can someone check this thread pls. RE: Betta, cloudy eye, and or possible fungus?

M

michaelg210

Medium Fish
#3
Jun 6, 2010
67
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#3
10 gallon tank, FYI I did a 40 % water change last night and switched to Seachem's Paraguard, as the Pimfix or whatever wasn't doing anything at all.

Tank is now at 84.... betta is all by himself... he is too agressive to put anything else in there, especially in that sized tank.....
 

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michaelg210

Medium Fish
#5
Jun 6, 2010
67
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0
#5
Well, tank is at not quite 84, i did a 40 percent water change 2 days ago and switched to paraguard, since the Pimafix wasn't doing anything at all.

Looks like the cloudy eye is slowly getting better, still cloudy, but a bit less so.

However, I am not sure what it is on the underside of his face and around his head. It is a white-ish / grey color. Checking on the net, i am not sure if it is a fungus, or something else, i did find this post somewhere after much searching that is the closest description of what i think the betta has i have found so far:

Columnaris is not a "body fungus" ... it's a bacteria that presents as a greyish film that covers the entire body and may be more pronounced around the head.

while i was still searching for an accurate match on the web, my daughter just left me a message that his eye is looking much better, so i guess the paraguard is working.

I switched to Paraguard (gotta love Seachem, they make great stuff) because it is so much broader in its range of coverage, treating parasitic, bacterial, fungal, and viral according to their website.

Thanks for asking.......
 

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michaelg210

Medium Fish
#7
Jun 6, 2010
67
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#7
lauraf said:
How's the betta doing now?
Are you also using Seachem's Prime for your water changes?
Click to expand...
Ok, I finally got this figured out, but afraid from what I have read, it is possibly too late.
I am 99 percent sure what he has is known as Columnaris /Flexibacteria it is often mistaken as a fungus and is definitely not good.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/columnaris_disease.php
Columnaris Disease
Flippersandfins.net Flexibacter article
Aquamaniacs :: View article - The Dreaded Flexibacter - by Dr. Barb
Pale/White blotches on fish [Archive] - Aquaria Central
At any rate, instead of increasing the temp, I should be dropping it, to about 75 – 76.
I was wishing to treat with Seachem’s KanaPlex, but no one in town seems to stock it.
I ended up adding tetracycline to the water as this was all I was able to obtain.
pacpac2
02-18-2010, 10:29 AM
If it is columnaris, Kanamycin would be the best choice for an antibiotic. This disease will manifest rapidly and kill the fish within days if not treated quickly. Good luck! It is treatable though, and fish recover well. I think we have all had this problem at some time in our fish hobby life's.
There is so much conflicting information, but the above from pacpac2, which I just found trying to explain this disease, pretty much sums up what I believe after hours and I do mean hours of research.
I am not sure tetracycline is the best way to go, but if I did not start doing something tonight, I fear, it would be too late, best as I understand it.
 

lauraf

lauraf

Superstar Fish
#8
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
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0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#8
Ohhhh, no. Michael, I'm so sorry that I wasn't any help with diagnosing the problem, not that I thought I could be, other than the regular basics.
I hoped that someone with more experience with diseases would have chimed in here to help. Perhaps everyone was as stymied as you were initially. Good on you for doing all this research - it should be stickied on this forum for anyone else who finds they have the same issue.
Having read through those links, it sounds like your decision with the tetracycline is the best thing to do right now.
Fingers crossed for a recovery.
 

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michaelg210

Medium Fish
#9
Jun 6, 2010
67
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#9
i do not think it is columnaris, only a mild case would he have survived this disease, also don't think it is fungal, i understand fungus only grows on dead matter, dead cells, not really an issue here.... he does have a greyish matter which could be stress, age, normal discoloration, not really sure as i am no way an expert here.... also has some blackish area(s) now on the head one little round spot, one blemish or something.... not sure what to make of it, he is eating normally / behaving normally, i.e. not flashing... hoping someone with some expertise will reply..... if you know someone, please point them in this direction....thanks and regards.....

H20 perameters today am/ 0 nitRI 0 nitRA approximately 8 - 10, say closer to 10....

was wondering if someone could check some pics of my daughter's betta, some possible issueis, i.e. 1. a fin thing, 2. the grey matter, and now 3. some blackish matter.... please see link below, thanks
mjg
Giovanni 082410 pics pictures by michaelg210 - Photobucket
 

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