My Betta Fish Hector      8/16/17
To Whom it may concern,
<Howsit Deb?>
I am concerned about my Betta fish. I got him last week like this and he is eating and behaving normally. I know for a fact that he has a mild case of fin rot though, but what I cannot figure out is whether the slight discoloration (brown spot) in his face is normal or a fungal infection.
<Mmm; may be "just" stress. Perhaps simply from being moved. Do you have measures for water quality? This system is cycled, filtered, heated?>
Please help, this is my second Betta Fish and I am doing everything I can to understand the situation.
I appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Deb
<Need information. Bob Fenner>

Re: My Betta Fish Hector      8/16/17
Dear Bob,
<Hey Deb!>
The tank is heated and filtered and I used bottled water for when I first got him a week and a half ago.
<Mmm; what sort/s of bottled water? Is your tap/mains water real trouble?
Bettas do need some mineral, hardness... I would at least mix some (a quarter, half?) of such bottled water with tap>
He seems to be fine since he eats (I feed him two fish pellets a day) and also builds frequent bubble nests.
<Ahh! Good signs>
He's usually very active. I added aquarium salt in his tank about 5 days ago.
Sincerely,
Deb
<I would leave all as is then... Again, being moved is likely the cause of the split dorsal fin, concern re facial color loss here. Treatment/s will likely cause more harm than good. BobF>

Re: My Betta Fish Hector       8/17/17
Bob,
<Deb>
Thank you so much for your help!
- Deb
<Certainly welcome. I'd ask that you read (re-read?) this brief piece on Betta Care: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/betta_splendens.htm
to set my mind at ease that I've mentioned all the basics here. Bob Fenner>

Betta distress; trauma      7/11/17
Hello there!
<Howdy!>
My name is Saffron and I have an established community sorority tank. It's 29 gallons with 6 girls, 9 diamond tetra, 2 Otos and 5 bronze cories.
*Here is my issue*:
A few weeks ago now, one of my girls got sucked into the canister filter through my surface skimmer on my lily intake pipe which had fallen below the water line. I happened to be in the right place at the right time.
I quickly unplugged the filter, released the quick release and out she plopped. I immediately put her in a plastic container with an inch or so of water so she didn't have to support herself by swimming. She was obviously dazed and pale. I diluted some aquarium salt, added another inch of water and added some Seachem stress coat and left her floating in the tank over night.
<Good>
When I released her into the tank she had coloured up a bit, but was not her full vivid red (she is a koi). Lately she has been keeping to her corner and swimming alright, and while she still never coloured up she has been doing better.
Now when I got home yesterday from a weekend trip, I noticed she was pineconing slightly and keeping to herself more than usual. So I immediately took her out and gave her an aquarium salt bath and added some
stress coat. I kept her there for about 5 minutes and added her back into the tank. This morning she was resting in the bottom of the tank, and when I get home tonight I will be quarantining her in a 4 gallon tank. She is not as pale as she was when she first got sucked in, but more pale and slightly bloated, although she did come up for food.
I also noticed one of my cory's had a white spot on his fin, and preemptively dosed the tank with API fungus cure, as I do have Nerites and a mystery snail that I would like to keep around.
I will try and get pictures later, but the Cory is quite shy and runs every time I move near the tank, but my biggest concern is my little girl.
<I would not be concerned w/ "one spot" on a Corydoras... likely this is nothing... perhaps a minor wound site>
Is there anything you can recommend for me to try for Vivian? I'm just trying to be a good fish parent, and I'm at somewhat of a loss for what to do besides start dosing with medication, which isn't always the answer because it will suppress the rest of my fish as well.
<Understood; and at this point, given what you state, I would NOT treat the tank, life there... but just endeavor to keep good, stable conditions. Likely this fish will heal on its own>
*Here is the background:*
It's a heavily planted tank and I have just started experiencing some black beard algae which I have been addressing by minimizing the light exposure and dosing directly with excel. I have a co2 system ready to go, but given my last couple of weeks I have been holding off on setting it up because I don't want to imbalance the tank too much, or risk a crash.
I have been battling a bacterial bloom in the tank from my auto-feeder dumping too much food while I was away (which is my fault but I had little choice as I go away weekly during the summer). Which has led to a Ramshorn
explosion. I have since changed vacation food types when I'm away to small slow sinking pellets and will be getting a feeding circle. When I am home during the week, I have been doing 30% water changes every other day or so to manually manage the system in the tank.
Sorry for the novel and thank you for taking the time to read.
Cheers,
Saffron
<Steady on here; and please do send us a follow up with your further observations. Bob Fenner>

