# Body Slime Infection?



## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

We got a new EE boy yesterday for a community tank but that didn't work out so we floated him in his PetCo cup in the sorority. He's still in there, we are getting him a tank today. Last night I noticed he had a some raised scales but I figured he just needed a bit of TLC or got too hot. Today he has billowing tufts of a white stringy fungus coming out! It is two lines and only in one patch. He also has part of a missing tail which I put down to tail biting but know it's getting me to question that. 

He is floating in the sorority so housing questions might be a bit confusing.

What size is your tank? PetCo cup, maybe 1/2 liter?
What temperature is your tank? 79ish
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? Omega One Betta Buffet
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2x day, 2-3 pellets at a time 

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? Just got him so none so far but will be doing daily until finished with treatment.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100% will be done
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: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5-10
pH: 6-6.5
Hardness:N/A
Alkalinity: N/A

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Billowing tufts of white fungus
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Just got him so unknown
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Last night/this morning
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? A tiny pinch of AQ salt. 5 crystals about
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Unknown
How old is your fish (approximately)? 3-6 months maybe?

I know I didn't listen much when Rossi had his fungus but I was in a seriously foul attitude. (Thank you for being sexist mother nature) I have no clue what to do for this if someone can please help.

This is more of a shot of the tail but you can see the fungus up by the pectorals.


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

Ack!!! He was lying on his side when I checked on him but he got air and went back down. Here are two more pics where you can see the fungus better.








He was sold as a halfmoon. Ya okay.


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

Please help! I don't want him to die!


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

I am floating him in Finn's cup because Finn likes lower temps and stays at around 74-72. Hopefully that will help get rid of the fungus. I added 1 1/2 tbsp. to the girl's tank as I'm sure some water got swapped.

What else can I do?


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

Anyone?


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

IT's doubled in size someone please please help! What can we buy to treat him?


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## HeroicPoison (Feb 27, 2013)

does he appear to have any white spots on his body? if so do they look fuzzy?


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

They are on his body. One behind his pectoral one in front behind the gill plates. They have almost met now. He is so lethargic. They are very fuzzy and stringy. If we can't treat it and see an improvement in about a week we will probably take him back and ask for an exchange. Let them put him out of his misery.


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## HeroicPoison (Feb 27, 2013)

Ok dont panic, we will do our best 
I have the suspicion that it is Columnaris... but I know little about this since I just have my first run in with it. I am going to get help just because Id really hate to ell you it something and have it turn out to be something else...so just stay calm Help is on the way


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## tngirl92 (Jul 16, 2012)

It also sounds like columnaris to me. I had a run-in with this last week with my new betta boy. I treated him in a heated 2.5 gallon hospital tank with Maracyn and Maracyn 2, aquarium salt, and stress coat. If he has started bloating or pineconing, don't use the salt. The best thing at this point may be to get him in his own, quiet and stressless tank with clean water and the right medicines.


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

That's what I feared. We will set up a tank tomorrow even if it is more of a large tupperware.


Which is better Maracyn 1 or 2? Does PEtCo have it? Would a LFS have it or is it a rarer med to come by? What could be a substitute if we can't find it?


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## HeroicPoison (Feb 27, 2013)

I dont suggest using Maracyn and Maracyn 2 to treat Columnaris
I was told that its the wrong treatment.


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## HeroicPoison (Feb 27, 2013)

Im waiting for a reply from LBF to just confirm that it is Columnaris
if it is i can send you treatment options


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## HeroicPoison (Feb 27, 2013)

I do suggest that you pick up a 1g hospital tank if you dont already have one... they are very useful to have and make medicating very easy. 



LittleBlueFishlets said:


> Beautiful little guy!
> 
> In the second picture, it looks to me like he has white, fuzzy patches. This could be Columnaris. It's caused by _Flexibacter columnaris_ which is a gram-negative bacteria.
> 
> ...


this is what i went off of when i brought a sick fish with columnaris home  it worked like a charm... i used the jungle fungus clear... thats what i could find


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I think the only medications that are available in the stores would be Triple sulfa and Jungle Fungus Clear. While you don't have it you can start him on 3tsp/gall aquarium salt with stress coat if you have it. Columnaris progress very fast though, so sorry i hope he can survive. Be careful with your other fish it very contagious. I think i wrote it in your other thread, sorry if i repeat-do not share anything between him and you other fish.Be careful with that store if one fish has columnaris then all of them can have it because . So sorry. I hope your other betta doing better.


