# White fuzz hanging out of his gill?



## Starfish1 (Dec 9, 2012)

Housing 
What size is your tank? 3 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 78 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? no
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? NLS pellets, freeze dried bloodworm once a week
How often do you feed your betta fish? once or twice a day

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? every 5 days
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? API water conditioner

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? white fuzzy thing hanging out of his gill 
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? just hangs around the top looking like he doesn't feel well 
When did you start noticing the symptoms? just now
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? got him 10 mos ago

He was fine yesterday and now I just saw him hanging around the top looking like he didn't feel well and saw a fuzzy white thing hanging out of his gill. This is the only thing I see that looks out of the ordinary. Is this a fungus and if so what do I use to treat it? I've never had anything like this happen to any of my bettas before.

Note: the black on is tail is part of his coloring, it's been exactly like that since I got him 10 mos ago and his fins are kind of like a feathertail or a rosetail where they're not perfectly straight across. I watch his fins very closely the entire time I've had him because of this reason and I'm very careful to inspect the darker part and they always look completely fine with no jagged edges or any signs of anything wrong.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Get fungal treatment, which can be found in any store, including walmart probably. Are you sure it is a 3 gallon? 16 cups is a gallon... That's a good way to measure  Reason I ask is because it is a bowl shape... Most bowls range from 0.2 gallons to about 1.5 gallons. 

Something I would try, is getting a bubbler. There is Tetra Whisper 10 which is so nice and quiet... An adjustable valve and airhose, plus an ornament or just a bubbler end or stick would work. This will allow some movement of the water which can have you avoid fungus. Fungus tends to linger in low to no currentb(stagnant) water. And if the fish is more lazy, he can get it. I noticed this will some lazier fish, who then had no choice but to have a filter/bubbler  Gets them moving! 

Not only will it keep fungus from growing, but it's nice exercise. And with the adjustable valve you can adjust the flow so he is not shoved around. You can slwoly increase it to a decent level as he gains strength.


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## Starfish1 (Dec 9, 2012)

Yep, it's a 3 gallon. I use empty gallons of bottled water to fill this and all 3 fit in it plus a little extra room. In the picture he's at the bottom so it looks small. I've never seen these in stores either, they were ordered online. 

After I posted this i did a 100% water change and added aquarium salt and water conditioner and a few min later the white thing fell off! and I fished it out of his bowl. He looks fine today, so I don't know if it was a fungus or maybe a piece of paper towel since I had cleaned his bowl the day before?? But either way he is ok now


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Avoid using paper towel.. Those darn flecks stay in there!! The slime is not bad unless it is visible.. Then to you it's nasty :lol:
There are times that fungus is minor, and it does fall off. I've seen it sometimes on the end of a fish's tail, especially after healing.


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## Starfish1 (Dec 9, 2012)

Yeah I've seen that too and it does usually fall off, strange huh.. hopefully it was just the paper towel, he's been fine all day.. I'm staying away from those from now on!


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

If it is fungus it will be back, but it's from inactivity. A bubbler would definitely help.


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## Starfish1 (Dec 9, 2012)

Oh ok I didn't know that. Is that why you sometimes see white things at the bottom of betta cups that haven't been cleaned? 

He has no gravel in his bowl so I'm making sure that the bottom is spotless. So far so good. I'll pick up some plastic tubing for the bubbler when I go to the store today. Thanks for pointing that out


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

No problem  Inactivity causes fungal infections... I was told this about my giant, because as they get older they get lazy and thus are more prone to such infections. I neber knew before that either


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## Starfish1 (Dec 9, 2012)

This is good to know because I also have a giant - actually two but one is getting kinda lazy lately lol


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Lol yup. It's recommended to have them in community tanks where they are kkept active. 30-40 gallon would be just right, with non-aggressive fish and even bottom dwellers.


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## Starfish1 (Dec 9, 2012)

Like catfish? Do they get along?


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Only certain catfish, like cory cats (pepper, albino etc). Think their max size is between 2.5-4 inches. They'll need shoals (group of.. 5 or more... Has been best to keep them in because they feel more secure. Hence 30-50 gallons


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## Starfish1 (Dec 9, 2012)

Ok cool cause I think the corys are so cute! 

Thanks


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