Re: Betta distress     7/12/17
Hi Bob,
<Saffron>
thank you for taking the time to read my mini novel. I had dedicated well over two months to planning and setting up the hardscape for my koi Betta sorority, with a few disasters in between, so I suppose this is just one more lesson for me to tuck into my book of learning.
<Good attitude>
I really appreciate the amount of time that you have dedicated to creating such a vast resource on the internet for like minded folks. I have been keeping a blog/journal so to speak, for other newbies (I only started serious fishkeeping in February) and documenting all of my resources. So thank you again!
<Thank you for your efforts>
I have attached a couple of pictures of Vivian in her 4 gallon quarantine tank and the 29 gallon tank during the bacterial bloom.
<Nada attached; oh, I see below linked>
Her injury first happened on June 3, so it took a little over a month for her symptoms to get worse. I also believe that the worsening was directly related to the small bloom that has been happening in my tank, which I finally have under control. It has taken about 3 weeks with 2-3 water changes a week of about 10-30% for the bloom to completely subside from one weekend of accidental overfeeding. In the picture there is white sand, and you can see the slight fuzz over the sand. Her little bit of claimed territory is the top left corner of the tank (incidentally why she got sucked into the intake in the first place).
I gave her a short Epsom salt bath last night and one of her eyes has reduced in size, and her pineconing (which was slight) has also reduced. So now she just has one swollen eye, and she floats tail up intermittently, but she is swimming and eating. When I get home tonight I will check in again. I too am not too worried about the Cory. He doesn't seem to be inhibited at all, and is just as skittish as ever.
<Good behaviors>
I tend to scour the internet before I ask for help because I know that I am not the first person who has run into problems, but the reassurance that you are offering just by taking the time to read this is very helpful.
Thank you :)
I hope you're having an awesome Tuesday.
Saffron​
<And you. BobF>

