Hi everyone,
I've been having issues with my 1 year old female betta. She's got this weird white fuzz or flaky fungus thing going on, mainly on her head. It started about a month ago. We treated her with primafix at first and it cleared up, but then it came back even worse about a week later. She's not as active as usual, but she's still eating fine and can swim to the top and bottom of the tank no problem. She's in a 10 gallon tank with a few endless neptunes and loaches. I'll attach a photo, hoping someone can help me figure out what's going on with her.
identifying a mysterious fungal or bacterial infection
Re: identifying a mysterious fungal or bacterial infection
It resembles ich in some ways, but I'm quite certain that's not what it is.
Re: identifying a mysterious fungal or bacterial infection
Hi and welcome to the forum, I'm glad you're here seeking help for your betta.
First things first, let's get your tank in order - I'd recommend checking your water quality and doing a 75% water change along with a good gravel cleaning of the substrate. If you haven't cleaned your filter in the last two weeks, now's the time to do it - just make sure to wash the filter materials in a bucket of tank water.
I've got to advise against using pimafix and melafix, as I've found they can leave an oily film on the surface that can cause your fish to struggle breathing - although if you've got good aeration and surface turbulence, it's less of an issue.
Assuming your water's good, your substrate and filter are clean, and the temperature's correct, I'd suggest getting a broad-spectrum fish medication that treats fungus, bacteria, and protozoan infections and treating the tank. To work out the volume of water in the tank, just measure the length, width, and height in cm, divide by 1000, and you'll get the volume in litres - don't forget to measure the height from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.
We've got a handy calculator in the "How To Tips" section at the top of this page that'll let you convert litres to gallons if you need it. Before treating, remove the carbon from the filter - it'll just adsorb the medication and stop it working. Give the inside of the glass a good wipe down with a clean fish sponge, do that 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate, and make sure any new water is free of chlorine and chloramine.
One last thing, when you're using medications, make sure to increase the surface turbulence and aeration - they can reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.
First things first, let's get your tank in order - I'd recommend checking your water quality and doing a 75% water change along with a good gravel cleaning of the substrate. If you haven't cleaned your filter in the last two weeks, now's the time to do it - just make sure to wash the filter materials in a bucket of tank water.
I've got to advise against using pimafix and melafix, as I've found they can leave an oily film on the surface that can cause your fish to struggle breathing - although if you've got good aeration and surface turbulence, it's less of an issue.
Assuming your water's good, your substrate and filter are clean, and the temperature's correct, I'd suggest getting a broad-spectrum fish medication that treats fungus, bacteria, and protozoan infections and treating the tank. To work out the volume of water in the tank, just measure the length, width, and height in cm, divide by 1000, and you'll get the volume in litres - don't forget to measure the height from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.
We've got a handy calculator in the "How To Tips" section at the top of this page that'll let you convert litres to gallons if you need it. Before treating, remove the carbon from the filter - it'll just adsorb the medication and stop it working. Give the inside of the glass a good wipe down with a clean fish sponge, do that 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate, and make sure any new water is free of chlorine and chloramine.
One last thing, when you're using medications, make sure to increase the surface turbulence and aeration - they can reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.