# Fuzzy growth on fins



## kdrago (Jan 28, 2014)

Hi everyone,

I'm a new betta fish owner. I bought my fish Demaryius at Petsmart on 1/17. He was very skittish at first and would hide all day and not eat. I finally removed his cave after a few days because I couldn't see how he was doing. I found that he had some fuzzy growth a the end of his fins, and his fins looked ragged. I couldn't remember how his eyes looked when I first got him, but they might have been swollen, too. The Petsmart associate told me to try salt. I did for a day, but the fuzz got worse. Then they told me to try Bettafix, I did for 3 days and no change. The fuzz moved around from fin to fin, but didn't go away. From the beginning I wanted to try a Maracyn/Maracyn 2 combo (I'm a scientist/researcher, so I did a lot of reading about it online before making the decision), but the associates steered me away from it. Now I'm on day 2 of that antibiotic treatment, scaled down to a 2 gallon tank. 

The good news is that my betta's behavior has improved. He's been eating for about 3 days now, just a couple of small Aqueon pellets twice a day. He's swimming around and flaring at things. He blew a bubble nest a few days ago, too. The bad news is, he's still fuzzy. I didn't expect the antibiotics to work yet after about 24 hrs, but I'm concerned because of the length of his illness. I'm attaching some pictures. I'm going away Saturday morning through Monday night, so I was going to make Sunday his fast day. But I just wanted to make sure that I'm doing the right thing for him. Do you suggest any other treatment before I go? Thank you so much in advance!

Housing 
What size is your tank? 2 gallons
What temperature is your tank? ~80 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? yes, that I have slowed with some pebbles in the tubing
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? Aqueon betta food pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2 pellets, twice a day

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? I've changed it 50% once and 100% once since getting him. I haven't changed it again since I'm giving him medicine.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? see above
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Prime

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

Ammonia: I test this daily and it's at 0, haven't tested the other parameters recently
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Pale, minor fin rot?, fuzzy growth at end of fins, maybe popeye that's gone now
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Behavior is now ok
When did you start noticing the symptoms? About a week ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Yes, so above--salt, bettafix, maracyn and maracyn 2
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No, he's new
How old is your fish (approximately)? Just got him on 1/17


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## LittleBlueFishlets (Nov 10, 2012)

White fuzzy growth can indicate Columnaris, a gram negative bacterial infection. The bacteria that causes it is common in aquariums, and can take hold in fish that have been subjected to stress (such as occurs by being transported to/from a store, etc).

The Maradel Maracyn 2 (minocycline) may be effective against it. Minocycline is effective against gram negative bacteria. However, it's been around awhile so some bacteria is now resistant to it.

If the Maracyn 2 doesn't work, I would do a 100% water change to remove all previous medications..... Then I would try a furan medication, such as:
- API Furan 2
- Hikari Bifuran
- Jungle Fungus Clear


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## kdrago (Jan 28, 2014)

Ah, thanks so much. I had thought dosing with both maracyn and maracyn 2 would take care of both gram positive and negative bacteria. I didn't think about contracting an antibiotic resistant strain as his first illness. He's looking about the same this evening, so thank you for the furan medication recommendations. The Petsmart associate I spoke with last told me what I was doing now was the final step (as in there's no hope if this didn't work). I'm glad I could get some expert advice. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again!


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## LittleBlueFishlets (Nov 10, 2012)

Most aquatic bacterial infections are due to gram negative bacteria. (There are a few gram positive ones, but most are gram negative.) 

I prefer the furan class over minocycline. It's newer, so there is less resistance to it. Also, the furan class is gentler on the internal organs (kidneys and liver).

The pH and hardness can also affect how well medications work. Some medications are more effective in softer, non-alkaline water. Since you're a scientist/researcher, you may want to investigate this.  If you decide to get a water testing kit, I recommend the API Master Freshwater kit. It's about $30 in petstores, but I've seen it for much less on Amazon.


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## kdrago (Jan 28, 2014)

Thanks, I didn't see any visible fuzz in the last two days. He's seems to be very feisty, so all signs are pointed to recovery. 

Now I don't know what to do about the water. I've read on the habitat thread that you don't want to do a 100% change in any tanks with plants (http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=115758). But his tank is getting a little algae since I didn't change the water for about a week and a half because of the medication. I'm super confused about the nitrogen cycle because I have a filter and plants, but only a 2 (2.5?) gallon tank. Ammonia is still 0 as of yesterday's testing. I have the gut feeling that I'd like to clean the tank really well because of the appearance of algae, but now I read that the cleaning will remove the beneficial bacteria. But is this really a worry with a small tank--many say that this size tank will never maintain a stable cycle.

I have the API kit. I've used the pH test (all the tests really) but I just didn't do it right before the test. I have seen reports about hardness and alkalinity affecting medication, but I don't have either of these tests. Do you recommend a certain kit or test solutions for this? 

I really appreciate all of the advice on the antibiotics. If he ever has issues again, I'll go for the furans first. Although, I do have a very large stock of what I just used since I have a little tank. Anyone want a very lightly used bunch of Maracyn and Maracyn 2?  

Thanks again!


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

The fin fuzzies aren't columnaris, they're saprolegnia - a true fungus.

Sapro initially grows on dead tissue (before it goes on to cause problems on healthy tissue sometimes), so clearing up whatever underlying bacterial issue the fish had can also clear up the sapro. Sometimes it doesn't, though - it's really, really good at making comebacks. 

If it does, treat with a true antifungal.

And yup, furan2 + kanaplex are very effective, says my research, on gram neg and some gram pos bacteria. You can even safely combine the two for a wider range.


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## kdrago (Jan 28, 2014)

I had expected a columnaris infection to show up on the body or around the mouth or gills. So I had suspected a secondary fungal infection at first in addition to bacteria. I'm still not 100% about everything that was wrong, but I'm lucky because the maracyn mixture did the trick. No visible fuzz now, and I'm just waiting for his fins to make a true recovery. I'm happy to know about these new antibiotics for next time. Thanks all!


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