Bad To Buy White Betta?

[vanvran]

Even though I know Snowball had a tumor, (arrived with a tiny lump on him which grew and spread over half his body before he reached 1 year old), he developed a devastating case of fin rot. I gave him 3 separate rounds of Maracyn & Maracyn 2, to which he would respond but would quickly deteriorate once the treatment was complete. Now he's laying on the bottom of the tank, his full gorgeous finnage reduced to a 1/4 it's size, breathing hard, and not eating for the last 3 days. I hate to euthanize him, but at this point, he is suffering--his scales looks like they are falling off, but it's so hard to tell with a pure white fish. How can you tell if they have ick, or some types of fungus, which are white in color, when they are white? I wonder if I would have caught it sooner and maybe saved him. It breaks my heart to see him sufffer--he was a truly beautiful boy.


Snowball 6 months ago:

Snowball last week:

 

[Bert]

Awww he was so pretty!

 

[Amunet]

Awww, don't give up on the little guy!

 

[liz2]

Oh Bless him. I cant pts fish. He was so beautiful, keep his water clean and warm and let nature take its course. try meds but I bet you have anyway.

My hubby has this theory that white animals are just not strong. I have had white birds, hamsters and fish and all have not lived long. with him

 

[vanvran]

Awww, don't give up on the little guy!

What do you suggest I do? You can't force him to eat, he's in a clean, filtered, heated tank alone. He's been on meds more than not. I don't know what else to do.

Oh Bless him. I cant pts fish. He was so beautiful, keep his water clean and warm and let nature take its course. try meds but I bet you have anyway.

My hubby has this theory that white animals are just not strong. I have had white birds, hamsters and fish and all have not lived long. with him

Thanks Liz, what did your post say? "I can't pts fish." ?? Yes his water is clean, filtered, heated, and like I said, he's been on heavy duty meds more than not. I don't know what else to do.

 

[heatmisr]

Have you tried Triple Sulfa? It is stronger than the M1/M2 combo.

 

[vanvran]

Have you tried Triple Sulfa? It is stronger than the M1/M2 combo.

No, do you think that will save him at this point? I hate to put him through this again. I think the tumor has basically taken over--there is no meds for tumors. I've been advised of that fact by dozens of people on forums and betta websites.

 

[heatmisr]

It depends on what you think is killing him. Do you think it is the tumor or the fin rot? It will not cure the tumor. To my knowledge, there is no cure for that. But if the fin rot is what is diminishing his quality of life, then I think it may be worth a shot.

As far as checking for a fungus, I am not sure about that. Have you looked at him under different lighting conditions? Maybe darken the room and just have the tank light on or turn the tank light off also and use a flashlight with a magnifying glass? Try from as many different angles as you can. Fungus is usually fuzzy, so you may be able to see some differences in his scales.

 

[liz2]

Sometimes if you add meds when they are really bad it finishes them off anyway. Just leave him bless.....

 

[vanvran]

It depends on what you think is killing him. Do you think it is the tumor or the fin rot? It will not cure the tumor. To my knowledge, there is no cure for that. But if the fin rot is what is diminishing his quality of life, then I think it may be worth a shot.

As far as checking for a fungus, I am not sure about that. Have you looked at him under different lighting conditions? Maybe darken the room and just have the tank light on or turn the tank light off also and use a flashlight with a magnifying glass? Try from as many different angles as you can. Fungus is usually fuzzy, so you may be able to see some differences in his scales.

Thanks for the caring advice. I'm pretty sure it's the fin rot that's making him so ill. It's my inclination to keep on trying, but the way the tumor looks, I wonder just how much I would improve his quality of life trying to cure the fin rot. It just won't heal and it should have by now. He's had regular weekly gravel vacs, waters changes, a filter, a heater, lives alone in a 5 gallon tank, gets the best food and lots of love. And has been on 3 rounds of the Maracyn/M2treatment.

 

[heatmisr]

I understand what you're saying. It is a hard decision to make. Once the fin rot takes hold, it can be hard to shake it. The other problem is that they start to become immune to the meds. I am sure after 3 rounds of the M1/M2, he is probably immune to it now. I know you will do what you think is best for him.

 

[sylvia]

It's not the fish that becomes immune - it's the bacteria that become resistant. But anyway, it would be worth switching to a different med. for precisely this reason. Not all meds. work on all strains of bacteria and finrot is actually one of the easier things to cure in fish. I think he stands a pretty good chance of recovery - at least from the finrot.

I don't know about this 'tumour' - but if it's actually a tumour and not just some other infection, you'll just have to wait and see whether it continues to grow. If not, he could actually live a long life without any problems.

 

[vanvran]

It's not the fish that becomes immune - it's the bacteria that become resistant. But anyway, it would be worth switching to a different med. for precisely this reason. Not all meds. work on all strains of bacteria and finrot is actually one of the easier things to cure in fish. I think he stands a pretty good chance of recovery - at least from the finrot.

I don't know about this 'tumour' - but if it's actually a tumour and not just some other infection, you'll just have to wait and see whether it continues to grow. If not, he could actually live a long life without any problems.

It's almost 100% certain it's a tumor. He's had it since he arrived, and that was 8 months ago. It's location and appearance is consistent with lymphocystis. That may be weakening his immune system enough to prevent a positive response to the meds, but you're right, the bacteria may be resistant to the meds. However, I used both in case he had internal parasites (laying on the bottom of the tank) I don't know what else to try. Is there another product you can suggest? Right now, I have him on Jungle Fungus Eliminator which is used by my local LFS very successfully. He actually came up to the surface last night and ate some pea and betta bites, which is a very good sign.

 

[sylvia]

I can't think of anything particular (I assume you live in the US - so you'll have a number of products available to you - the majority of which I am not familiar with) but finrot is usually caused by flexibacter (columnaris) and aeromonas. So if you can find something that targets these two types of bacteria specifically, you might get lucky.

 

[leighann]

dont give up!!! he cant help himself so you have to