# White Mouth?



## fefe76 (Jun 9, 2012)

We have had a crowntail Betta since Feb and he seems to be living up to his name "Drama". He has scared us silly with what I think is swimbladder twice now but this morning he looks like he is "going gray". He has a white mustache and the area where his tail starts on top is turning white too. I tried to research this but have seen nothing mentioning tails losing color. We recently put a new leaf bed in his tank, otherwise nothing has changed. Can someone help? Is this mouth fungus? He seems to be eating fine but swims funny, like he can't go down without floating back to the top. I have removed him from his normal tank and put him in a small tupperware with fresh water.


 
Quote:
Housing 
What size is your tank? 3 gallons
What temperature is your tank? ? has a heater but I dont think it gets the water as warm as recommended. 
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?
none
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? alternates dried bloodworms, BettaMin tropical medley and color enhancing betta bits
How often do you feed your betta fish? 1-2 daily (have dropped to once daily since his swimbladder issues)

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 30-50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Conditioner

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? white around upper mouth, mouth looks swollen, top fin is turning white
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? seems to have trouble swimming towards the bottom, floats to the top. 
When did you start noticing the symptoms? this morning
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? removed from tank iinto smaller bowl with fresh water (tank is ready to be cleaned)
Does your fish have any history of being ill? believe he has had swimbladder 
How old is your fish (approximately)? not sure purchases in Feb.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

what color is he?


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

Is this white stuff a bit fuzzy-looking? If you could manage some pictures, that would be a help in figuring out what the issue is.


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## fefe76 (Jun 9, 2012)

teal with red highlights


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## fefe76 (Jun 9, 2012)

not really fuzzy. The tail part is not fuzzy at all, just looks like the color is leaving. I will get a pic on asap.


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

If it's fuzzy at all, it could be columnaris.. the swollen mouth really suggests it, along with the white patches. If they're not 'fuzzy', do they stand a bit off the skin? Or do they seem to be totally flush with it, part of the skin coloring rather than something sitting on top?


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

hmmm if its more bluey, it might be the mystery disease...or you have a marble, pictures will help immensly.


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## fefe76 (Jun 9, 2012)

*Pics*

I am including some pics, they are not the best I can't seem to capture the discoloring. Hope this helps. I have also removed him from his normal tank which means he is without his heater, should I put him back?


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

That patch on his back look a bit like a sore.. like skin missing. To me this looks a whole lot like classic columnaris. But I'd like a few more opinions before linking/discussing treatment..

Yes, give him his heater. But as columnaris thrives in heat turn it down a bit to 74 or so, which is the low end of comfort for bettas.. but IF it is columnaris, it'll slow the progress of the disease. If not, then he won't be too cold, just a little bit less warm than usual.


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## fefe76 (Jun 9, 2012)

Would a sore accompany the columnaris? It doesn't appear to have any disruption on the skin, it is really just discolored and came about at the same time. Is columnaris the same as the "white mouth" that is mentioned on some blogs?


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

It's hard to see, even though the pic are pretty clear - the spot on his back looks pinkish, which could be raw skin OR complete loss of pigment (must admit, I have no clue what would cause that in a betta of that colouring, so pigment loss may be possible..) But then, he's acting poorly too..

Columnaris does create sores, specifically in a 'saddle' like shape on the spine (like your guy's discoloration..) and white patches on the face also, as well as mouth ulceration.. yup, same disease as 'cotton mouth' - it manifests differently depending on what strain it is. One strain kills very very quickly.. The other isn't so bad as it's slower and generally responds to treatments. 

I can't see any of the classic fuzziness, though... which I is why I'm reserving saying it IS columnaris. Perhaps there's members who've seen this sort of pigment loss before..


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

If he's acting completely normal, he probably is just marbling, give it a day or two.


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

Ahh~ I haven't ever seen marbling on a fish that colour but ofc it could be.. I hope that's what it is! The OP said he was acting poorly as well, is all.. perhaps it's a completely different issue.


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

This might be what's going on with his colour: http://bettysplendens.com/articles/page.imp?articleid=1114

That was a real eye-opener! I do hope this is what's happening with your fish..

Sorry if I gave you a fright with talk of columnaris - just, it's a very fast-moving disease so if it was that, quick treatment would be in order so it was worth asking about. Looking at his fin discoloration again, I'd say he is indeed marbling. Learn something new every day! Cheers, aokashi.


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