What is the treatment for this Betta? (RMF, chip in if you want!)      6/21/17
Hi, I was hoping you could help my fish?
<Certainly seems to have been through the wars!>
I will copy and paste what I wrote on a forum. So far they haven’t been much help… was hoping you might!!
"Yes, you may have seen my other thread. *To catch you up quick-* At this point I just need some expert eyes to take a look at him and tell me what you believe it is and what my next plan of action. The fresh water in his hospital tank and 10 days of hard salting has absolutely helped, particularly in the reducing of the black in his fins and behavior. He ate this morning and took a bite of a bloodworm tonight. More progress than in weeks. He is not old.. estimate 1yr 4mos. I let it get so far because I wasn't aware of the dangers of lumps on fish. This started I believe in January.. maybe before. He had come from very active in his 10gal with my Pleco (little Pleco). I took him from Petco in OCT to be a companion and because he was the suicidal looking one at the time! :( He had some great times for awhile. Tank was vacuumed cleaned 1/3 a week and then time started to get away from me and it changed to 50% every 2 weeks and then 3 at the end.
<Was this alongside filtration? To be clear: Bettas need filters. Maybe small, gentle, air-powered sponge filters rather than electric canisters -- but filtration nonetheless! Exposure to non-zero ammonia and nitrite will cause stress, sickness and death.>
I won't allow that again!! Anyway this fish was very lively, spent most of his time swimming and socializing, then more of his time chasing his reflection, then most of his time at the heater. I had a hard time keeping tank warm so much of the winter it was 75ish. I assumed for heat, but maybe was feeling lousy.
<Bettas do need steady heat. Around 25 C/77 F is good, even a smidgen above; but consistently cooler or unstable temperatures are bad. Cold air is especially stressful for them, hence the need to provide a lid over the aquarium to keep in the warmth.>
This whole thing came on very very slowly. Right now I have him on Kordon fungus rid and 1tsp per 5 gal Salt., just so it's something fighting till I know what to buy next. (and double dose stress coat)
Questions!
1. Does this look like a case of fungus and fin rot?
<A bacterial infection (such as Finrot) seems much more likely than a fungal infection. There are medications that treat both, such as eSHa 2000 and Kanaplex. Avoid the tea-tree oil products (such as Melafix and Bettafix) as these are rather unreliable -- anything marketed as having "the healing power of..." is likely about as useful as healing crystals!>
2. Since I ran over my treatment of salt, where do I go next? Next meds?
<See above; salt isn't a treatment for anything you're dealing with here. Indeed, it might well stress your fish.>
3. How often do I clean tank and what %?
<Assuming mature biological filtration, weekly water changes around 25% are ample. Betta breeders who don't use filters but instead keep Bettas in jars have to do 100% water changes every day, ensuring temperature and water chemistry remain constant -- this just isn't practical for casual fishkeepers.>
4. As a side question, if I harvest him Mosquito Larvae and clean them, will that help him? He LOVES them.
<Like potato chips, mosquito larvae are a perfectly acceptable snack. But they aren't particularly nutritious, and there's some suspicion that they can bring diseases into the aquarium, so don't use them every day. Much better to focus on good quality flake and pellets (Tetra, Hikari and other leading brands are all good) alongside safe live foods with no risk of carrying disease (brine shrimp, daphnia and wingless fruit flies are reared in fish-free environments, so should be safe).>
Current behavior: Swims around, hangs on top mostly, just started attempting to eat, scared easily. Will extend fins, but not in full flare. Lethargy. “
Thank you!!!
<Welcome. Neale.>

