# Help! Betta Gill Damage and Scale Discoloration



## mnt16 (Dec 28, 2020)

Hi there. Below, I have filled out the form I saw on another post in this forum. I’m new to forums in general so please bear with me if I format something incorrectly.

I have a male dumbo betta named Gajah who, unfortunately, isn’t doing so well. I’m nowhere near an expert on fish keeping, just really getting into the hobby. I’m definitely open to advice if I need to improve anything that’s highlighted by this post, even if it hasn’t contributed to these issues. I want Gajah to be happy and healthy, afterall.

For a while, Gajah has had a lump and a sore-looking patch on his left side right around his gill. After some googling, I believe it’s gill hyperplasia and a tumour, likely caused by poor water quality (I am since keeping on top of his water a lot more and deeply regret letting it get away from me). I started treating him with an aquarium salt dip once a day, in two half-gallon containers, one dosed properly with salt and the other only a quarter full of salt water, with the rest being his tank water. I let him sit in the salt water for 5-8 minutes, then the less salty water for 2-3 minutes before putting him back in his tank. I did this for a few days in a row and haven’t for a few days since, simply due to a lack of time. He seemed to be improving, though. He became slightly more active and for a moment, I thought I noticed some physical improvements too.

Yesterday, though, he slotted himself under the filter for a lot longer than usual (he has some room under there and can usually be found hiding there or among the plants). He didn’t come out at feeding time, either. Tonight, I found him lying on the bottom of the tank but not under the filter. I had to toss the food in a little harder to allow it to sink for him to even notice that it was there. He did eat some, and swam up to the top for a moment, but quickly went back into hiding. I’m worried that this is a sign of something going very wrong.

I’m also concerned about the state of his fins and scales. His tail seems to have very prominent veins running through it. I know that in goldfish, this is a sign of stress, and maybe that applies here too, but I’m just not sure. His scales, I’m entirely stumped on.

I’ve attached some photos that I managed to capture tonight as well as a photo from July, which may be when the symptoms started to appear, though I didn’t notice them then, and February, when I brought him home.































July:









February:









_Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? _5 gallon Top Fin Retreat (not using original filter)
_Does it have a filter? _Cascade 300
_Does it have a heater? _Tetra HT-10
_What temperature is your tank? _My thermometer is out of battery, but the heater is preset to 78F. I have a 16 gal in the same room with no heater; the water in there is usually around 78F and the betta tank feels a tad warmer.
_Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? _The filter provides surface agitation.
_Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? _Only bladder snails.

_Food:
What food brand do you use? _Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets (with the occasional Tetra Freeze-Dried Bloodworm as a treat)
_Do you feed flakes or pellets? _Pellets
_Freeze-dried? _Bloodworm treats
_How often do you feed your Betta? How much? _I’ll drop a few pellets in twice a day. I’ll keep going until he loses interest, which usually takes just a few minutes at most.
_
Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? _My husbandry dropped as my mental health did and he went without for a month or two (he was in a 10 gallon tank at the time)
_What percentage of water did you change? _20-90% depending on how recently I had changed it
_What is the source of your water? _Tap water (dechlorinated with Tetra AquaSafe Plus)
_Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? _Vacuum
_What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner? _If I removed a lot of water, I’d add in some API beneficial bacteria. Conditioner mentioned above.
_
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:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness (GH):
Alkalinity (KH):_

I do not have a water test kit. I’m looking to get one soon, but it is difficult as I am still living with my parents and they believe that they are an unnecessary purchase since we have had success keeping fish without them in the past. I know otherwise. If anybody can point me to a budget-friendly kit that’ll do the job right, I’d greatly appreciate it.
_
Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? _Months ago
_How has your Betta’s appearance changed? _His gill is now pinkish and ragged, his fins are ragged and veiny, his scales seem to have a strange greenish film or to be scraped off/smoothed over on one section of his body. 
_How has your Betta’s behavior changed?
Is your Betta still eating? _He is not very active, is skittish and spends a lot of time hiding, and does not eat very much.
_Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? _Salt dips as described above.
_Does your Betta have any history of being ill? _This is his first problem that I remember.
_How long have you owned your Betta? _A little under a year
_Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? _Only the expected dull colouration that comes with stress. I bought him from a proper fish store, not a chain pet store, so he was in decent condition.

I’d also like to mention that I have some magnolia leaves on hand (gathered from a place near my house) and could get my hands on some rooibos tea. I say this because I’d like to make the transition into blackwater and wonder if it might help in his recovery. One day, I’d like to keep him in a proper blackwater set-up to better mimic his natural habitat.

I really appreciate any help you can offer.


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

Hi! How is he now?
A petsmart or similar will test tank water for free, but there are test strips that aren't very expensive, be sure and get the additional ammonia one if you go this route.

