Sick betta, please help!

[Callmeconfused]

I noticed some white fuzzy spots on my betta's side fins about 2 weeks ago. There were no spots anywhere else and the other tank inhabitants are fine.

I moved her to the quarantine tank and bought some melafix, as best as my googling abilities showed, it looked like a fungus. I treated for a week, like the box said. I started treating again a few days afterward, as the spots were still there. The day before yesterday, I noticed the fuzzy spots were gone, but only because her fins were degraded. Now she appears to have a slimy, somewhat fuzzy coat on parts of her body and her tail and back fins are all clamped.

I just picked up API Tetracycline, the only anti-bacterial wally world had. Is it safe to use with the melafix?

Behaviorally, she is very irritated and spends almost all of her time at the surface in the darkest corner. Her appetite is still very good, though, and she will eat whatever you put in with her.

If anyone can give me any advice, please do. I really want to help her, I hate seeing her like this.

 

[laurenrocksth]

What were your water parameters in the previous tank and was your quarantine tank cycled? Also, what were the other inhabitants in the previous tank?

 

[Callmeconfused]

It will take me a sec to get my chart for water params, my memory isn't that great. My quarantine tank was set up a couple of months ago with gravel, filter media, and some plants from the main tank. There were about 10 RCS in there for a couple of weeks, but I moved them out to move her in. Both tanks are kept at 76 degrees.

The main tanks inhabitants, other than my betta, are a ton of baby briggs, Red Cherry Shrimp, and a few harlequin rasboras. It's a 55 gallon tank.

Hang on a sec, I'll go find the chart, and take the parameters for now, since I'm assuming someone's gonna ask.

 

[Callmeconfused]

Okay, 3/31/11: Just after I noticed the white fuzzy spots on fins.
Main Tank
-Nitrate @ 10ppm
-Nitrite @ .2
-Alk @ 80
-pH @ 6.7
-Ammonia @ .05ppm

Q-Tank
Nitrate @ 5
Nitrite @ 0
Alk @ 120
pH @ 7.2
Ammonia @ .02ppm

Today:
Main tank
-Nitrate @ 10ppm
-Nitrite @ 0
-Alk @ 80
-pH @ 6.6
-Ammonia .05ppm

Q-Tank
Nitrate @ 1
Nitrite @ 0
Alk @ 180
pH @ 7.2
Ammonia @ .1

I know major changes can make a bad situation worse. I acclimated her to the new tank the same as I would a new fish. I wanted her in her in a small area to treat her.

 

[Callmeconfused]

New symptom, I think she's trying to croak on me.
She goes several minutes without moving at all, right up against the glass, propped on a leaf at the water surface. All of a sudden huge bubbles come out of her gills and she jolts to life for another minute.

I added the tetracycline and melafix, don't know what else to do. :huh:

 

[moonglow]

Aww I am so sorry... While medication can help if caught early enough..it can also mess up the balance in the water too, causing other problems. Sounds like she got a secondary infection of fungus and just disease... When they get to this stage I don't hold out much hope for them. I am sorry. Maybe someone else who knows more then me would have an idea...poor little fish.

 

[Callmeconfused]

Thanks anyway. I don't even know how old she is. I got her 6 months ago. The petsmart was rearranging everything and had hundreds of bettas on the ground by the tanks. She was the only female one(out of 30 or so) that was still alive, but she was also the biggest, so I don't even know if she would have lived much longer anyway. I hope she does, but if she doesn't, at least she lived in a tank for a while instead of dying in a bowl.