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I used the disease identification and narrowed it down to Neon Tetra disease. But i'm not convinced. This female Betta was recently introduced to a 29 gal. communtity about 2 months ago, and all has seemed fine as far as getting along with tankmates and acclimating to her new surroundings. She was eating fine and getting along with another female Betta even! As of the past couple of days though i've noticed her very lethargic and not eating. She has been just sitting in a clay pot at the bottom of the tank doing nothing. Last night she was sitting on the suction cup of the heater. I have just put her in a QT tank and noticed a cyst or wound on her side, her bottom lip also appears to be splitting apart (or at least it's swollen) Any ideas everyone? No other fish are showing any signs of any kind of disease or distress. Tank parameters are: Ph 7.2, Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrates 0ppm and temp. 79 degrees. Here's a pic of her wound if it helps, Poor little girl



Jessnick attached this image:


Last edited by Jessnick at 15-Dec-2004 15:07[/font]

I'm not sure if that is a cyst or wound. I'm leaning more towards a wound. Are there any sharp objects in the tank that could have done this?

I would treat with bettamax and cross my fingers...

Well a little update....Overnight she has not gotten any worse, and actually ate a little bit today. Still a bit lethargic looking but not any worse. Thanks for the reply Shannen, although I have looked for BettaMax everywhere in my area with no luck. Do you think Melafix or Pimafix could be used instead? Thanks in advance for the help! I forgot to answer you about the sharp objects. I guess there are (i.e. a rock) but have never had this problem with any other fish. I suppose it is possible though.

Last edited by Jessnick at 16-Dec-2004 13:35

Looks like a wound to me. . .

Melafix should be enough but you may want to pick up some stronger meds just in case it is an infection. Jungle Fungus Clear is a good one, it'll cover you for fungus and infection at the same time. I would also add a bit of aquarium salt to the QT tank, about 1/2 tsp / gallon and keep her extra clean and warm. Good luck

Yes Melafix will work...bettamax is nothing more than diluted Melafix. Just make sure you do not use a full dose of Melafix. I did once and lost a 60 dollar 8 ray HM gold female 2 hours after I treated her. They just seem to be sensitive to it, so be warned.

I'm starting to doubt that this is a wound. I noticed today that she now has a smaller "wound" right near her tail. She is in a QT and there is nothing in there at all, just water so there is no way she hurt herself on an ornament or something. The original wound is starting to make her scales "stick out" and her bottom lip is just getting worse. I think she's not eating, not because she's not hungry, but because her lip is all messed up. Could this be dropsy? and if so what other symptoms should I be aware of. Thanks again for the help everyone.

From the pic I would agree about the wound, but now that ypu mention those news I really don't know, let me take a look on my books

Jess!! be very Careful could be open tuberculosis!!!!, just saw a pic and read the symptoms in the "handbook of fish diseases" and it's very close to it!!!, let me write it all the diagnostic in the next post.

Piscine Tuberculosis
As in man, tuberculosis in fish is also caused by mycobacteria. It breaks out mainly during weakend states of health, poor living conditions and vitamin deficiencies.
The external indications of a tubercular infection vary fro species yo species and from one individual to another, depending upon the varying degrees of resistance. Additionally, the symptoms also show up in another diseases, so they are a danger signal only when verified at autopsy. Symptoms could include: Bloating of the bosy caused by fluid accumulation in the body cavity; emaciation along the narrow dorsal ridge(razorback) and sunken belly; scale loss and lifted scales; open skin lesions; pop eye to the point of the eyes actually popping out; pale coloration; jerky swimming; abdominal organ displacement; greatly reduced reaction and reflexes; loss of apetite; and remaining apart from other fish. These symptoms can appear alone or in various combinations.
Also the book says if it's tuberculosis the fish must be sacrified
From "The handbook of fish diseases" of dieter untergasser

That was one of the other diagnosis' I got from the FP disease identifier. I ruled it out because she had not progressed that far yet. If it is this, should i be worried about my other fish she was housed with, is it contagious?

Yes, it's contagious to fish & Humans, it's the only disease contagious to humans. If it's tuberculosis, you should be very careful don't touch the fish or water without gloves, and at this point if she is ina hospital tank just provide clean water and let's see how it progress.

Regards
Hector

It looks like a bite mark to me.

Tussle with the other female maybe?

melafix and/or pimafix should bring it right, if it is not already infected. If she starts to show more signs of infection, move onto antibiotic food for 7 days to clear it up.

Keep the water spotless.

Oh, and keep in mind that an open wound like that affects the osmoregulation of a fish, so she would be under extreme physical stress trying to deal with that.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Also, should make the differenciation between FISH TB and HUMAN TB. They are different bugs, and dealing with fish TB is not going to give you anything more than a nasty skin infection at its worst. If you suspect it, get some extra long examination gloves, or be sure you have no open wounds on your hands.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

I had a female betta that developed what I assumed were benign tumours...the looked just like that, and the scales around them stuck out.

She lived for a year after that, with salted and melafixed water. All alone of course, just in case.

if she's not swollen like a pea (from the inside) then it probably isn't dropsy. melafix and salt couldn't hurt for now until we get more leads.. is she eating now?