Hi, fish folk,
Info on my fish/tank:
I have a blue & black betta (Fezzik
) whom I recently established in a 2 1/2 gallon tank with a bio-whisper filter after being in a 1/2 gallon betta starter kit for more than a year. He also got two mystery snails as tank mates with his bigger home (Yip Yip and Zippy). I am very diligent about appropriate water changes, not overfeeding, etc. I don't have a heater for his tank, though (my apartment is very warm) and his tank temp. fluctuates between 68-74 degrees usually. I suspect this fluctuation has been too severe for him and is the most likely cause of his problem?
The Problem:
Fezzik has these whitish grey smears growing on his body -- they started off about the size of a scale, but cover larger areas now, including a semi-circle around the base of his dorsal fin. They don't appear crystalline or cottony, but it may be too early for them to have formed above the scales? It looks most like the picture in the Fungal Diseases section if you scroll down on: betta diseases.
Some history:
Fezzik had a similar problem months back, although he also had fin rot on his dorsal fin at the same time. I was able to finally successfully treat with two rounds of Betta Fix and aquarium salt (the first round did nothing), with a brief bout of some Nox-Ich in between, that I promptly discontinued. What was weird was that right after he got better, his scales became translucent where the disease had been, and he had a yellowish/clear band around his "shoulder" area for months, and his ventral fin turned red (dorsal fin grew back fine, though). Then a few weeks ago, all of a sudden, his scales came back in blue and black over the course of a few days! These spots appeared about 3 days ago.
My questions:
How best do I treat and prevent the problem of the spots? Most importantly, how do I not poison my snails when I do -- how do I know which treatments won't harm them? I can't use aquarium salt now -- should I isolate my betta back in his old 1/2 gallon tank and treat with aquarium salt? If so, how can I reintroduce him to the community tank without accidentally salinating the water?
Thanks so much for your help!
Info on my fish/tank:
I have a blue & black betta (Fezzik
) whom I recently established in a 2 1/2 gallon tank with a bio-whisper filter after being in a 1/2 gallon betta starter kit for more than a year. He also got two mystery snails as tank mates with his bigger home (Yip Yip and Zippy). I am very diligent about appropriate water changes, not overfeeding, etc. I don't have a heater for his tank, though (my apartment is very warm) and his tank temp. fluctuates between 68-74 degrees usually. I suspect this fluctuation has been too severe for him and is the most likely cause of his problem? The Problem:
Fezzik has these whitish grey smears growing on his body -- they started off about the size of a scale, but cover larger areas now, including a semi-circle around the base of his dorsal fin. They don't appear crystalline or cottony, but it may be too early for them to have formed above the scales? It looks most like the picture in the Fungal Diseases section if you scroll down on: betta diseases.
Some history:
Fezzik had a similar problem months back, although he also had fin rot on his dorsal fin at the same time. I was able to finally successfully treat with two rounds of Betta Fix and aquarium salt (the first round did nothing), with a brief bout of some Nox-Ich in between, that I promptly discontinued. What was weird was that right after he got better, his scales became translucent where the disease had been, and he had a yellowish/clear band around his "shoulder" area for months, and his ventral fin turned red (dorsal fin grew back fine, though). Then a few weeks ago, all of a sudden, his scales came back in blue and black over the course of a few days! These spots appeared about 3 days ago.
My questions:
How best do I treat and prevent the problem of the spots? Most importantly, how do I not poison my snails when I do -- how do I know which treatments won't harm them? I can't use aquarium salt now -- should I isolate my betta back in his old 1/2 gallon tank and treat with aquarium salt? If so, how can I reintroduce him to the community tank without accidentally salinating the water?
Thanks so much for your help!