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

He was newish to the store and I know for a fact their EEs come from a different breeder then the other bettas except for the EE duds. You know they are duds as they have a very similar color pattern. 

WalMart has jungle clear? We will get it tomorrow. It's super contagious. My favorite sorority girl Blu got suspicious looking grayish white spots on her head. Does it treat negative and positive just in case it is something different? Will the Jungle Clear hurt a banjo cat that is growing up before he hits the big tank? How is it with plants and snails?


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## HeroicPoison (Feb 27, 2013)

Id QT any sick fish... you may need a few small tanks (it sounds like at least 2) if you dont have QT tanks right now rinse out ziplock containers and put any infected fish in them (one per container). The sooner this is done the better. Hopefully that will stop anything from spreading. If you are very careful you can place it on the lip of the inside of your larger tank... be careful not to spill any water... use the tank hood to hold the container in place... you can only put one container in the tank or the lid wont hold either one. 
If you could post pics of your girl that would be helpful


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## LittleBlueFishlets (Nov 10, 2012)

Hi, yes, as others have told you, white fuzzy patches can indicate Columnaris. You'll need to treat pretty quickly (and aggressively).

As tngirl92 wrote, you can treat with Maracyn 2. However, a lot of bacteria is now resistant to it, so if it's not effective, you'll lose valuable time. (Tngirl92 - I'm glad it worked for you!) 

For this reason, I would use a furan or sulfa antibiotic instead. HeroicPoison quoted a post that I wrote earlier about this. Petsmart carries API Furan 2 , Triple Sulfa and Mardel Maracyn Plus. I'm not sure what Petco carries, since there isn't one near me. Walmart carries Jungle Fungus Clear, which has the same two furan antibiotics as Furan 2.

Yes, it's very contagious. Isolate him completely. Don't share water, equipment or supplies between tanks. (It's a good idea to quarantine any new fish so that you don't risk your other fish.)

Yes, furan antibiotics (such as Jungle Fungus Clear and API Furan 2) are effective against a wide range of gram negative and gram positive bacteria. 

I don't know the effect the medication will have on a banjo cat or snails. But if the banjo cat is in a different tank, you don't need to treat him.... Same with the snails. Medications are harsh, so I prefer not to use them on fish (or snails) who don't need them.

I've read that Furan antibiotics may harm certain plants. (I don't have personal experience with this.) I recommend posting in the Planted Tanks forum to ask if specific plants will be affected.

And if your tank is filtered, it will kill off the BB (beneficial bacteria) in your filter, and destroy your cycle.


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

Well I figured out that Blu must have bumped her head and bruised it on...driftwood. She was wiggling under it doing who knows what and found a pellet, tossed her head back, and came out with another gray patch. We will treat for it now but I don't think he will make it. He's in pretty bad shape. GTG get the stuff.


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

We got him in a one gal triangle like Dominic's, same one actually. It is barebottom right now so the fungus doesn't get on/in anything. No heater either to help kill the bugs and the light is off but there is kitchen light because my mom want's her fish there. We treated him but this is VERY fast. It spread to the crest of his back and little bits are popping up on his face during the time we got the meds. We got some gravel and decorations and groceries though but less then an hour. I don't know if he'll make it but we'll try and he won't die in a tiny cup.


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

Is there anything else we can do or just wait for the meds to kick in and work their magic?


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## HeroicPoison (Feb 27, 2013)

The meds should start to work very quickly, when I brought my tiny CT home I didn't think he would make it through the night. But he's tough and he did, the next day I picked up the antibiotics for him and by that night he was swimming around a little bit. They are very tough fish and they don't go down without a fight. I do advise you heat the tank tho, the colder water can be harmful to him. 
I have faith that your EE is a fighter and should start improving soon! Keep us updated and let us know of any changes


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

He died. :-x He died knowing at least knowing love and good care (I hope he knew that) we will take him tomorrow for store credit so I can hopefully pay 30 instead of 40 for my crested gecko i'm going to get but if not a nice halfmoon or DT for downstairs. We'll clean the tank with vinegar and water if that's the case.


