Mouth Fungus

[celaeno]

i've treated my female betta for what i diagnosed as mouth fungus with a maracyn 1+2 combo, then furan-2, and now a furan-2 + kanaplex treatment. the betta has improved greatly since the end of the first furan-2 treatment, but i can't seem to get rid of the remaining white growth on her lips.

so my question is.. is it really the bacterial disease known as mouth fungus, or true fungus?

here're some photos of the betta before she was moved to a hospital tank:

 

[Colin_T]

Fish can develop fungus on their mouth. Fungus is white and fluffy and only gets into damaged areas in the fish, (open wounds, etc).
Columnaris, commonly called mouth fungus, is caused by bacteria and is hard to treat.

The pictures you have provided show a Betta with Columnaris. If the mouth is still white then continue treatment for another week. Once the bacterium is dead the white should go and colour return. The mouth will also heal up and grow back when the bacteria are gone.

ps: I think your female Betta is actually a male.

 

[celaeno]

how can you tell it's a male? (it was sold to me as a female)

 

[Colin_T]

Most males have long fins. Females have short fins. Females often have stripes along the body whereas males have solid colour.
Young males are often shipped over as females. Sometimes they develop long fins and other times they stay short finned. The short finned males are highly prized by people who fight Bettas.