Re: What is the treatment for this Betta? (RMF, chip in if you want!)     6/24/17
I guess what Ill do is ill make my writing blue so its not so confusing
<Eh?>
Yes, he’s a fighter!
<Indeed.>
Yes, he lived in a filtered and buffered 10 Gal with my Pleco
<Ah, the plot thinnens. Common Plecs, and possibly even Ancistrus (Bristlenose) Plecs too, will "latch" onto the flanks of slow-moving fish to graze on the mucous there. It may be that they're hungry, Plecs often being given far too little food -- in the wild they're constantly ploughing through algae and organic muck, processing massive amounts of food. Anyway, Plecs cause horrible scars and blisters on the fish they 'attack', and because they do so at night, many people find it hard to believe their Plec is responsible. But if you see big blisters on the side of a fish, a hungry Plec is very likely the cause. Seen this many, many times. If in doubt, remove the Plec to another tank (10 gallons is too small, even for an Ancistrus) and medicate as per Finrot; you should see the Betta healing up nicely.>
Haha, it works the same with people!! Bactria and fungus aren’t to be messed with… you want them dead! Ok, here’s the thing, you suggested Kanaplex and two people on the forum suggested Metroplex by the same company. I told them what you suggested and they said Kanaplex for secondary infection. I emailed Seachem which one they’d steer me (hoping they get back to me!) But now I’m really confused because when I looked at their products I found Paraguard which supposedly covers everything. Now I’m really stuck!!
<Paraguard is more of a "first response" before fish get really infected wounds; for example, after they've had a fight and their tail fins are a bit torn. Kanaplex and MetroPlex are both good, but have different jobs. MetroPlex is primarily used when dealing with protozoan pathogens such as Whitespot and Hexamita, this latter extremely difficult to treat without using Metronidazole. Kanaplex is an antibiotic containing Kanamycin, and a better bet when treating Finrot and other bacterial infections. Make sense?>
Thank you!!!
<Most welcome. Neale.>
Re: What is the treatment for this Betta? (RMF, chip in if you want!)      6/24/17
<Ah, the plot thinnens. Common Plecs, and possibly even Ancistrus (Bristlenose) Plecs too, will "latch" onto the flanks of slow-moving fish to graze on the mucous there. It may be that they're hungry, Plecs often being given far too little food -- in the wild they're constantly ploughing through algae and organic muck, processing massive amounts of food. Anyway, Plecs cause horrible scars and blisters on the fish they 'attack', and because they do so at night, many people find it hard to believe their Plec is responsible. But if you see big blisters on the side of a fish, a hungry Plec is very likely the cause. Seen this many, many times. If in doubt, remove the Plec to another tank (10 gallons is too small, even for an Ancistrus) and medicate as per Finrot; you should see the Betta healing up nicely.>
OH MY GOSH, thank you!! Now that makes sense!!! I had no idea!! They used to hang out together but I know the Pleco is VERY active at night. He throws stuff around in the tank.. sounds like an elephant. That and too the Betta would flare at his reflection and I know that makes them prone to fin rot in the long run!
<Paraguard is more of a "first response" before fish get really infected wounds; for example, after they've had a fight and their tail fins are a bit torn. Kanaplex and MetroPlex are both good, but have different jobs. MetroPlex is primarily used when dealing with protozoan pathogens such as Whitespot and Hexamita, this latter extremely difficult to treat without using Metronidazole. Kanaplex is an antibiotic containing Kanamycin, and a better bet when treating Finrot and other bacterial infections. Make sense?>
Yes, yes it does!! Thank you again!! I will order it ASAP. Finally something makes sense :) I will update you if you don’t mind :)
<<By all means, and glad to help. Cheers, Neale.>>

Re: What is the treatment for this Betta? (RMF, chip in if you want!)     6/28/17
Hey, it's me again!! My Kanaplex just arrived *Yay*. Do you have any idea how the HECK I dose it?
<Accurate kitchen scales, perhaps? Weigh out the amount needed for, say, 5 gallons; divide by 5, and that's how much to add to 1 gallon.>
I measured their small scoop dose (it's per 5 gallons) and 3 of those fit into 1/4tsp measuring key. How on earth do I dose that for a half gallon tank!!???
<I would NOT be keeping a Betta in a 0.5 gallon tank. As a friend of mine used to say, "that's not an aquarium, that's a vase"! My first investment would be something bigger, 4-5 gallons, knowing that improved living conditions WILL improve the chances of your fish doing well/getting better.>
Also - I have a giant plastic Poland spring bottle that is 5 gal that I use to clean tank with.. could I pre put the meds in there and then give him 100% changes everyday? will it stay good.
<Tricky to say. Diluted medicine should be fine for a day or two, but that assumes no further chemical reactions. Sunlight, dissolved gases, even the minerals in drinking water are all possible sources of problems -- not to mention any bacteria able to grow in the diluted medicine that couldn't survive (or even get into) the sealed, concentrated medicine bottle. So without a vet telling me this was safe, I would not do this.>
Or is it a medicine that builds up in the tank and needs to be kept as is and not cleaned?
<Generally fish medicines break down in the aquarium very quickly, likely within a day or so, simply because it's a warm, oxygen-rich environment with lots of organic detritus. Hence we need to add medicine every day (or
whatever) across a period of several days.>
Thanks!! *head tree*
<Head tree? Cheers, Neale.>
Re: What is the treatment for this Betta? (RMF, chip in if you want!)     6/28/17
Haha, I got a response from Seachem as well.
<Cool.>
Thank you.
<Welcome.>
Yeah, they said do 1/5 scoop or pre mix all in 5 gal and take what I need from it. That sounds the easiest. Of course!! I'm not keeping fishy in this box!! He's just in there to heal and break from the filter (buffered or not, there's still movement) .. it's working great.. he keeps on eating' :) So far so good on Kanaplex. You shouldn't hear from me for another week or so. lol!
<Let's hope, eh?>
Hey, and yes, when you get home late, excited to see fish meds in the mail and open the box to find complicated measurements banging your head against a tree comes to mind.
<Indeed. Good luck, Neale.>

