Pls help! Tonight I found a lot of white fuzzy "threads" hanging all over Tommy's cave decor and floating in water too. I decided to clean his tank water 50% , add more salt, conditioner, stress coat, instead of clean 100% all Betta Revive in it. Got heater at 80 degree. Please some one can tell me what r those fuzzy threads? What should I do? Getting scare again :O Thank you for your time!
Betta Tommy has white stuff under mouth,belly,fins and eyes seems puffed.HELP!!
- Thread starter TommyBetta
- Start date
Hi, tonight was cleaning Tommy's tank from old med Betta Revive (water was dark blue), found lots of white fuzzy threads on his cave decor and water tank. Pls do u know if some of these med u suggested for parasites will clean these fuzzy things too? Thanks a lot!
your betta's symptoms (other than the white stringy poop when he first came home) do not lead me to believe a parasitic infection is the main case here. the white fuzzies on him sound bacterial in nature.
i personally would give him a couple days with 100% water changes daily, and no medication, then re-start the betta revive or go with a different med that will cover bacterial infections.
bettas are just like other tropical fish, and other than not using certain meds (i personally will not use melafix on a betta), they can be treated just like any other fish.
the white strings coming off the decor in his tank sound like protein strands. are you feeding a lot?
stop dosing the salt. freshwater fish don't need it, and there is no reason to use it unless you are treating for ich with the heat + salt method. none of my fish have seen salt in their tanks in at least a few years, and are very healthy. on that note, using salt for more than 10 days will not cause kidney issues with your betta. not sure where you are getting your information, but it is incorrect. trust this forum before all other sources, IMO.
turn down his heater. if this is a bacterial infection, you want his tank on the cool side (74 to 76), because bacteria thrive in warmer temperatures. the cooler tank will keep that bad bacteria from being too 'happy'. bettas are fine at temps around 76 or so. my betta in my 20 gallon with other tropical fish is at 75/76 constantly and he's a happy lil guy. 80 is too warm, IMO.
so to recap - daily 100% water changes, give him a couple days break from meds, then restart with the revive or another anti-bacterial med. i've used API's 'General Cure' successfully on a very sick (near death, floating sideways) large cichlid that had a bad bacterial infection, and it worked very well. this med works for bacterial infections, and also contains Prazi, so it is effective against parasitic infections too, just in case your betta does have some nasty parasites partying it up inside him.
i personally would give him a couple days with 100% water changes daily, and no medication, then re-start the betta revive or go with a different med that will cover bacterial infections.
bettas are just like other tropical fish, and other than not using certain meds (i personally will not use melafix on a betta), they can be treated just like any other fish.
the white strings coming off the decor in his tank sound like protein strands. are you feeding a lot?
stop dosing the salt. freshwater fish don't need it, and there is no reason to use it unless you are treating for ich with the heat + salt method. none of my fish have seen salt in their tanks in at least a few years, and are very healthy. on that note, using salt for more than 10 days will not cause kidney issues with your betta. not sure where you are getting your information, but it is incorrect. trust this forum before all other sources, IMO.
turn down his heater. if this is a bacterial infection, you want his tank on the cool side (74 to 76), because bacteria thrive in warmer temperatures. the cooler tank will keep that bad bacteria from being too 'happy'. bettas are fine at temps around 76 or so. my betta in my 20 gallon with other tropical fish is at 75/76 constantly and he's a happy lil guy. 80 is too warm, IMO.
so to recap - daily 100% water changes, give him a couple days break from meds, then restart with the revive or another anti-bacterial med. i've used API's 'General Cure' successfully on a very sick (near death, floating sideways) large cichlid that had a bad bacterial infection, and it worked very well. this med works for bacterial infections, and also contains Prazi, so it is effective against parasitic infections too, just in case your betta does have some nasty parasites partying it up inside him.
Looking back over your OP you mentioned puffy eyes. There is a bacterial infection that will cause pop-eye -you have not said if there is an improvement or not. I would be cautious about meds because you can cause more harm than good by using the wrong one.
Clean water can also do far more healing than people give it credit for. make sure the tank is clean and the water is too.
Clean water can also do far more healing than people give it credit for. make sure the tank is clean and the water is too.
Thank u so much everyone! I will keep cleaning his tank everyday. Do I have to keep buying Spring Water or can I start use tap water with conditioner? I am a little confused regarding nitrate cycle to help building up good bacteria and have a healthy tank. It is first time I have a "finny" friend and didn't know about this important detail that ammonia may cause diseases. I am so sorry about that! Petsmart told me I would only need a bowl and food!! What I understood if I use cartridge filter it will start the cycle, but I am not sure if will work doing 100% water change daily. Also read about add Prime conditioner water to neutralize ammonia while cycle is not ready. Pls can u advise if it is a good idea cycle his tank now? If the answer is yes, is it the right way to do it? Thank u so much for all your great information and input!
I am really not sure if his eyes were always like that. I have him for less than a month. I will keep watching them.
I use to over feeding him but now 2 pellets / morning and 2 at night. Twice week few frozen dry bloodworm. His tank is 5.5 gallon and during the day cannot get under 80 degree, in spite of A/C runs 78 degree during day , it may be the tank light. Shall I leave the light off all the time? Right now it turns off only at night. I may try General Cure after few days, it may work better than Betta Revive. Thank u! Do u cycle.your tanks for Betta?
if it's an incandescent light bulb, then that is definitely contributing to the water temperature. get a cfl bulb instead. if you don't have any live plants, then the light is more for your enjoyment of the fish than the fish's enjoyment - they don't care if the lights are on or not.
you will need to get a test kit. the API freshwater master kit is highly recommended by many members here. i use this kit myself, and would never be without it. this way you can monitor the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph of your betta's tank, and do a large water change whenever the ammonia or nitrite tests at anything but zero while the tank is cycling. don't clean your filter unless it is so gunked up that water won't flow through - this will help the bacteria populate. don't ever replace the cartridge with a new one, as this takes away all the good bacteria. simply rinse the cartridge in a bucket of tank water, or use a chunk of sponge in place of the cartridge.
adult fish only need fed once a day. overfeeding in a tank that is cycling is just making for more ammonia and more chance for an ill fish. you could feed one pellet twice daily, if you really want to feed 'two meals' to your betta.
you will need to get a test kit. the API freshwater master kit is highly recommended by many members here. i use this kit myself, and would never be without it. this way you can monitor the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph of your betta's tank, and do a large water change whenever the ammonia or nitrite tests at anything but zero while the tank is cycling. don't clean your filter unless it is so gunked up that water won't flow through - this will help the bacteria populate. don't ever replace the cartridge with a new one, as this takes away all the good bacteria. simply rinse the cartridge in a bucket of tank water, or use a chunk of sponge in place of the cartridge.
adult fish only need fed once a day. overfeeding in a tank that is cycling is just making for more ammonia and more chance for an ill fish. you could feed one pellet twice daily, if you really want to feed 'two meals' to your betta.
