Help! Something White Has Grown On My Fighters Mouth

[slabavic]

Hoping someone can help... I have a Betta and during the course of the day I have noticed something white growing from firstly inside his mouth in the morning to now 6pm where it has progressed to all over his nose. I have been trying to research this on the net and the closest I can come to is something called cotton mouth? Could I be correct in assuming this and if so what are the remedies? He has also recovering from a bad case of ick which is nearly all cleared

Tank size: 60 litre Juwel
pH: 7.5
ammonia: 0.1 negligeble
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0
kH:
gH:170
tank temp: 27c 80f

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior): White growth growing rapidly on mouth area

Volume and Frequency of water changes: Weekly 20%

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: 14 days into daily Ick treatment with formalin

Tank inhabitants: 2 clown loaches, 2 small gourami's, 10 neons

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):

Exposure to chemicals: None

 

[-germ-]

Can you get some decent pictures? Try looking particularly hard at the gills of the fish for anything odd.....
TBH it would be hard to tell, from your description if the illness is most likely to be Columnaris (bacterial) or some form of fungus.
My instinct would be Columnaris, but hey
Have you had any deaths recently if so what were the symptoms?

Other points would be;
1)Do you know how big Clown Loaches get? Much too big for your tank i'm afraid, i hope you plan on re-homing them.
2)You really shouldn't be keeping Gourami with Betta, this is asking for trouble.

 

[slabavic]

It's a friendly tank.. Everyone seems to be getting along fine except for a small angel fish who only lasted 24 hours due to stress. No one is fighting. Had a few tetras succumb to ick and a catfish as well but everyone else seems to be doing well. The loaches are having a ball. Even the fighter seems really hardy. He took it easy for a few days just sitting in the plants while he got over his ick but now this.... I hate to see him suffer. The more I research it, it does sound like cotton mouth. What do you recommend in the way of treating fungus? Should I move him to a hospital tank on his own or treat the whole tank?

 

[-germ-]

What do you mean by cotton mouth?
Columnaris or a Fungus?
Columnaris looks fungal but isn't and to treat it as such could be a mistake, elaboration please!

Going to have to go in a minute if all else fails and you can't determine between a Fungal infection or Columnaris i'd look into any medication containing Phenoxyethanol which allows for mis-diagnosis, due to its having bactericidal and fungicidal properties.

Ps; A friendly tank how long has it been set up? What species are the Gourami?

 

[slabavic]

I hope this picture helps with diagnosis. By friendly I mean no one species is attacking another. They are getting on well. It's been set up for about a month.

 

[slabavic]

HELP !!! The growth has is now starting to cover his eyes. It's 10pm here so I cant go to the shop to get any remedies! Does anyone know what could be spreading so quickly? I have moved him out of the main tank now and put him in a recovery tank by himself so the other fish don't stress him out

 

[-germ-]

Have you got any anti-bacterial medications at-all?
I certainly think it is columaris....

 

[slabavic]

Too late The little guy gave up... It covered his eyes and that was that.. My god it happened in the space of 9 hours. Surely there has to be signs of this before hand? He was fine till this morining.... Oh well. What are my options now? Do I still treat the tank so the other fish dont get it? Is it something in the water? The tank is very very clean and I do water changes weekly. I'd really like to prevent this happening again. I have never seen it before. Where does it come from and how does it start?

 

[slabavic]

I just found this on the web. If its what Gern was saying, and I tend to agree with him, then this might help others with the same problem

Signs Of Infection

A white film covers the body, mainly on the head but also on the fins and gills. The body of the fish becomes ulcerated and the fins frayed. In the latter stages of infection parts of the lips and head may become eaten away.

Fish Affected
Columnaris affects many tropical fish primarily Live-bearers.

Details Of Infection

Columnaris or cotton wool disease, is caused by the bacteria Flexibactor columnaris. It is highly contagious and can spread rapidly via contaminated nets and other aquarium equipment. The bacteria can can enter the fish through any small grazes or wounds where upon the signs of infection detailed above develop.

Treatment
Treatment must be administered quickly as fish usually die within 24 hours. Some anti-bacterial medications can be effective and again the addition of salt to the water may be beneficial. Aquarium equipment should be disinfected using the same medication. The best cure is prevention - maintain a clean environment for your fish.

 

[slabavic]

Just thought I'd add a link to an article on the subject... I hope that none of you ever get this in your tank... IT"S DEADLY

http/network.bestfriends.org/friends_of_.../news/5401.html

 

[-germ-]

Too late The little guy gave up...

Sorry for your loss, apologies that i couldn't be of more help. You should certainly consider getting a few bare essentials to keep as a sort of medicine cabinet in preperation for any illness in the future.

My god it happened in the space of 9 hours. Surely there has to be signs of this before hand? He was fine till this morining....

There may well have been signs leading up to this that you didn't notice or know to look for, in particular (in this instance) any form of fin-damage/fin rot however mild. Flexibacter columnaris is often responsible for fin rot. Columnaris is also an extremely fast-acting bacteria.

What are my options now? Do I still treat the tank so the other fish dont get it? Is it something in the water? The tank is very very clean and I do water changes weekly. I'd really like to prevent this happening again. I have never seen it before. Where does it come from and how does it start?

IMO it is better safe than sorry so i'd probably perform a course of fin-rot treatment just in case (like i said, both are interlinked and most fin-rot treatments will deal with columnaris), then again medications can stress/injure/weaken fish so its entirely up to you and your personal opinions.
All fish are different, your Betta may have had an inherent weakness due to genetics or a weakness from other causes.
Most bacteria are constantly present in your tank but only effect your fish under various wide-ranging circumstances.