# My Fish Has a Hole in His Side



## WrittenEmber (Mar 23, 2015)

I have a betta named Elroy. He's very sick.

I bought him March 8th. He was beautiful. I got him set up in his new home, and everything was great. He didn't eat his dinner, but I figured he was just feeling stressed by the move. He didn't eat the next day either, breakfast or dinner. That made me nervous, but he looked perfect and was swimming and happy and had actually begun to build a bubble nest. What could possibly be wrong if he felt good enough to build a nest, right?

The next day (the 10th), I noticed that he had some filmy bits trailing from his body, and there were more floating in the water. I didn't remember any of my betas ever doing that, but it's been several years since I had one so I thought maybe they had and I'd forgotten. I thought maybe it was something to do with the nest-building. He still wasn't eating, but again, I thought it might be nesting-related. (Yes, I feel like a moron now. But it seemed to make sense at the time.)

On March 12th I noticed a fuzzy white patch, about 3mm in diameter, just behind his gills on one side. It looked like mold on bread. I took a picture of it and went to the pet store, where three different employees tried to help me figure out what it was. They eventually decided on "most likely a fungus", and recommended I try Marineland All-in-One Remedy.

I went home and did a 100% water change, then put in his first dose of medicine, and dosed him (according to directions) once a day for five consecutive days. He looked better; the filmy, dangly bits and slimy patches were gone, but the fuzzy white stuff was still there. I did another 100% water change. I wasn't sure if it was OK to do another treatment, since the directions only said 5 days and not to overdose, so I waited a day to see if perhaps the fluffy stuff would fall off. When it didn't, I started treating again. Then today (day 5 of the second course of treatment), I noticed a "wad" of filmy, opaque stuff at the bottom of his tank. I thought, "the fungus fell off! yay!"

Then I looked at Elroy, and realized that yes, the fungus was gone... and so was a chunk of my fish!

First, I had a moment of panic. Then I thought, "Open wound! Must keep clean!" and did a water change. While I had him in his cup, I took some pictures:



















And now, well, now I have no idea what to do. He doesn't swim much, but doesn't have trouble swimming when he does decide to. He is alert. He doesn't seem to have any trouble breathing, or getting to the surface for air. His only problem is that he's not eating and, of course, that HE HAS A HUGE HOLE IN HIM. (Sorry, it's freaking me out.)

Housing 
What size is your tank? 1 gallon glass vase
What temperature is your tank? Room temp? I don't have a thermometer. 
Does your tank have a filter? No 
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No 
Is your tank heated? No 
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Top Fin Betta Bits
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2-3 pellets twice daily (not that he eats them)

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? I've done 3 water changes since I got him on the 8th. (I guess 4 if you count his initial set-up.)
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? Top Fin Water Conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? No. (Don't know if this helps, but each time I did a water change, I used water that had been through a Pur filter and a Brita pitcher, dosed with Water Conditioner, and left to sit for about an hour.)

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)?
These questions are answered above, except regarding age and health history; I don't know either of those.

Can anyone help me? I don't know what to do for him. An antibiotic? Do they make pain medicine for fish? Is this even treatable? The only advice the pet store has for me now is "bring him back and we'll swap him out for you."


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## Ekoyuhale (Jan 14, 2015)

What the... 

There are quite a few things I could point out about your setup but... I have no idea what to do about this =[ Definitely +1 on keeping his water in top shape (with a 1 gallon, you should be doing daily water changes regardless)

I hope someone who can help drops in soon. Good luck to you and Elroy


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## Greenapp1es (Dec 4, 2014)

I'm not 100% sure that was actually a fungus - I'm wondering if that was actually columnaris. I just checked the Marine All-In-One remedy that you treated with - it does look to have an antibiotic so it may have treated that as well. 

I....quite honestly am not sure the best way to treat at this point. I can get you started, but hopefully someone else can come in with more information. But regardless - clean, *warm* water is going to be essential here.

In a 1gal tank, water changes should be done daily or almost daily (every other day at most). This is especially important right now, as you want to keep the water pristine so that the wound doesn't get infected. PLEASE get a tank heater though. Betta thrive at temperatures between 78-82 degrees F. The 25W Hydor Theo would be a good option, it can be used in a 1gal tank....but you may have to turn the settings down a bit. Get a tank thermometer as well to know if your settings are appropriate. This heater would also work if you upgraded your tank later (up to 5gal). A larger tank would be *highly recommended* if you can. I'd look for a tank of at least 2.5 gal or larger.

I'd also add to the tank: 1tsp per gallon of Aquarium Salt for 10 days. After 10 days, I'd drop this down to the "maintenance" dose of 1TBSP for 5 gallons - which should be around 1/2 to 2/3 tsp for a 1gal tank. Dissolve the aquarium salt before adding to the tank.

.....Given you have a huge open wound, I'd also treat with Methylene Blue. You can do this either in baths or add to the tank, but be aware that it can (and will) stain items in the tank if added to the tank directly. Just a couple drops per gallon should help if added to the tank. You could add a bit more if doing a bath.

Good luck with your guy.


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## historygeek402 (Mar 19, 2015)

I would just continue to keep the water clean and use salt (1 tsp a gallon for 10 days) and I would use Melafix (or some other first aid medication). I have heard some comments against Melafix and normally I wouldn't use it unless I absolutely had to. Melafix helped my Alvin before when he cut himself on a stupid tank decoration. But I don't know if Melafix would help Elroy's hole because I don't know what's causing it. It might be worth a try to use it or Methylene Blue though.


