# Betta Fish Disease - need help identifying/treating



## betta642 (May 11, 2012)

Hi,
Great site! I just found it this morning

I received a distress call from my brother this morning about his Betta fish. He sent me the following pictures. I'm more saltwater focused and don't have much experience with Betta's. Could anyone help me identify and recommend treatment to the pictures below? He's been treating with Maracyn to no affect. Fish is currently acting normally and eating. Please let us know if you can help.


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## wystearya (Sep 27, 2010)

Wow, sorry to say but that looks bad! Has this just come on all of a sudden? If so then whatever it is will likely need aggressive treatment. 

I also must ask though, has this gone on for a long time? The poor fish just looks like this has progressed pretty far. :/

I know since this isn't your fish you may not be able to answer all of this, but if you could fill out all of this you can it will help people here to help the fish get the best treatment possible!

*Here is the form:*

Housing 
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

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

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?


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I will be hoping for the best!


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## lvandert (Feb 23, 2012)

there is no way that happened overnight, even for an advanced case. It looks like it's been at it for over a week, poor fish!! I start with epsom salt and IAL (or dried and cleaned oak leaves), also maybe some sort of fungal treatment?


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## betta642 (May 11, 2012)

Hello-- This is the fish owner borrowing my brother's account.

Yes, unfortunately this has been going on for many weeks. A very slow progression that has obviously gotten ridiculously bad. I can't make excuses for not getting more aggressive in the treatment sooner. But we haven't been ignoring it. Our attempts at treatment have been unsuccessful. We've used Maracyn-Oxy and betta revive at different points as well as water changes with aquarium salts (which seem the most common suggestion). The behavior of the fish has been normal-- good appetite, active, not sluggish, very responsive. We're very fond of the fish and are really unsure what to do. 

I'll answer the questions below. 



wystearya said:


> Wow, sorry to say but that looks bad! Has this just come on all of a sudden? If so then whatever it is will likely need aggressive treatment.
> 
> I also must ask though, has this gone on for a long time? The poor fish just looks like this has progressed pretty far. :/
> 
> ...



We very much appreciate your input an help. I'm really at a loss at what to do. The fish just keeps getting gradually worse. I assume I need something far more aggressive than what we've been doing. But if we can't stop the disease progression, it's hard to watch this thing seem to eat our fish alive.


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## wystearya (Sep 27, 2010)

Maybe try posting this in the Diseases & Illness section: http://www.bettafish.com/forumdisplay.php?f=99

I hope you get help!


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I'd also suggest PMing OFL. She's been in the business a long time and has seen many crazy things - she may know what's going on.

All the best for you and your fish!


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