Please help my betta! I did a water change yesterday. Nitrate was at 10 ppm before the water change and all other levels were zero. She lives in a 5 gallon, cycled tank with one mystery snail. She has a big bump behind her fin. Her fin and gills on the one side of her body stick out awkwardly. The bump is pink, like the rest of her body. She can still move her fin, but she can't move it too much. She seems to be breathing normally. I think the gills are just sticking out on the one side because her fin is sticking out. Should I use salt? What type of disease do you think it is? Could it be a tumor? I'm really upset. She is hiding behind her clay pots and she struggles a little to swim. I can't get a picture because she's hiding. She eats a diet of freeze-dried bloodworms, spirulina pellets, shrimp pellets and occasionally a tiny bit of algae wafer (she mooches off of the mystery snail in her tank). Please help me; I'm so worried.
Betta with lump-urgent!
- Thread starter littletankbigworld
- Start date
This is what nippyfish told me:
A: Most betta illnesses can be easily identified but occasionally I get one that really stumps me. The Nippyfish reader above sent in this photo of her betta showing an unusual lump on his head with specs of white. I have speculated that it could be a tumor or perhaps a parasitic infestation of some sort. Despite what you may read on some websites, tumors are not very common among bettas. Most of the time lumps can be attributed to constipation or fluid retention which is commonly misdiagnosed as a tumor. This, however, is neither of those. The white specs are also unusual, which makes me think it could be parasites. Is it possible the lump is filled with some sort of bug which we are seeing poking through the scales? Perhaps gill flukes? It does appear to be near the gills but it is hard to tell if it is an infection of the gills specifically. Could the white we are seeing be the result of slime coat build up from the salt baths? I am just tossing out ideas because truthfully I don’t really know what has caused this. I’d love to hear our readers’ thoughts and ideas as well. Have any of you seen this in your fish?
A: Most betta illnesses can be easily identified but occasionally I get one that really stumps me. The Nippyfish reader above sent in this photo of her betta showing an unusual lump on his head with specs of white. I have speculated that it could be a tumor or perhaps a parasitic infestation of some sort. Despite what you may read on some websites, tumors are not very common among bettas. Most of the time lumps can be attributed to constipation or fluid retention which is commonly misdiagnosed as a tumor. This, however, is neither of those. The white specs are also unusual, which makes me think it could be parasites. Is it possible the lump is filled with some sort of bug which we are seeing poking through the scales? Perhaps gill flukes? It does appear to be near the gills but it is hard to tell if it is an infection of the gills specifically. Could the white we are seeing be the result of slime coat build up from the salt baths? I am just tossing out ideas because truthfully I don’t really know what has caused this. I’d love to hear our readers’ thoughts and ideas as well. Have any of you seen this in your fish?
It's a new lump. I check my fish every day and I just noticed it this evening when I came home. I do not soak the blood worms. I did not feed her today because I was worried it would make the lump worse. Yesterday, I'm fairly certain she ate Hikari Betta Bio-Orb Gold. I forgot to mention that in the list of foods she eats.
She also looks like she's been mooching algae wafers from the snail, since her belly is tinted green.
Can I add the normal dosage of aquarium salt to the tank? I'm afraid to add any medication. I currently have salt, Melafix, and an organic parasite treatment.
She also looks like she's been mooching algae wafers from the snail, since her belly is tinted green.
Can I add the normal dosage of aquarium salt to the tank? I'm afraid to add any medication. I currently have salt, Melafix, and an organic parasite treatment.
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Hrm...So you say the lump isn't ON/IN her belly, but BY her belly? I'm stumped. Especially with it showing up that quickly. I'm inclined to think it's a parasite in the intestine because of the location and how quickly it showed up.
This might help a bit:
Fish Internal Parasites | Healthy Betta
This might help a bit:
Fish Internal Parasites | Healthy Betta
You know the fins on the sides of the betta?
It is directly behind her one fin. Her belly looks normal except for this pimple.
edit:
It is a bit on her belly, now that I really look at it. It's just in a very awkward spot as it's behind her fin. Hopefully she makes it through the night and I can take a good picture for tomorrow.
It is directly behind her one fin. Her belly looks normal except for this pimple.
edit:
It is a bit on her belly, now that I really look at it. It's just in a very awkward spot as it's behind her fin. Hopefully she makes it through the night and I can take a good picture for tomorrow.
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