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

This strikes fast and kills fast. The only symptoms were a tiny row of scales that had the edges slightly raised and the next morning (12 hours later) he had the billowing clouds of fungus. 36-48 hours after the tiniest of symptoms he is dead. Hopefully we can use this tiny insight of what happens before hand (the fungus pushing up the scales) can help in the future so he won't die in vain.


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## HeroicPoison (Feb 27, 2013)

Im so sorry he didnt make it 
Sometimes they fight for so long at the store that they are just too weak.
You did everything you could for him, and im sure he appreciated it.


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

I know. It's such a shame but I was an idiot!

I put 6 dead bettas by the sink, 1 on the feeder tank and another in the walkway. Half of the ones they had were sick. At least he didn't die in the store.


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## HeroicPoison (Feb 27, 2013)

You should let them know that the bettas arent being cared for properly, i tell petsmart every time i go in in hopes that they will get tired of hearing it and do something about it.
He was probably very happy to have warm clean water  at the very least he was more comfortable then he would have been at in the store.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

I'm so sorry for your loss. My sorority just had an outbreak of coulmnaris, too. Only one survived, but at least the others are in better places now. :'D And so is your betta...


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

So sorry for your loss i hope your other bettas not infected. May be don't buy bettas from that store. So sad so many people will have problems. And you are right at least he was loved and in the clean water.
I had one store like that , every betta was sick. But then all of a sudden bettas are fine , may be they have different manager in the store.

From columnaris i would disinfect with 10% of the Clorox. You must not use bleach with additives (many come mixed with detergent). So, find a bleach like Clorox Regular.
You can disinfect the aquarium itself and hard pieces like glass thermometers, fish nets, certain gravel (though not if its porous), and hard plastic like the filter box (not the filter cartridge obviously).
Avoid heaters because people tend to submerge them and it will become very hard to remove the bleach from inside. You don't want bleach sitting inside there either as it may leach into aquarium water later or harm the heater itself.

You should make a 10% solution. This means 1 part bleach and 9 parts water to make a 10% solution. You can then dip the pieces and let them sit in the sink, bathtub, or on the counter for no longer than 10 minutes. Then rinse with warm water thoroughly. The equipment must air dry completely before entering an aquarium. This allows for the bleach to dissolve away and evaporate into its basic properties (its mainly just salt). Then rinse again with cold water (for good measure) before using in the aquarium again.

As an example example, I have a measuring cup with graduations marked in 1 ml increments. I use 10ml of bleach and 90ml of water. That's 1 part bleach in every 10 parts total (water + bleach). This creates a 10% Solution of bleach.
If you really afraid to use bleach use 50/50 vinegar and boiled water and let it air dry for a week or longer.
How are the others bettas doing?


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

Fine, they are doing as good as normal. I trained the girls to jump for food. I dip my finger in water and grab a pellet or 2 with my wet finger so it sticks and they jump. Arrow and Blu (biggest and smallest ironically) can jump the highest at about 1 inch. 

I do a "silent battle" leaving dead bettas in the walkway if they they are really fuzzy, it's better. I feel bad when Jade is there though because she's really nice and tries to keep the fish in good shape and good care. When an inspector or something was there I put the dirtiest cup at his eye level and he tapped on them, saw the fish was alive and walked on. They had cleaned out all of the dead ones. THe owners just don't care. I saw a YouTube vid about this lady who rescued a leopard gecko who couldn't shed as conditions were wrong. She used to work at a PetCo and they aren't ALLOWED to help the animals. They get yelled at if they do. It's awful.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

How nice I didn’t know stores have inspectors. I just went to the store and they had cups on the top of the cups completely blocking the air. I already saw that in the same store and I told the guy who was cleaning other tanks grrr… If i see it again I will have to ask for someone who can explain whoever cleans the tank or put new shipped betta on the shelves have to know what they doing.


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