Sick betta with photo. Please help!

[mmaunder]

Hi all,

I have a sick betta. He has a hole in his tail with white stuff in it. My un-educated guess is that it's a white fungus or it looks like some sort of white parasite almost oozing out of him. Here's a photo:
http://www.travelcloud.com/betta_tail.jpg

I've quarantined him and added Maracyn to his water. He was suffering from a bloated tummy a while ago and we suspected constapation so reduced his feeding amount and added maracyn to his water as a precaution, and it worked.

I have two bettas in a tank with a divider and the other one has had no health problems. The water is kept clean and I test the ammonia level regularly and it's low.

Does anyone know what this is and how to treat it. I'm worried because it looks bad enough to be terminal.

Any help is appreciated.

[NJ Devils Fan]

Actually, it to me looks like fungus and if it is, you treated it perfectly. Keep treating with the maracyn for the perscribed five days.

[DMS]

Looks like an injury, did you just get him? How did it happen? I'd be concerned about him getting a secondary bacterial infection. Is the white stuff kinda fuzzy or cotton like or is it more slimey?

[mmaunder]

Thanks for your replies. It doesn't look slimey at all. Slightly fluffy. I've had this betta for about 6 months now and he has had a swolen belly before which I succesfully treated. The hole in the tail appeared suddenly. There is another betta in the same tank but theyre seperated by a plastic grill and there is no chance of them fighting. The holes in the grill are small so theres no way his tail could have gotten through one of the gaps. And dont they usually go for the fins rather than body. this is more on the body I think.

Although the wound/infection appeared so suddenly - within 24 hours. Because 2 people check on these guys every day when feeding or just observing. (they're well loved).

Still treating with Maracyn and have decided to treat with Maracyn-2 concurrently as a precautionary measure. I read the docs on both meds and they say that you can use both concurrently.

Any other comments/help is appreaciated. This guy is in bad shape. He is now lying on the bottom of the tank slightly on his side and only occasionally goes up for air. Holding thumbs for him.