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## kevinap2 (Apr 3, 2014)

I would agree that you need clean, warm water. Get the guy a heater. Bettas are tropical fish, they don't live in temperatures like most of the world sees.

I would also stop purifying the water before it goes into the tank (vase). Fish need some of the minerals in the water and the filters can remove many, if not all of these. Unless there is some reason you are doing this, you are probably doing him more harm than good. Just condition the water from the tap and you should be good to go.


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## Greenapp1es (Dec 4, 2014)

I wouldn't use melafix - it's an antiseptic more than medicine and can cause other problems. Until someone who has seen this kind of wound specifically comes by I'd stick with aquarium salt and methelyne blue.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Greenapp1es said:


> I wouldn't use melafix - it's an antiseptic more than medicine and can cause other problems. Until someone who has seen this kind of wound specifically comes by I'd stick with aquarium salt and methelyne blue.


+1

It looks like whatever the heck it was ate through to his abdomen and it's possible that his organs are being exposed to water. So yes, keeping his water absolutely perfect is your top priority, a close second is getting a heater because a cold betta is more likely to get sick - which for him right now would be deadly.

From there getting a bigger, or at least less vertical, tank/bowl and some better pellets (top fin is full of fillers) like New Life Spectrum or Omega One (or Northfin) are some things to do as soon as you can. Also I'd stop the filtering the water before adding to the tank and get Seachem Prime for your water conditioner.


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## WrittenEmber (Mar 23, 2015)

Elroy died. 

Late last night the hole, which had been white and clean-looking, became stringy and filled with red (Blood? It seemed very thick, almost mucous-y). Then tiny gobbets of red began dribbling out along with thin streamers of pink liquid. By 6 this morning he was lying on his side at the bottom, not even trying to get to the surface anymore. Less than an hour later, he was gone. 

I had gotten him a mini heater, brought the temp up to 79, and started the aquarium salt. The pet store didn't have methylene blue, so I ordered it online; should be here some time today, which is beyond depressing at this point. 

I can't help feeling like he might have been ok if I'd gotten the treatment right earlier, or at least started treating sooner. I should have done something as soon as I saw the slimy bits; should have known that wasn't right.

But I wanted to come back here and thank everyone for trying to help me save him. You all were so nice about sharing your knowledge and offering advice. Thank you.


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## Greenapp1es (Dec 4, 2014)

:-( SIP little guy.

I'm sorry for your loss. I really don't know if there was anything you could have done after that deep a wound appeared though. I've never seen anything like that - that would be a lot to recover from.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Poor little guy. At least he spent his last day nice and warm. 

I hope this experience hasn't turned you off of betta keeping. We know how it feels to lose them after realizing our mistakes along the way, or to lose them to those mistakes (been there done that). I find that everytime I felt like throwing in the towel and not getting anymore, I'd see another that looked at me like it needed some help. Fish keeping has a steep learning curve, and you never really stop learning it just gets easier along the way once you have everything you need. This is a great community to learn from with lots of info already in the stickies to help you get started if you are willing to try again. But take your time, there is no rush to get another after the loss of your boy. It's all up to you, and I wish you the best with that decision.


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## historygeek402 (Mar 19, 2015)

Aw SIP Elroy...


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## historygeek402 (Mar 19, 2015)

Aw SIP Elroy...


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## burnoutgirlrox (Mar 12, 2015)

I am so sorry. I would be so crushed if that had happened to my little guy. Don't get discouraged from owning betta's though. This most likely wasn't your fault. Things just happen, you know?


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## gracem2002 (Dec 27, 2014)

Everyone, I have a betta problem also, my boy Draco has water poisoning... I think :\ The behind part of his gills is reddish, I don't see any other symptoms (sorry, I can't get a picture! Maybe later)... He's in a My Fun Fish Tank (if you're going to lecture me on how terrible of a person I am, I really don't want to hear it, I already know that this is a bad home and he's getting a new 2gal shortly) I know I need to clean his tank more often and reduce feeding, but is there anything else I should do? And, could this be deadly? Please PM me or message me on my journal (link is in my signature)


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## Greenapp1es (Dec 4, 2014)

Grace - you would get a lot more attention posting your own thread in the Diseases and Emergencies section. That would help you to go into detail and keep everything on your situation in one place - while other members could see that there is a new issue that needs to be looked at.

When posting, please answer the questions that are stickied at the top of the Diseases and Emergencies section.


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## WrittenEmber (Mar 23, 2015)

Thanks, everyone. I really appreciate the kind words.

I probably will get another betta, but I think I need a little time. I only had Elroy for 17 days, and still cried when he went. (I get very attached to my pets.)


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

There is no shame in crying, it just means you cared 

Like I said, take your time to move on. When you're ready to try again you should read most the stickies, and don't be afraid to ask questions! Then get everything you need before bringing another home. We'll be here to help you with whatever you may need. I wish you the best


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## historygeek402 (Mar 19, 2015)

No shame in crying at all. I cried for days after Asa died. Actually I have cried after every single betta I have ever loved and cared for died. I've cried reading about other people's bettas that have died on this page (including Elroy, so I cried with you) because I can tell how much they care about their bettas. Some don't understand. You wouldn't believe some of the "It's just a fish" comments I got from a few people I know. But if there's one thing you definitely will find on this page it's people who will share your feelings with you about your betta and cry with you. Coolest support page I have ever been to and it's probably why, even after only being a member since the 19th, I have stalked this page like no other and reply to posts. 
I'm glad you are considering getting another, and you will love him or her as much as you loved Elroy and whatever betta is lucky enough to be chosen to go home with you will have a loving home from someone who cares about his or her well being. 
~Sending comforting thoughts and well wishes your way.


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