Rooibos tea could be helpful, definitely.


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## mnt16 (Dec 28, 2020)

Mbpoppy said:


> Hi! How is he now?
> A petsmart or similar will test tank water for free, but there are test strips that aren't very expensive, be sure and get the additional ammonia one if you go this route.
> 
> Rooibos tea could be helpful, definitely.


Hello! Unfortunately, not very well. He has spent most of his time on the bottom of the tank since I made this post, only really coming up for some air every now and then. I’ll definitely pick up some test strips and rooibos tea. Hopefully that will do something to help.

Thank you for your reply!


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

Hi, do you have the ability to get him out of his current tank and into a hospital tank, even if it's a temporary holding container (a critter keeper or clean tupperware)? Nothing in there but his heater and a place for him to rest near the surface if possible.
I would recommend that as a first step to eliminate his current environment from the equation.


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## mnt16 (Dec 28, 2020)

Veloran said:


> Hi, do you have the ability to get him out of his current tank and into a hospital tank, even if it's a temporary holding container (a critter keeper or clean tupperware)? Nothing in there but his heater and a place for him to rest near the surface if possible.
> I would recommend that as a first step to eliminate his current environment from the equation.


I will definitely try. Should I put the filter in there too or just do more water changes?


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

mnt16 said:


> I will definitely try. Should I put the filter in there too or just do more water changes?


More water changes. It will help him more.
Since the tank will be mostly bare, you can cover it with a dark towel to help him feel more secure.


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## mnt16 (Dec 28, 2020)

Veloran said:


> More water changes. It will help him more.
> Since the tank will be mostly bare, you can cover it with a dark towel to help him feel more secure.


Thank you so much. I really appreciate your advice.


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

How are things?


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

Hi, one more question, have you seen him flashing or rubbing against the decor?


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## mnt16 (Dec 28, 2020)

Mbpoppy said:


> How are things?


I've moved him into a hospital tank so I can better monitor him. He's got about a gallon of water in there (the most i could give him other than his 5 gal tank), a heater, and the magnolia leaves which i boiled to add some tannins. He's spending more time up at the top of the water now which is much more normal for him, so hopefully that's a good sign!



Veloran said:


> Hi, one more question, have you seen him flashing or rubbing against the decor?


I haven't noticed this directly, but it may be that I've seen him flash and thought he was just trying to hide in the plants or maybe even when he's wiggled under the filter. I can keep an eye on that to make sure it doesn't happen in his hospital tank. That's a sign of gill flukes, right?


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## mnt16 (Dec 28, 2020)

*Update*: I took a look at him this morning in his hospital tank which I moved him into the day before yesterday. He seems to be more okay with showing his ‘bad side’ in this tank, which is good because it means I can see it more clearly. Things seem to be changing, I’m just not sure if they’re for better or worse. His bad spots almost look like a layer had been taken from them, which makes them both look even more sore.

Here are some photos of that tank set-up and what I saw this morning.









The container is a tupperware box which I used to store fish supplies. I washed it in the dishwasher then rinsed it thoroughly and dried it out before using it for this. Inside are his heater, the sponge from his filter (which i squeezed out in a jug of his old tank water to remove debris), and two magnolia leaves (hence the tannins present). I place the lid on the box diagonally and without clicking it into place so that there are gaps for air to move through while helping him feel less exposed and stopping him from jumping.

I have marked a waterline on the outside of the tank to show where a gallon of water stands. I think this will be useful when I do water changes and/or add any medication to the tank. As of right now, there are no medications or salt in the water. I plan on doing a water change of about half a litre (10%) every other day, since the water is such a small amount. If I’m wrong about this and should do more or less, please let me know.









Here’s what I saw this morning. Comparing this to photos I uploaded in the main post, you can see that the gill growth and scale discoloration both look to have a small area removed, at least a little bit.

I’ve been doing a lot more research and I think this might be columnaris, but nothing seems cottony as most sources describe and it’s very difficult to find photos of this issue to compare to Gajah’s situation. If anything can confirm or deny this theory, I’d greatly appreciate it.


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## KekeTheBettaDoc (Dec 3, 2020)

This does look like some sort of gill flukes-is he flaring a lot? This is generally caused through contamination of some sort. Have you gotten any new fish in your house recently?


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

Yes, him flashing against the decor could be a sign of gill flukes. If his gills look to remain open, he could also be an issue with gill hyperplasia.
You should be doing approximately 50% water changes.
Go ahead and start him on some aquarium salt at 1 tsp per gallon. It will help with gill issues until we can see if he needs something stronger.

Let me know if he's breathing heavy or if he's surfacing excessively for air.


