I brought Schill, one of my bettas, home from the pet store where I work a couple months ago because I saw that he had a small cyst and his ventral fins were white at the tips; he looked like he had some things wrong with him, in short, but I liked him and wanted him to be well cared for--- and not in one of those miniscule cups--- in the short time that he had left.
As I said, that was a couple months ago at least, and he's been one of my happiest and healthiest fish since then. I call him Big Boy because he's such a trooper, and can be a pig (at some point he lost his taste for freeze dried worms AND Bio-Gold pellets, but I've gotten him quite enthusiastic for BettaMin "Vibrant Blend" and he gulps that down now with relish).
Anyhow, over time the cyst has indeed grown, and his ventral fins have stayed the color they were when I got him: blue about halfway down, and then white. I read early on that many cysts are benign and fairly common in bettas, so I haven't treated him for it and you'd never know until recently that he had a growth the size of his head on the side of his body. Then again, it wasn't that big until recently.
Just in the past couple of days, though, I've noticed that the scales on top of the cyst look pink, as if it's rupturing from underneath; today the pink area is larger than it was yesterday. I've also noticed that Schill hasn't been swimming around the tank as much as usual, and when he does he looks a little off-balance (and no wonder--- look at the size of that thing!) Mostly he's seemed rather listless and has been hanging around in the corner of his tank at the surface with his fins down; sometimes he's only beating the water with one of his pectoral fins.
I'd think that if the cyst were malignant, it would have taken him by now/over the past couple months, since it's been growing. His appetite has almost always been good though, and he's always been active and alert. There was a pleco who appeared to have died of a terrible bacterial infection in the tank (he died within the last week) and I've taken the filter cartridge out but left it running and have been treating the tank with Melafix since then (explains the cloudiness of the water); yesterday one of the two snails died and the other is at the bottom not looking too lively himself. Does the cyst look like any that are usually malignant, or is the sheer size simply taking its toll on Schill now? Could it be that the Melafix is forcing the cyst to the surface? I've read of an experience where someone's betta had a large cyst-like growth which came to the surface and ruptured, smelled awful, but left the fish just as healthy as ever; this person said you would never know anything had happened.
I apologize for the length (I can't seem to keep these short), but if anyone would care to take a look at my pictures and weigh in, I'd greatly appreciate it.
As I said, that was a couple months ago at least, and he's been one of my happiest and healthiest fish since then. I call him Big Boy because he's such a trooper, and can be a pig (at some point he lost his taste for freeze dried worms AND Bio-Gold pellets, but I've gotten him quite enthusiastic for BettaMin "Vibrant Blend" and he gulps that down now with relish).
Anyhow, over time the cyst has indeed grown, and his ventral fins have stayed the color they were when I got him: blue about halfway down, and then white. I read early on that many cysts are benign and fairly common in bettas, so I haven't treated him for it and you'd never know until recently that he had a growth the size of his head on the side of his body. Then again, it wasn't that big until recently.
Just in the past couple of days, though, I've noticed that the scales on top of the cyst look pink, as if it's rupturing from underneath; today the pink area is larger than it was yesterday. I've also noticed that Schill hasn't been swimming around the tank as much as usual, and when he does he looks a little off-balance (and no wonder--- look at the size of that thing!) Mostly he's seemed rather listless and has been hanging around in the corner of his tank at the surface with his fins down; sometimes he's only beating the water with one of his pectoral fins.
I'd think that if the cyst were malignant, it would have taken him by now/over the past couple months, since it's been growing. His appetite has almost always been good though, and he's always been active and alert. There was a pleco who appeared to have died of a terrible bacterial infection in the tank (he died within the last week) and I've taken the filter cartridge out but left it running and have been treating the tank with Melafix since then (explains the cloudiness of the water); yesterday one of the two snails died and the other is at the bottom not looking too lively himself. Does the cyst look like any that are usually malignant, or is the sheer size simply taking its toll on Schill now? Could it be that the Melafix is forcing the cyst to the surface? I've read of an experience where someone's betta had a large cyst-like growth which came to the surface and ruptured, smelled awful, but left the fish just as healthy as ever; this person said you would never know anything had happened.
I apologize for the length (I can't seem to keep these short), but if anyone would care to take a look at my pictures and weigh in, I'd greatly appreciate it.