Betta with a large white lump?

Question

I have a male betta that is about 6 or 7 months old. He has grown about as big as he should. All of a sudden, over night, he developed this white lump under his stomach, slightly on his belly fin. I thought it may be ick, but when i added ick treatment, there was no difference. His jaw is also developing a fuz and is slightly swollen. He doesn't eat half as much as normal... Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Ich looks like white spots, like your fish has been rolling in sand. That is what it looks like and nothing else - avoid treating for conditions your fish doesn't have, because meds can be really harsh on a fish.

Anyway, the white lump sounds like possibly a tumor... can you tell if its below the skin, or above the skin? Does it look fuzzy or solid? Or is it more like a swelling which could be impaction?

The fuz on his jaw would be fungus. Treat with a funguscide like maracyn or maracyn-2, or methlyne blue.

Most (premature) betta illnesses are caused by poor water conditions. Contrary to popular belief, bettas can't live healthily in small bowls / tanks. You can get away with it if you keep the ambient air temp very warm (85-90F, so the water is 80F like in the wild) and clean the tank out daily (without filtration, ammonia adds up very quickly, and poisons the fish).

The best thing you could do for him would be to put him in a real tank, 3-6 gallons would do, with a real filter and a real heater.

In the meantime, keep his water clean (you can use a clean turkey basted to suck out half the water and uneaten food/poop every day and replace it with fresh water) and keep him warm (increase air temp and move his tank closer to a lamp).

Answer 2

I agree with Zoe. It's certainly not Ick causing the lump and the fuzziness you see on it's lip is almost certainly a fungus. Treating the fungus is easy, just as Zoe said.

Fungus can usually only attack an unhealthy fish and is most likely not the root of the problem. The large white spot is mostly likely a tumor, for which there is rarely a treatment. Look carefully at the bump ... is it a bump like acne would be or more of a generally swollen area? If it's general swelling, it's below the skin, if a bump then in the skin.
If it's in the skin I would treat with a general paricide as it's more likely a parasite, if below the skin it's more likely to be impaction as Zoe said or an internal infection, both of which are quite hard to diagnose or to treat.

Answer 3

Sounds like a fungal infection - columnaris. Medication wise, I would use Bettamax first. Or Maroxy which can be used for 7 days (don't stop until the full course is given). They recommend 2 drops per quart of water. So only a tiny bit.

Answer 4

Mine got that on his face. He stopped eating too. I called it face cancer. I think it's incurable. He died.