Help! Odd thing in/on Betta's gill!

[Jspigs]

I was looking at my Betta "Majesty" and I saw this odd "thing" in/coming out of his gill!

The "thing" is only present in his left gill, not his right.

The "thing" is about the lenghth of a millimeter.

He is in a filtered and heated 3 gallon aquarium.

I have not fed him any live or frozen foods, just Hikari Betta pellets and the occasional freeze-dried bloodworm as a treat.

The only new things are some hornwort that I got a few weeks ago and more recently some trumpet snails purchased last week. I did not quarantine the trumpet snails because I did not think I had to. I also put the snails in one other tank with fish and one tank with a bamboo shrimp and the inhabitants are all doing fine (with the exception of my other Betta "Emerald" who has had fin rot since before I got the snails. he is rapidly recovering:)).

Aside from the hornwort I also have java moss and what I believe to be aponogeton in the tank with Majesty.

Aside from the gill "thing" Emerald looks and is acting normal.

Here is a pic with the odd "thing" circled in red (click on the picture to enlarge it and to see much more detail):
125996

I would really like to no what this "thing" is and if I should be concerned.

I have not yet medicated the tank.

If I should medicate, what should I medicate with?

I have some Maracyn available but I won't be able to get to my lfs until tomorrow if I need something else.

EDIT: I just remembered that I also have a bottle of Quick Cure.

[Jspigs]

BUMP!

[BioHazard]

I would guess either it is nothing (just some dirt caught in a scale), a leech or a fluke. I
would add 1 tbsp salt per gallon of water

[Somervell]

I have had similar issues with goldfish a long time ago. How about a hookworm? That's what mine turned out to be. Since it is in the gill area, perhaps it is another kind of fluke, but I would go with parasite to be sure.

[Jspigs]

BUMP! I added the salt a couple days ago and the "thing" is still there.

[cellodaisy]

Does it move at all? What color is it? Can you get more pics from other angles?

[Jspigs]

Does it move at all? What color is it? Can you get more pics from other angles?

I can't tell if it is moving because of Majesty's gill movement. It is clearish-white. It is very hard to even see it from any angle other than from the top even when looking at it in person so I can't get a pic of it from another angle.

[JasonO]

It could be anchor worm or gill maggots it is hard to tell from the picture, I know you said its hard to get a picture from another angle but if you could try that would be great.

Good luck

______________Edit___________
Actually I was thinking about it I think it is actually bacterial gill disease, or it might be. Some sites say that you can scrape it off manually from the operculum (the covering of the gill) if you do it very carefully, however don't be abrasive and rub on it if it doesn't come off.

Also try a large water change, and make sure water parameters are good ( I know this is often given advice but it really does help)

You could also try using some fish antibiotics, just don't overdose, and be careful.

Again, good luck.

[BioHazard]

Keep with the salt. When you do WCs, make sure you keep the salt at the same level.

[mel_20_20]

I've been absent on AC for a bit and missed this thread; how are things going?

[texsara]

Hi Mell. I'm a newbie here. I was looking at the new posts and saw you are from Texas. :cheers: I'm from East Texas (piney woods). I don't know what that thing is on Magesty but I hope my 2 Bettas don't get it!:eek:

[mel_20_20]

Hi, Texsara. I'm in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I, too, hope you don't see anything like this on your Bettas.

This may be a parasite, a type of worm, on Majesty, but I'm not sure. I hope Jspigs has had a favorable outcome with this. I hope he posts soon.