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## mnt16 (Dec 28, 2020)

KekeTheBettaDoc said:


> This does look like some sort of gill flukes-is he flaring a lot? This is generally caused through contamination of some sort. Have you gotten any new fish in your house recently?


He used to flare more and was generally more responsive when he was well, but that gill does protrude on its own constantly now. The last 'fish' I purchased were some cherry shrimp, but that was back in February/March, not too long after I brought him home.



Veloran said:


> Yes, him flashing against the decor could be a sign of gill flukes. If his gills look to remain open, he could also be an issue with gill hyperplasia.
> You should be doing approximately 50% water changes.
> Go ahead and start him on some aquarium salt at 1 tsp per gallon. It will help with gill issues until we can see if he needs something stronger.
> 
> Let me know if he's breathing heavy or if he's surfacing excessively for air.


His other gill seems to be working just fine, but this one (the left) does stick out constantly now at quite an obvious angle. I could try to get a photo from above if that would be handy. I'll start with the 50% changes and add the salt after tomorrow's water change, thank you for the heads up. Should I change that much daily?

As for the breathing, I'm not sure if it was heavy before but it does seem to have settled down now that he's in this hospital tank, to the point where it's spooked me a couple of times as I wasn't sure if he was actually breathing, though he must've been because he'd move away quickly if I moved my hand over the water. Perhaps now that the water is shallower or just because the set-up allows for it more, he's spending a lot of time up at the surface. Earlier, he'd laid himself on top of the heater and was taking a breath from the surface every few seconds or so.

I should also mention that he hasn't seemed to eat much at all since putting him in the hospital tank. In fact, I think he's only had a pellet or two. Other attempts to feed him have led to pellets sinking down to the bottom of the tank and having to be removed later.


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## KekeTheBettaDoc (Dec 3, 2020)

Hi there. So I would definitely add and extra sponge filter/airstone to help him get more oxygen. Salt is a good choice in this case it seems. I much more prefer baths, as you can give it at a more concentrated dose and in the tank water it is hard to measure salinity. Here is a tutorial from nippyfish.com

-Add pretreated water to both containers. If you can use aquarium water even better. In one container add 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 gallon of water. In the second add a 1/4 of a tablespoon of salt and a gallon of water.
-Once you’ve done this heat the water up to 78°F, or as close as you can get it. As long as it’s between 76-80°F it will be fine.
-Once you’ve warmed up both containers, remove your betta from his tank and add him to a plastic bag. Once he’s in the bag float him in the first container for 10-15 minutes, before letting him into the container. Doing this will give him time to adjust.
-Once your betta is in the salt bath allow him to swim in it for 5-8 minutes. It should only be 8 minutes if what he’s suffering from isn’t mild.
-When 5-8 minutes have passed transfer your betta to the second container. This container is going to act as a halfway point for your salt bath and aquarium so your betta doesn’t get shocked entering the aquarium.
-Once your betta has been in the second container for 5 minutes, add him to a bag and float him on top of your aquarium water until he’s adjusted to the temperature.
And the finally add him back into the aquarium.

I would also dose a round of kanaplex to see if that helps him at all and keep indian almond leaves/roobios tea in the water to help with stress and promote healing


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

50% changes every day would be preferable, but I know many people can't keep up that schedule, so 50% every other day is a minimum. You really want to keep the water as clean as possible.
Start with the salt, let's start slow before we bombard him with meds. Meds are a tough on these little guys.


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## mnt16 (Dec 28, 2020)

KekeTheBettaDoc said:


> Hi there. So I would definitely add and extra sponge filter/airstone to help him get more oxygen. Salt is a good choice in this case it seems. I much more prefer baths, as you can give it at a more concentrated dose and in the tank water it is hard to measure salinity.


I thought about this and managed to find a small water pump that I've placed in there to allow for a little movement and surface agitation. Thank you for your other advice! I'll try with salt first and then look into that medication for sure. Also, I have magnolia leaves in the hospital tank which are releasing some tannins. Should I buy some rooibos tea too for the benefits, or will the leaves offer those too?



Veloran said:


> 50% changes every day would be preferable, but I know many people can't keep up that schedule, so 50% every other day is a minimum. You really want to keep the water as clean as possible.
> Start with the salt, let's start slow before we bombard him with meds. Meds are a tough on these little guys.


I'll be able to do 50% changes daily for sure, and I'll be starting that today with the salt too. Thank you for all of your advice so far, it really is appreciated.


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## mnt16 (Dec 28, 2020)

Now I'm really concerned. This morning, he was as I've previously described. Now, there's something small and white protruding from the center of that darker area on the strange patch of his scales. It looks like something dark is coming from his gills, too, but that might just be his gill filaments that I am now overanalysing the appearance of. More frighteningly, his fins are more ragged, his tail is turning transparent at the end, and stringy parts of his fins are floating around the water! I'd assume that this is fin rot, but I've seen that in fish before and never seen parts of the fins floating around. In addition, he is very bloated and still won't eat.

