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Posts: 8
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Registered: Nov 2003

posted 02-03-2004 06:23 PM         

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Hello. My betta has that white fungus on him again. This time he is not eating either. I added extra stress coat to his water after changing it today. Do I need betta fix or something else? Also are marbles better for the bottom of his bowl. Right now I am using the clear glass pieces they sell. Thanks in advance.

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Posts: 501
From:Missouri
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-03-2004 08:40 PM         

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What size container is he in and how often do you change the water? Maroxy is good for fungal infections so you could try that.

-Chelle

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Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-03-2004 08:55 PM         

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Yup, without knowing whether the fungus is caused by columnaris or a true body fungus, it's difficult to recomment the ~best~ medicine. However since this is an unknown, maracyn would be your best bet.. I'll show you a matrix of what treats what below: Note that maracyn is the only med recommended for both.

As far as the substrate, since bettas are not diggers, it's really down to whatever you prefer.

Stress coat will not help in this case. It is simply a dechlorinator with aloe vera in it. There's no evidence done to suggest aloe vera aids in healing. It has no anti-fungal or anti-bacterial properties.

Columnaris (body fungus): Maracyn

Fungus (true fungus): MarOxy, Maracyn-two, Maracyn, tetracycline, tri-sulfa or Maracyn-plus.

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posted 02-03-2004 09:06 PM         

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64 oz of water and I change it every 10 days.

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From:Missouri
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-03-2004 09:14 PM         

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That's only about 1/2 a gallon. It will take no time for high/toxic levels of ammonia to build up in that so your betta most likely has a weakened immune system which is why he keeps getting infections. I suggest either doing water changes every other day or get him a bigger home (the ideal solution). 3 gallons or more should be good if you want to do water changes every 10 days.

-Chelle

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posted 02-03-2004 09:20 PM         

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He has been doing fine with every 7-10 days in the past. 3 gallons is quite a bit of water for 1 betta on a desk dont you think? Maybe I will start using bottled water after getting rid of this fungas.

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From:Missouri
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-03-2004 09:40 PM         

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No, I don't think it's too much. You indicated that he's had this infection in the past, so apparently he hasn't been doing fine. Get an ammonia test kit and try testing the water on day 5 or 7. I bet it's close to if not above 2ppm.

-Chelle

[This message has been edited by t_chelle16 (edited 02-03-2004).]

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posted 02-03-2004 09:42 PM         

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Here is a picture I just took of him!

[This message has been edited by soggy (edited 02-03-2004).]

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posted 02-04-2004 07:55 AM         

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Well he died this morning. Appears to have a lot of fuzz on him. He was a good fish very happy. I will try again with another.

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From:Canada
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 02-04-2004 10:23 AM         

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Hi soggy. In order to make sure your next betta doesn't meet a similar fate, I would recommend getting a 2-3 gallon tank. A betta doesn't need tons of room but they do like plant cover and a 1/2 gallon isn't really enough. A 2 gallon tank should sit on your desk quite nicely (I'm thinking of setting up a 5 gallon on mine) and you can even get them with little filters etc. If you do keep the 1/2 gallon I would recommend you do 100% water changes every few days (if you work Mon - Fri change it Mon. and Thurs.) The reason being is ammonia etc. can build up quite quickly in such a small volume that over time nitrates may even build up with partial changes. If you go with a little bigger tank (>2 gallons - even 1&1/2) partial changes (50%) on a regular basis should be sufficient.

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From:missouri, usa
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-04-2004 04:35 PM         

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Mine died today from the same thing.

"ick" is hard to treat.

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From:Dallas, Texas
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 02-04-2004 04:52 PM         

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All of my bettas are happy in 1 gallons or less. No diseases or anything. I only have females in less than a gallon though, as the males need the whole gallon.

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posted 02-04-2004 05:25 PM         

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I wouldn't say it's hard to treat - in fact, provided you get accurate information and ACT QUICKLY, you should be allright almost all the time. The trick to NOT getting it is to make a habit of quarantining new fish when purchased. Often times the LFS shares the water between multiple tanks - so even though your fish may not show signs, another may. And how many of us are guilty of dumping the water in without thinking!

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From:british columbia
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-05-2004 08:59 AM         

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did u clean the rocks before you put them in the bowl or anything else in that you may have recently put in?you might want to try letting some new water set for a few days and cleaning all of the things in his bowl under HOT water. then after the water has set , replace all the old water in it. if its room temperature and then just put the betta in the new cleaned tank. then continue to put medicine stuff in it. good luck

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