# Several Bumps/Lumps/"Bubbles" in Male Betta's Tail



## LakotaWolf (Mar 20, 2010)

Hi guys, 

My male betta, The Stig, has a terrifying grouping/row of lumpy bumps on/in his tailfin. 

I thought it was just a slightly weird fold in his finnage at first, but the bumps have been getting larger and now swell out on both sides of the tail.

The right side of the bumps also seems to have a few reddish dots here and there on them, but they don't look like open sores or wounds, as my fish's base fin color is red (underneath the teal-green).

He does not nip his fins at all, nor do they seem to be rotting or disintigrating. In fact, they appear to be healthy and flawless except for the row of lumps.





















His appetite is still fine, and he's as active and curious as ever. The lumps don't seem to be bothering him at all, but they're really worrying me!

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Housing 
What size is your tank? *7.9 gal. Fluval Ebi
*What temperature is your tank? *76-78 F
*Does your tank have a filter? *Yes
*Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? *Yes, an air stone turned to very, very low
*Is your tank heated? *Yes
*What tank mates does your betta fish live with? *None at the moment, formerly nerite snails
*
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? *A variety of the following: frozed mysis shrimp, bloodworms, and brine shrimp; Tetra freeze-dried bloodworms, Hikari freeze-dried daphnia; New Life Spectrum betta food pellets. All food is soaked in his tank water and H20 Life V3 triple-strength vitamins prior to feeding. 
*How often do you feed your betta fish? *Once a day. I fast him on Saturdays and Sundays. 
*
Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? *Weekly
*What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? *20%/25% or 50%* 
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? *API Tap Water Conditioner, Kordon Fish Protector

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

Ammonia: *0 ppm
*Nitrite: *0 ppm
*Nitrate: *0 ppm
*pH: *Extremely low, 6.0 or lower
*Hardness: *Very high, 425+ ppm
*Alkalinity: *Low, 0-80 ppm

*Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? *A large grouping of lumps/bumps in his tailfin. No other physiological changes.
*How has your betta fish's behavior changed? *No behavioral changes.
*When did you start noticing the symptoms? *A few weeks ago. The lump was small and flattish at that point, and I thought it was just a funny fold in his tailfin.
*Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? *I have not started any treatment.
*Does your fish have any history of being ill? *Not really. At the beginning of November, his nerite snail tankmates died en masse and my betta acted lethargic, but a few weeks of frequent water changes fixed that.* 
How old is your fish (approximately)? *I'm really not sure. :/ I've had him since mid-June 2011. He is about 1 1/2" long and was that size when I got him.*

*-------*

I know I have water issues, and I'm struggling with them still, as I have been since the beginning of November. Frequent water changes do seem to help, but I need to do them more often, I think.

Here are some larger images:

http://www.splintyr.com/artdump/feesh/stigtail_leftside.jpg
http://www.splintyr.com/artdump/feesh/stigtail_rightside.jpg
http://www.splintyr.com/artdump/feesh/stigtail1.jpg
http://www.splintyr.com/artdump/feesh/stigtail2.jpg
http://www.splintyr.com/artdump/feesh/stigtail3.jpg
http://www.splintyr.com/artdump/feesh/stigtail4.jpg
http://www.splintyr.com/artdump/feesh/stigtail5.jpg

I appreciate any and all theories and advice. Thank you!


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## OliverTheBetta (Nov 17, 2011)

Wow. I have no idea. The only thing that comes to mind is it might be an internal parasite, but I'm not even close to being an expert. I hope someone here can diagnose that for you and that fishy will be fine!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I know it's a little late but I'm bumping this up to see if we can get some answers.


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