I've done a 50% water change and added 1tsp of aquarium salt into the changed water. I moved the filter sponge in front of the water pump's intake in hopes that it'll act somewhat like a sponge filter, although not a perfectly-performing one as the sponge does move around a little. Honestly, at this point, I'm wondering if euthanasia will be a more humane approach. Obviously, this would be my final option and I'd much rather avoid it, but he really doesn't seem to be in good shape at all and I don't want to know that he's suffering needlessly and without hope for recovery. He seems to have so many issues now that've worsened or just come about in the past few days, I'm not sure if he'll make it in time for all of them to be treated.


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## KekeTheBettaDoc (Dec 3, 2020)

I would go ahead and go straight to medication at this point of Kanaplex and Ich X as this could be either gill hyperplasia or flukes.


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

Can you get a picture of his side and of his fins.
It's likely we do need to move to stronger meds.

Euthanasia is a personal choice. It's your pet an no one should make that determination for you.
As long as you want to fight with him, we'll help.


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## mnt16 (Dec 28, 2020)

KekeTheBettaDoc said:


> I would go ahead and go straight to medication at this point of Kanaplex and Ich X as this could be either gill hyperplasia or flukes.





Veloran said:


> Can you get a picture of his side and of his fins.
> It's likely we do need to move to stronger meds.
> 
> Euthanasia is a personal choice. It's your pet an no one should make that determination for you.
> As long as you want to fight with him, we'll help.


I'm going to pick up some Kanaplex asap. Gajah's been eating again and seems more lively, and I'm going to keep fighting with him. Obviously, I had a bit of an explosion of nerves (😅), but now that he actually seems alive again, I know he's got some strength left in him.

It was difficult to get photos of him today since he was swimming around more and not resting with his bad side against the edge of the tank, but I managed to get some relatively clear ones through the surface of the water.
































This last photo is from last night before the water change. You can see parts of his fins sitting at the bottom of the tank there.


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## KekeTheBettaDoc (Dec 3, 2020)

I am crossing my fingers the medication works?


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## mnt16 (Dec 28, 2020)

KekeTheBettaDoc said:


> I am crossing my fingers the medication works?


Me too! It arrived today so I’ll start treatment after today’s water change. Thank you for the advice!


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## mnt16 (Dec 28, 2020)

*Update:* So I bought some Kanaplex 6 days ago and started treatment (Tuesday). The instructions say to give up to three doses, once every other day. I decided to take photos before each dose and one 2 days after the treatment, to keep track of any changes. I can’t see any major changes, maybe there’s a slight improvement, but I still think it was worth a shot for $10 from Amazon and I have a lot left in case I need to use some in the future. I thought I’d post the photos here in case anybody notices something I can’t or somebody is following along with this post because of similar problems with their own betta.

I should also note that during this process, I have not done any major water changes. I have, however, been removing anything I see in the water. Today, I’ll do another 50% water change and continue my daily routine of those. It’s quite unrelated, but I find it interesting how you can see the tannins building each and every day.

Tuesday (Before 1st Dose):
















Thursday (Before 2nd Dose):















(I was very gently holding him in this photo, made sure he had a route to escape, and did not notice any signs of stress. I held him like this for just a second before releasing him again. Despite how it may look, he is entirely underwater.)

Saturday (Before 3rd Dose):
He was particularly shy on this day so it was difficult to get some good photos.
















Monday (2 Days After 3rd Dose):
















As you can see, his symptoms are still present but the Kanaplex specifically says not to continue after 3 doses. I wonder if it has given him a sort of boost and maybe improvements will just take more time with his case. I am pleased with the Kanaplex results. I think it has at least taken the edge off of things, stopped things from worsening as they seemed to be before. Everything looks to be less sore and smoother than it was, which seems like a good thing in my opinion. I also haven’t seen any more loose parts of fins since starting the treatment which is great as that was really worrying me.

I’ve bought some replacement filter media for his 5 gallon tank, though (aquaclear sponges and a small bag of biomax) which I will use to convert the entire filter compartment into a sponge filter of sorts. That way, I can continue using tannins in that set up. I think it will be good for him to move back into the bigger tank since he’s been in just a gallon of water for a while now. Before then, I have a piece of wood that I’m in the process of preparing for that tank too. I’ll also stop using salt water once he’s in that tank, but will continue it for now. If anything worsens, I’ll be able to set up the hospital tank again in no time.


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## KekeTheBettaDoc (Dec 3, 2020)

He looks much better! Bigger injuries can take more time to heal. I agree that tannins should be able to help him the rest of the way


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