Re my Betta girls. (RMF, other ideas?)      2/1/17
<<I'd bleach/nuke all and start over... These situations are untenable... not easily "solved" to my satisfaction. B>>
Hi a friend recommended I write to u to ask for a diagnosis for what's ailing my girls lost one yesterday morning and these two this morning.
<Sure; fire away!>
The night before the first death no obvious sign of illness next morning found the first one barley breathing looking like the two in the picture.
<Yikes! This sort of damage looks like a very dramatic bacterial infection or something equally systemic, in the sense it isn't a single wound or parasite, but something more like septicaemia that has affected the entire fish. Various reasons for these types of problems, but they rarely come out of nowhere. There's usually some type of stress, coupled with a gradual running down of the fish over days or weeks. But they can be caused by highly contagious viral or bacterial infections, though again, rarely does it go from a healthy fish to a dead fish in the space of 24 hours. Not
impossible, but highly unusual.>
Water parameters
Ammonia 0-0.25
Nitrite 0-0.25
<These two readings are a worry. Ammonia and nitrite need to be zero. Not almost zero, but zero. Both these chemicals are highly toxic, and even "low" levels, across days or weeks, can kill a fish. What non-zero levels tend to show is that filtration isn't adequate to the "loading" of fish in the tank. Filter too small, flow rate too low, not enough filter medium, or not enough time for the filter media to become colonised with bacteria. A combination of these factors is not impossible. Bear in mind that if you aggressively wash filter media (e.g., by running under a hot tap) this will re-set the biological filter with every tank clean, resulting in New Tank Syndrome.>
Nitrate 10
Tank brand new running @ 4 weeks with filter and media from their previous tank.
<Assuming you carried across enough live media to jump-start the new filter, i.e., more or less half-filled the filter with mature medium, the tank shouldn't be cycling. But still, reflect on this, because something doesn't seem right with your water quality parameters.>
7 females from one supplier by post added on the 25th Jan.
<While something like septicaemia or Mycobacteriosis isn't impossible, my gut feeling is that water quality has somehow exacerbated the problem. Do also consider water temperature: must be around 25 C/77 F all day long, and exposure to lower temperatures is one very good way to weaken the immune system of Betta species and drive them to a premature death. Exposure to airborne pollutants, or even cold air, is another stress factor, though with those I wouldn't expect to see the sorts of symptoms you've got here.>
Thank you for any help.
<Hope this helps. Cheers, Neale.>

Re Betta deaths      2/1/17
Thank you for your reply. The previous tank was only 68l the new tank 160l
I've been doing 30l water changes every other day using stability and prime. Unfortunately the filter in the tank had to be changed ( not the one with the seeded media in ) but the filter that came with the tank as it trapped and killed 2 fish.
Tank temp is at 28 it has an AquaEL 2 and a brand new Oase filter in there I know the water isn't ideal re previous response but the ammonia and nitrite readings are nearer 0 than 0.25.
I'm treating the tank with Methylene blue as instructed by my supplier.
Whatever this is it's very fast acting they are active and feeding then the red patches slowly appear and then they die I want to try and save them.
It's frustrating not knowing. Anyway thank you for your help appreciate it.
<Methylene Blue isn't what you want. It's an antifungal medication. Your fish are definitely dealing with a bacterial infection (fungal infections commonly have white threads associated with them, so sick fish look furry or fluffy). In the US, you have a choice of antibiotics available, such as Kanaplex. Outside of the US, antibiotics are normally prescription-only from a vet, in which case alternatives may work; here in the UK, I recommend a product called eSHa 2000 for bacterial infections. As a rule, general purpose medications are rubbish, so avoid them; instead focus on medications specifically for internal bacterial infections. Cheers, Neale.>

