# Brown Spots on Betta



## Elsewhere (Dec 30, 2012)

So my Betta Pigg has a lot of brown spots covering him. I have in his tank 3 Otos and a Mystery Snail, but these have been with him since the end of August. I never really knew about fish sites until recently and have been posting about this on a couple, but so far no one knows what they are. They aren't hurting him, he has never had any lack of swimming problems or appetite problems, his name is Pigg for a reason (though I feed him only 4-6 pellets a day, 2 or 3 in the morning, 2 or 3 before bed). The Otos don't bug him and he doesn't bug them. I'm starting to give him a weekly pea, starting today, would that help? I know it isn't just a miscolouring because he didn't have this when I purchased him... Anyone know of something that it could be, something that could help make it go away?


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

Feeding a pea would not help this, and I suggest not feeding a pea for almost any reason. Please fill this out so we make sure we're not missing anything: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49233

Could you share photos of the progression of the spots, or at least what he looks like now?


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## Elsewhere (Dec 30, 2012)

Housing 
What size is your tank? 10g
What temperature is your tank? 81 degrees Fahrenheit 
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No, but one is available
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? 3 Otocinclus, one golden/yellow Mystery Snail

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?Aqueon Beta Food and there are Algae Wafers for the others
How often do you feed your betta fish? Today is fasting day, but usually 2 or pellets in the morning, 2 or 3 pellets when the aquarium lights go out

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? I try for weekly- I will be performing one tomorrow
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 10-40%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Aqueon Water Conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 
I have ordered a new testing kit as my mother accidentally threw mine out. It will be here next week (small town)

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He has brown spots on his body and a slight loss of colour, some redness on his face though that's always been there
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Not at all- he's perfectly the same
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Around August
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Not yet
Does your fish have any history of being ill? His tail was ripped by the filter two times, but I have since made it so he can't get at the filter by placing a large plastic plant in front of it.
How old is your fish (approximately)? 7-8 months

And my friend told me to maybe try some peas, I wasn't sure of her reasoning she just said that was good for them anyways. I have since gotten them out of the tank and I will be doing a water change and gravel cleaning tomorrow, but not the plants- I cleaned them just last week.


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

I see the brown spots and I think they're normal. The only thing I'm worried about are his fins. However I see a lot of brown/black/gray on the fins? I think you have a case of advanced fin rot on your hands, but if you could share some more photos, especially some good fin ones, that'd be be helpful so I make sure I'm right. Make sure there's no shadow casting and we can see actual colors you're seeing.

Peas are unnatural for bettas and they're really hard on their digestive tract. The only thing they're good for are in the cases of constipation and there are other better ways of handling it, imho. 

Plastic plants are usually too hard for bettas and tend to rip fins. Some are ok, though usually silk plants are suggested for this reason. You can test your plants and any ornaments in his tank by taking a pair of panty hose and thoroughly dragging them around the plants. If they catch at all they shouldn't be used with a betta.

If you're finding the filter intake is grabbing him, I suggest a prefilter sponge like this: http://www.amazon.com/Hagen-A1387-F...d=1356979654&sr=8-2&keywords=prefilter+sponge

A weekly water change of at least 20% is necessary to maintain water quality with your tank. Snails are very messy though and they may require more.. either a second change or maybe a larger 50% change, however having a good drops kit to test water quality will let you know for sure. If you haven't been doing this I'd do a series of 20%+ water changes over the course of the next few days - maybe 3 - to get the water quality under control, especially since you can't test the water at this point. Fin rot also usually happens only along with water quality problems, unless he's a biter which I don't see any evidence of.


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## Elsewhere (Dec 30, 2012)

These were taken literally five minutes ago... I never even considered fin rot... I feel so stupid!

I have tested all of the plants, they are all smooth and good for Bettas (according to the LFS owner, but I tested and decided for myself they were fine) and I am hoping in the new year to get some live plants, but it may be too much. 

I was actually considering getting him a sponge a while back because of this, and I will now look into it better, but it may not be for a couple of weeks because I was in my LFS today and there weren't many things like that (my LFS is just a pet store and they pretty much suck).

I can't do a water change today as my mother won't let me (I can hardly let her get me to do weekly changes, no matter what I say she hates them with a passion), but tomorrow is already scheduled in with her.


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

Sorry about your mom  Parents can be hard to train.

I guess do a really big water change tomorrow then.. You might want to point her to this thread as he definitely has some fin rot. Now some of it looks like blue? That should be normal, but you see all the fraying, shredded/thinning bits, especially at the tips? That's all rot. The gray belly may be his normal coloring or it could be a sign of stress.

It's not your fault if your mom isn't letting you take care of your boy but that's indicative of water quality issue.

Honestly, he needs to be removed from the tank water into something smaller you can keep warm. Either a separate smaller QT tank around 1-2 gallons with a heater, or by floating in the larger tank. To foat, something like a 2 gallon arcylic bowl filled half way works well. You'll need to do daily (or at least every other day) 100% water changes. Along with the water changes you will need to dose either aquarium salt, predissolved at 1 tsp per gallon, or get an antibiotic like Kanaplex, Maracyn Plus or Furan 2. His fins have no chance to heal without the clean water and he will need something, either salts or meds, to stop the rot before it can regrow. Also stress coat at 1 ml per 1 gallon can help with regrowing of fins. Once you see all regression stop and you see a little regrowth you'll know you're in the clear. It can take up to 2 weeks for this to happen.

