# White spot near anus and other things.



## HPark (May 20, 2018)

Hi,

I am a Betta novice. I noticed something odd after a significant tank cleaning. 

She developed a white spot around what I later learned was her anus. (Yeah I'm a novice.) She also would have a long "worm like thing" coming from her anus. I am wondering if this is just poop. It is in the picture. This happens more than once. There is always only one and it might get what I would guess to be 1/4 of an inch long before it finally falls off. It doesn't move and just goes to the bottom of the tank. The white thing remains. This began about a week ago.

You can see this in the pictures. 

I must explain when this started. It started after I returned her to the tank after an overdue water change. The water change was over due by three to four weeks. For reasons that aren't relevant I screwed up a vacuuming gravel water change so this long over due water change turned into my completely replacing the water. The Betta was in a small container for just over a day while the I conditioned and got the water up to temperature.

The white spot, as in the picture, is not a flat spot on the skin. It is like a little "egg like" or "pebble like" thing in the relative size you see in the picture.

Being novice, seeing the white spot (Ich I thought), and seeing that the gold might be velvet, I began treating with MetroPlex Marine and Freshwater medication. It contains metronidazole. I've only been doing that for three days.

Any ideas about the white thing?
Are the white tips on the fins (see pictures) of concern?
Is the gold coloring possibly velvet or just normal?


Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? *3.5 gallons*
Does it have a filter? *simple carbon filter*
Does it have a heater? *simple heater but not temperature controlled.*
What temperature is your tank? 
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? *no but i assume the filter recirculator does a bit. *
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? *No. She is alone.*

Food:
What food brand do you use? *Top Fin Betta Bits*
Do you feed flakes or pellets? *pellets*
Freeze-dried? *No*
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? *three pellets usually. twice a day*

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? *once monthly except this time. see above. *
What percentage of water did you change? *about 1/3*
What is the source of your water? *Tap. *
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? *vacuumed gravel see explanation above.*
What additives do you use? What brand of conditioner? *Top Fin water conditioner*

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water *before* the regular water change; not after one. 
Ammonia: *No testing *
Nitrite: *No testing *
Nitrate: *No testing *
pH: *No testing *
Hardness (GH): *No testing *
Alkalinity (KH): *No testing *

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? *After returning her to the tank after the water change described above.*
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? 
*White spot near anus and is the pink hing poop? See explanation above.*
*Are the white tips on the fin in the pictures of concern?*
*Is the gold color on the fins possibly velvet?*

How has your Betta’s behavior changed? * Not really at all.*
Is your Betta still eating? *Yes. Normal*
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? *MetroPlex Marine and Freshwater medication. It contains metronidazole. See explanation above.*
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? *No.*
How long have you owned your Betta? *Since January. 4 months.*
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? *No. *


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## GazHMPK (May 7, 2018)

The white spot is just a egg spot for spawning if the betta is a female, male betta can also have one sometime. It's really hard to tell what that worm thing is as the photo isn't clear enough but could just be poop.

Also on a side note. Doing water change once a month isn't good enough, should be doing it once or twice a week depending on size of tank and what's in it.


Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Welcome to the Forum! :wave:

GazHMPK is correct: You need to do at least one or two water changes per week. The most important thing to keeping Betta healthy is clean water.

Get an Ammonia Test kit and do a 25% water change when the test registers .25ppm Ammonia. A Master test kit would be better as it measures Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates. But if one isn't in the budget just the liquid Ammonia test will suffice. And don't get strips; not because they aren't accurate but because you get more bang for your buck with liquid tests.


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