Betta With Tail Fungus Of Some Form...or Just Old Age...

[electric yellow]

How do you tell if a betta has fin rot or just a shabby tail? My skin colored betta Pinky has white 'stuff' on his tail and is starting to look a bit shabby and im wondering if it is fin rot or some form of fungus? He shares a tank that i have divided in two with a red betta. (They have a plastic divider between them) The red betta isnt showing any signs of this white tail fungus at all and is perfectly normal looking. I thought maybe it is old age as i pick Pinky to be around 2yrs old by his size.

Pinky when i got him with no sign of the white stuff...

Today..

He still flares and dances around. We have their tank sitting on our kitchen bench because it makes it central to the people through the house. These two fellas LOVE interaction with us.

His mate ramjet....as you can see, no signs of white tail stuff...
..when we got him..

Today...

As you can see he looks fine....he was small when we got him so i figure he is about a yr old.

Tank details...

Aqua Start 320
Lighting on 8hrs a day (recently moved to curb sunlight in tank)
Internal filtration
Air stone
Gravel
Plant in each side
Plastic sea ornaments
Heated at 26deg
Running for about a yr this tank before they were put in. Used for baby tank and fresh bought fish.

Ph: 7.0
Ammonia: 0ppm
NitrIte: 0ppm
NitrAte: 0ppm

If they share a tank and one is sick shouldnt the other be too?

 

[Colin_T]

It looks like excess mucous, which is normally caused by poor water quality. However, if you have 2 fish in the same tank (but separated from each other) one might have a weaker immune system and is suffering from that, or it has a skin parasite but these usually affect the body and not the tail.
If the fish is new then it might have been in poor water and the problem should clear up in a few days if the fish is in good conditions.

 

[electric yellow]

Is excess mucous bad for him? There doesnt appear to be any white stuff on the body. Ive had him for a couple of months now but he isnt a baby fish. Id say he is fully grown. Hes flaring around the tank and swimming round like a loonatic. Id say he looks helathy.

I did a 50% water change yesterday with a gravel vac. Even though it is an internal filter in a small tank i still gravel vac'd. I removed all the algea that had built up on their divider to. Should i treat them with anything? I have Pimafix and Melafix in the cupboard but if its not going to get worse and regular water changes help it then i will just do egular changes.

 

[WILDER]

The fins can look translucent and slimey with finrot.
http/www.petfish.net/kb/entry/335/

 

[Colin_T]

Is excess mucous bad for him?

fish naturally have a mucous coating over their body but it is very thin and can't normally be seen. When they are stressed out they produce more mucous and this becomes visible as a cream film over part or all of the body and fins. The mucous isn't a problem but is often an indicator that something is not right in the tank.
Try doing a partial (40-50%) water change and gravel clean each day for a week and see if it helps. Also clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last month. Wash the filter sponges out in a bucket of tank water and not under the tap.
If it gets worse you can try the Melafix & Pimafix and see what happens. If that doesn't work then perhaps try something like Waterlife Protozin, but use that as a last resort.

 

[electric yellow]

Ok. So i can isolate the other betta by putting him in my communal tank. Will he get along ok with the following:

4x blue rams
2x clown loaches
2x bristol plecs
1x gourami
1x tiger barb


Otherwise i will begin treatment with Melafix and Pimafix tonight.

 

[LauraFrog]

Might do temporarily - are there lots of hiding places (that are not always occupied by the rams) and what sort of gourami is it?

 

[Colin_T]

tiger barbs and gouramis will cause problems so best not to put the male in with them unless he is separated by a partition or kept in a breeding net.

 

[electric yellow]

Its heavily planted and i recently redecorated to add more hiding spots. The gourami is a gold gourami of 2yrs of age. The barb may be a bit chasey. I will leave him in the tank he is in.