Re my Betta girls (RMF, other ideas?)      2/2/17
Thank you very much for your advice.
<Welcome.>
The remaining girls are in the tank in Methylene blue since yesterday tested water earlier ammonia negligible nitrite 0 nitrate 5-10 previous results from 3 days ago no further fatalities and they seem much more active antibiotics arrive tomorrow Oxytetracycline ( sry don't know how to spell it )
<Close enough!>
in case needed. No more symptoms it's been a very odd situation I know I'm probably not out of the woods yet will monitor tank for at least 4 weeks before considering adding any more fish and if further fatalities will gut the tank and start from scratch.
<Wise.>
This whole thing has me stumped I must admit I'm not a novice I have 7 Betta boys and the new tank was an upgrade for the girls. Anyway enough rambling thank you for all ur help appreciate it.
<Glad to have been helpful and good luck! Neale.>

Re my Betta    2/23/17
I emailed you a few weeks ago about the issues with my Betta I lost three to septicaemia. Then all was fine until whatever the issue is reoccurred my giant girl became lethargic I isolated and treated with antibiotics ( Oxytetracycline) sent by my supplier. I lost one girl. I was advised to put remaining girls in another tank and give them a course of Oxytetracycline change the substrate in my tank I did this along with dipping plants in potassium permanganate soaking ornaments and I also cleaned the tank with pp left for 24 hrs refilled once the girls treatment was completed ( no
further symptoms) they were returned to the tank. Yesterday I noticed my giant was lethargic had a red patch again so removed to qt then overnight I lost 4 girls and the giant. I have 2 survivors no symptoms as yet ( the girls lost were all from supplier). He's told me to remove the remaining two girls and qt them.
The tank has some Cory and Oto in that have been fine throughout.
<The Otocinclus may be "riding" your Bettas, causing stress; perhaps sores leading to bacterial infection>
He's told me to run the tank for two weeks Betta free ( it does have a UV filter running too ) does this sound the right advise.
<Worth trying>
The symptoms have been fine one minute then red patches on body then death each time roughly two weeks apart.
Tank parameters
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrates 10
Ph 7.4
<Will share w/ Neale Monks; who has been communicating with you I believe.
Bob Fenner>
Re my Betta     2/24/17
<<Concur with BobF; and more generally, not a fan of mixing domesticated Betta splendens in with standard community fish anyway. It does sound like a systemic bacterial infection, and an antibiotic is really the only way
forward. Will also opine (and BobF may have another view) that domesticated Betta splendens are *not* long-lived animals in general; some six months or more in age before they arrive at the retailers, and unlikely to live more
than a year thereafter, so if they've been at your pet store for two or three months, could well be past middle age. Is this is a factor of genetics? Of over-use of antibiotic on Betta farms? I don't know; but certainly my experience is that relatively few reach "venerable" status of 3, 4 years of age. If any consolation, will Betta splendens are said to be
pretty much annuals. Cheers, Neale.>>
Re my Betta     2/25/17
Thank you for your response my Betta aren't / weren't shop bought but are from a reputable uk site that breeds Betta in Indonesia and are only 3-4 months old when bought by us/me. I don't know if this makes any difference to your reply.
<If you're quite sure these Bettas are less than a year old, then yes, "old age" isn't likely a factor.>
I'm on advice going to run the tank Betta free just with Otto and Corys for 3 weeks my two survivors are in qt and are showing no symptoms. I do have a uv steriliser now running do you agree with the timeframe before adding new Betta girls.
<I would wait at least a month between the demise of one fish and the addition of another, regardless of the species involved.>
Thank you.
<Welcome. Neale.>