growth of betta white

[rhythmbird]

Hi,

I'm new here and hoping for some guidance with my Betta. He had a rough start in life and now has this large white streak on his underside. I'm not sure what to make of it. I've been doing more frequent water changes - every 5-7 days in his 2.5g tank. I also tried an aquarium salt treatment for 5 days, 1tsp a day with 50% water change daily. After that, I did two rounds of Jungle fungus clear, but it doesn't seem to be working, maybe even getting worse. He's eating fine and behaving mostly normal, just this streak is worrying me.

Can anyone offer some advice? Thanks.

Dan

[coltin]

Hi Dan, welcome to the forum. I've got a few questions to help you out. For the aquarium salt treatment, I'm assuming you used a teaspoon, but just to clarify, did you use a teaspoon or a tablespoon?

When treating with salt, the recommended dosage is 1 to 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres of tank water. I'd suggest keeping the salt in the tank for 2 weeks to see if it makes a difference.

Also, it'd be great if you could post some more pictures of your Betta's white streak. This will help us get a better understanding of what's going on.

[rhythmbird]

Hi Colin,

Thanks for the reply. I was following the directions on the API flour, which said 1/2 teaspoon per gallon. Since my tank is 2.5g, I figured 1 teaspoon would be a safe bet, considering the gravel and ornaments take up some space.

I had found a regimen online that involved adding a teaspoon on day 1, then doing a 50% water change on day 2 and adding another teaspoon, and so on for 5 days. This was supposed to gradually increase the salinity, followed by a second 5 days of just water changes to remove the salt. I'm not sure if this was the right approach, but I thought it was worth a shot.

I'm open to trying your method, though - adding the salt and waiting two weeks. Do you think it's a fungus issue?

[rhythmbird]

Hi,

I'm new here and hoping for some guidance with my Betta. He had a rough start in life and now has this large white streak on his underside. I'm not sure what to make of it. I've been doing more frequent water changes - every 5-7 days in his 2.5g tank. I also tried an aquarium salt treatment for 5 days, 1tsp a day with 50% water change daily. After that, I did two rounds of Jungle fungus clear, but it doesn't seem to be working, maybe even getting worse. He's eating fine and behaving mostly normal, just this streak is worrying me.

Can anyone offer some advice? Thanks.

Dan

Hi Colin,

Thanks for the response. I was following the directions on the API product I have - it said 1/2 teaspoon per gallon. With my 2.5g tank, I figured 1 teaspoon was the right amount, considering the gravel and ornaments take up some space.

I recall finding a treatment plan that suggested adding a teaspoon on day one, then doing a 50% water change on day two and adding another teaspoon. This pattern continued for five days, gradually increasing the salinity. After that, it was five more days of just water changes to remove the salt.

I might consider trying your approach - adding the salt and waiting two weeks. Do you think it's a fungal infection?

[coltin]

It's a bit tough to pinpoint exactly what's going on with your Betta, Dan. Based on the last picture you posted, I'm inclined to think it might be a fungal infection, and salt could be the way to go. I'd recommend disregarding the instructions on the salt packet, to be honest.

If you don't see any improvement after a week with the salt treatment, please post some more pictures and we can take another look.

Before adding the salt, make sure to wipe down the inside of the glass with a clean fish sponge. Then, do a 75% water change and clean the substrate. After that, you can add the salt. For the next two weeks, do a 75% water change and clean the substrate every day. This will help reduce disease organisms in the water and keep the ammonia levels down while the filter recovers. Just make sure any new water is free of chlorine or chloramine before adding it to the tank.

Also, keep in mind that when using salt or medications, you'll want to increase surface turbulence and aeration since they can reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

To treat your Betta, you can use rock salt, sea salt, or swimming pool salt at a dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If you don't see any improvement after 48 hours, you can double the dose rate to 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres. For fish like Bettas, it's best to stick to the lower dose rate to avoid any potential kidney damage.

Keep the salt level consistent for at least 2 weeks, but no longer than 4 weeks. Once you're done with the salt treatment, you can start doing 10% water changes every day for a week using fresh, dechlorinated water. Then, you can move on to 20% water changes for a week, and eventually, you can do bigger water changes. This will help dilute the salt out of the tank slowly and minimize stress on your Betta.

When doing water changes while using salt, just make sure to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable and reduce stress on your fish.

[rhythmbird]

Hi Dan, welcome to the forum. I've got a few questions to help you out. For the aquarium salt treatment, I'm assuming you used a teaspoon, but just to clarify, did you use a teaspoon or a tablespoon?

When treating with salt, the recommended dosage is 1 to 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres of tank water. I'd suggest keeping the salt in the tank for 2 weeks to see if it makes a difference.

Also, it'd be great if you could post some more pictures of your Betta's white streak. This will help us get a better understanding of what's going on.

Thanks for the detailed advice. I appreciate your help in figuring out what's going on with my Betta. I'll try the salt treatment as you suggested. I hadn't considered the possibility of a protozoan infection, so I'll keep that in mind.

You're right, if it was a fungal infection, I would have expected the Jungle fungus cure to have made some improvement by now. I'm still not entirely sure what I'm dealing with, but I'm hoping the salt treatment will help.

The white streak on his underside is definitely a growth, rather than just a discoloration. It's not fluffy or cottony like some pictures of fungus I've seen, but it's definitely something that shouldn't be there. I'll keep a close eye on him and see how he responds to the treatment.

[Giggletons]

Hi,

I'm new here and hoping for some guidance with my Betta. He had a rough start in life and now has this large white streak on his underside. I'm not sure what to make of it. I've been doing more frequent water changes - every 5-7 days in his 2.5g tank. I also tried an aquarium salt treatment for 5 days, 1tsp a day with 50% water change daily. After that, I did two rounds of Jungle fungus clear, but it doesn't seem to be working, maybe even getting worse. He's eating fine and behaving mostly normal, just this streak is worrying me.

Can anyone offer some advice? Thanks.

Dan

After you've tried the salt treatment and hopefully seen some improvement, I think it'd be a great idea to consider upgrading to a 5-gallon tank. It'll give your Betta a lot more space to swim around and be happy. Plus, a bigger tank is generally easier to take care of, which is a win-win for you and your fish.

[coltin]

Thanks for the additional info, I'll give the higher dose rate of salt a try. I was hoping the Jungle fungus cure would've done the trick, but I guess it's not as effective against certain types of fungus. I hadn't considered the possibility of protozoan, so I'm glad we're exploring that option as well.

[rhythmbird]

Hi,

I'm new here and hoping for some guidance with my Betta. He had a rough start in life and now has this large white streak on his underside. I'm not sure what to make of it. I've been doing more frequent water changes - every 5-7 days in his 2.5g tank. I also tried an aquarium salt treatment for 5 days, 1tsp a day with 50% water change daily. After that, I did two rounds of Jungle fungus clear, but it doesn't seem to be working, maybe even getting worse. He's eating fine and behaving mostly normal, just this streak is worrying me.

Can anyone offer some advice? Thanks.

Dan

After you've tried the salt treatment and hopefully seen some improvement, I think it'd be a great idea to consider upgrading to a 5-gallon tank. It'll give your Betta a lot more space to swim around and be happy. Plus, a bigger tank is generally easier to take care of, which is a win-win for you and your fish.

We'll be upgrading to a bigger tank soon, when we move to a new place, and I think that'll be really beneficial for my Betta.

[northman]

I'm worried that your Betta's tank is just too small, it's probably stressing him out and making him sick. Ammonia can build up really fast in a tiny tank like that, and the temperature can get all over the place.