# Beta seems to have a white hole in his side.



## Blizz127 (Sep 28, 2012)

Housing 
What size is your tank? 1 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 73ish
Does your tank have a filter?yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? no
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Bettamin
How often do you feed your betta fish? once a day

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 60% sometimes full
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? just skin care

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? no

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He has a big grey spot with a "hole"in his side near the fin.

How has your betta fish's behavior changed? he hasn't eaten and hides away near the bototm of the tank

When did you start noticing the symptoms? a few days ago but i noticed the hole today

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I need to add salt but adding some more skin protectant and healing
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no.

How old is your fish (approximately)? 1 year


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## Alcemistnv (Jan 29, 2012)

YIKES.

All I can tell you is that the basic care is off. With a 1 gallon you should be doing at least two 100% water changes a week (I believe it is) and the tank temperature needs to be on average high 70's to low 80's.

Do you have anything sharp in the tank he got snagged on?


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## Blizz127 (Sep 28, 2012)

Yea i think he snagged on this spongebob pineapple. I just finished a water change and came back and saw the pineapple tipped over and he was under it so i'm not sure if that was the cause. I feel that might be the case but he has been acting lethargic for a few days and i noticed the cuts. Hopefully he will jsut heal he is a great fish but i'm unsure how to proceed. Besides changing water more often. Temps seem fine basically at room temp.


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

If you count water displaced by ornaments, that tank is probably only holding 3/4ths of a gallon - and even without the ornaments, it's way to small to be getting changed once a week - glad you're doing more now, it'll only help him heal. Your water's too cold, though, and this will _not_ help him. 

Crossing your fingers is a good idea, if you aren't intending to medicate. That wound looks nasty and is probably badly infected. His immune system will be run down from inadequate heat and ammonia exposure from those once a week changes he was getting. I would recommend a broad spectrum antibiotic like Kanaplex, Furan-2 or (as a last option) Marcyn 1 -and- 2 (these are better when used at the beginning of a problem, by late stages not so much..), which you'd find easier to administer in a larger tank. However, it's possible in a 1-gallon, if you adjust the dose properly for a tank that size and be careful not to overdose. 

I would not mess around here, I would get him on some proper medication to deal with that wound and what looks like an advancing opportunistic infection.


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## Blizz127 (Sep 28, 2012)

Thanks folks. He passed while I was at work today. Unsurprisingly. I feel pretty bad because I wish i had noticed it earlier, and now my GF is going to murder me. I guess I have to find a replacement but get a bigger tank for the next one. It's a shame since he has been around over a year and always came up to the tank edge to say hi.


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

I'm sorry your little guy lost the fight. They really are lovely fish, and very easy to get attached to.

Please make getting an adjustable heater (so you can keep it at 78F) for your new tank a major priority, and some good quality high protein food. These, with regular water changes (in your bigger tank), will hopefully mean your next fish will stay healthy (but no guarantees there, sadly - sometimes sh*t just happens to the best-kept tanks, but why tempt fate, you know?).


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