can this fish be helped or is it time for euthanasia

Soupysteve

Soupysteve

Apathetic Master
Aug 24, 2008
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Ozarks - Springfield, Mo
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I started a thread yesterday about a betta my friend has. I posted it in the anabantoids section and got no response. I figured I'd make a post here in the general freshwater and see if more views might lead to a quicker solution.

The fish is the only fish in a 5 gallon tank.
The growth was first noticed about a month ago but had gotten bigger and bigger. I thought at first it was from the betta bumping into the glass or something, but the growth is getting bigger and bigger and I am afraid it will soon cover the poor guy's eye.

Any suggestions?

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how often are water changes performed on this tank??? looks like a curable infection that clean water will certainly help

BTW. flushing is cruel and unusual punishment for a fish...please read up on euthanasia if the fish needs to be put down. Remember that fish are pets, much like your dog or cat, would you throw your dog/cat out the window because it has an incurable disease? Or bring it to the vet to have it put down properly...
 
I'm not too certain how often water changes are performed on the tank - it's not my tank. I'll suggest a continued regimen of partial water changes to the owner of this fish.
The last thing I wanted was to start a debate on ethics in aquarium husbandry. Maybe I can get a moderator to change the title of my thread to "can this fish be helped or is it time for euthanasia" to replace my cruel thoughtless thread title. I'm not in any rush to suggest ending the existence of this creature. I've never flushed a live fish and I have no intention of starting. The ice bath/accelerated cooling method will be the method I'd recommend if/when I find euthanasia is required.
The reason I even posted my question here rather than suggest ethical euthanasia was because the fish looks otherwise healthy. The fish swims just fine and seems to be quite healthy - other than the massive growth. I became more concerned, however, when I noticed how quickly the growth has gone from being just near the snout and is quickly getting close to covering the poor fish's eye. I'm afraid that if the growth continues to grow it will/can eventually blind the fish - and cause worse problems than just looking nasty.
My hope is that there's a medication for this sort of thing. I've looked through the "Colorguide of tropical fish diseases" by G. Bassleer and I've yet to see something that looks similar.
 
Soupysteve said:
I'm not too certain how often water changes are performed on the tank - it's not my tank. I'll suggest a continued regimen of partial water changes to the owner of this fish.
The last thing I wanted was to start a debate on ethics in aquarium husbandry. Maybe I can get a moderator to change the title of my thread to "can this fish be helped or is it time for euthanasia" to replace my cruel thoughtless thread title. I'm not in any rush to suggest ending the existence of this creature. I've never flushed a live fish and I have no intention of starting. The ice bath/accelerated cooling method will be the method I'd recommend if/when I find euthanasia is required.
The reason I even posted my question here rather than suggest ethical euthanasia was because the fish looks otherwise healthy. The fish swims just fine and seems to be quite healthy - other than the massive growth. I became more concerned, however, when I noticed how quickly the growth has gone from being just near the snout and is quickly getting close to covering the poor fish's eye. I'm afraid that if the growth continues to grow it will/can eventually blind the fish - and cause worse problems than just looking nasty.
My hope is that there's a medication for this sort of thing. I've looked through the "Colorguide of tropical fish diseases" by G. Bassleer and I've yet to see something that looks similar.
Click to expand...

You from Missouri? (just noticed Ozarks under your avatar)

back on topic: I think the title is fine and [at least] I knew what you meant by flushing (not alive.) The debate about proper fish euthanasia is an endless one (we wont be settling it today) :)

I would say continue to feed as normal, do a water change, maybe dose with melafix and pimafix or your friend could try methylene blue. Either way if the fish does not look distressed he can still live a happy life - even with the growth.

Please keep us posted! :thumbsup:
 
BoCoMo said:
maybe dose with melafix and pimafix
Click to expand...

There is a rumor going around that Melafix and Bettafix (a watered down version of Melafix) might be harmful to Anabantoids such as Bettas. There is a lot of controversy over this matter, some say it will harm them, others say it won't but I wouldn't use it just to be on the safe side.

Also I would try to get your friend to do daily water changes if possible. I hope the Betta makes it through this.
 
As long as it is eating and not being listless, and no other fish affected, I'd say water change daily and keep it.
 
Why not try buying some Pimafix and Metafix? They are natural medications that cover a wide variety of bacterial and parasitic infections, and are available at petsmart. Just follow the directions on the bottles.
 
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