With some clean water and time he should recover just fine, but somehow this does need to happen.


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## Elsewhere (Dec 30, 2012)

Would it be possible to do that in just the main tank? My QT is in use by a friend for her new fish and I can't get it back. I have one of those little Betta tanks, but it's a larger one, about a gallon, I could put him in though heating it may be an issue along with the tank size... I literally cannot spend any more money on them right now, as I just got them a new heater. My old one raised the temperature 4 degrees in a 10g- would that be could enough for one of those little ones? I feel terrible about not being so accommodating for him, but this is all I have to work with. I could possibly borrow a 5g from a friend, but it may take a while. What should I do?!


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## Elsewhere (Dec 30, 2012)

My other friend who's Betta died said I could use her 5g, her dad won't allow any more fish! What can I do in that one? I'm sorry for all of these complications and questions, I'm just really worried D:


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

How did your friend disinfect the 5g? You don't want to infect him with something else.. 

If you're sure it's thoroughly disinfected then Do you have a heater you could use in it? If so, I'd fill it half full.. measure it in gallon water jugs or whatever so know how much is in there.. 2.5 gallons.. use a heater and thermometer. Get it stable, and add him - acclimate slowly like I wrote about during any water change. You can treat in there with the extra water changes and try to get the salt..


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## Elsewhere (Dec 30, 2012)

She rinsed it and washed it with soap then rinsed again and let it sit in her sink for about a day. He died in October and was about three.

I do have a heater, it's not very good but it's a heater. I have no filter but I can use a bubble pump thing. Where can I purchase the salt from?

I was dreading telling my mother, and when I did she said "Well now you can get that cool looking Betta from the pet store", as I had mentioned an awesome half-moon I saw today -_- She really bothers me when it comes to my fish.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

I think the brown spots are normal- just a bit of "pineapple-ing". He definatly has fin rot (his tail in the third picture). Like callistra said, use aquarium salt. I would not do it in his normal tank because of the tank mates, they may be sensitive. I'm kind of shocked your mom won't let you do water changes. Honestly though, it's a life at risk vs making your mom mad. I bred bettas without my parents knowing once lol.


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## Elsewhere (Dec 30, 2012)

I feel so stressed out and useless- I can't do anything until Wednesday, all of the stores are closed. All I can do is set up his QT tank and even that feels like I'm hardly doing anything! I feel so bad for Pigg, he's my first Betta and I do really love him. Do you have any suggestions on what kinds of medications I can use on him and how I can prevent this from happening again or to my other fish?


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

It's ok! The fin rot isn't extreme yet, so it's ok until Wednesday if you do what you can. I would stick with aquarium salt, which you can buy at a pet store. The best prevention for fr is clean water.


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

Clean water does wonders for fin rot. Don't stress. Just get him in the clean water and he'll be ok until you can get meds or salt.

I like Seachem Kanaplex but it can be hard to find. You can buy it online and just keep it on hand.. if your mom will let you. Otherwise I like Maracyn Plus as it's a good broad spectrum. Furan 2 also is good for most things. All of these should treat that fin rot easily.

finrot happens with water that isn't cleaned often enough. Sometimes bettas can bite their fins or get snagged on things (like your filter) and that leaves them even more sensitive to the possibility of fin rot, but with really clean water fin rot doesn't happen.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

And I would be VERY cautious with a tank that was sanitized with soap. I would rinse it out like 20 times again and then re-sanitize it with boiling water.


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## Elsewhere (Dec 30, 2012)

Okay. Breathing deeply, my head has cleared. I just need to type this down for a third time so it sticks- pick up friend's aquarium, set up the QT tank, drive to every pet store in a 30 mile radius to ask for Aquarium Salt, do frequent water changes and add the salt appropriately. Do I add the water from my main aquarium to the QT or just fresh water or a mix of both? Tomorrow is also cleaning day for my main tank so I can have the water at the ready and just leave the gravel vaccuming for a couple of hours.


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

I missed the soap.. I don't know if I'd use that.. but if you do it needs to be rinsed like you think you're losing your mind.. glass should be okay if you rinse it well enough. Plastics can hold onto residue more. In the future, aquarium equipment can be cleaned by soaking 10-15 minutes in a 10% bleach solution or pure distilled white vinegar. Anything porous (like ornaments, plastic, ceramics, etc) should not be bleached because they can hold the bleach and release it over time back into the tank.


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## Elsewhere (Dec 30, 2012)

Okay, I'll write that one down- I'll also inform her for the future. That may have been what got my Mollies when I was nine... I always cleaned their tank with soap :/ After they died I didn't get any new Mollies until I was twelve and I never knew it was THAT bad. I have never used it on any of Pigg's tanks, though. Oi... So much to learn! Thank you so much Callistra and Matt- you guys may just have save my boy's life!


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## Juditko (Dec 28, 2012)

I'm new, too. So, Callistra, white vinegar is the recommended cleaner even for porous objects like silk plants? Just learning here. Thanks.


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