infection (fin rot). If he swabbed the white patches, it would not appear as bacteria but I am not going to second guess the vet either way. In either case, nitrofurazone and kanamycin work better on topical infections in most cases than neomycin (nitrofurazones's effectiveness declines as the PH increases over 7.0). Fin rot rarely happens outside of poor water conditions, 2-25% water changes would be sufficient for a single betta in a 5-10 gallon but not in a 1-2 gallon tank (we don't have this info). The fact that it has had fin rot before indicates that it could be that nitrates are creeping up over time, though I doubt this because of the live plants present.

I found that Myco ulcerations tend to be deeper into the body than what your seeing. The bend looks more like drooping of a stressed fish or aging than the scoliosis with mycobacteria.