Is "Whirling disease" possible in bettas? Treatable?

Question

I've had bettas for about 2 years, and bought a new one two weeks ago. He seemed to adjust well. However, last week he stopped showing interest in food. He's pale, and his breathing is labored at times, mostly right after what I've termed a "seizure." I researched but found no instances of epileptic fish. The closest thing I found was Whirling disease. It is documented in trout and salmon, mostly in breeding facilities, but never a mention in smaller single fish. The "symptoms" that led me to Whirling disease are as follows:
-he suddenly darts around his bowl, making it three or four times around in under a second and a half
-he then "chases his tail," spinning in a tight circle
-then he just kind of drifts, swimming sideways, upside down, etc
-he noseplants into the stones or lays on the bottom and sits there without moving, one gill extended and mouth gasping
Eventually he recovers and behaves normally. He has signs of stress–pale colors, vertical striping–but no fin clenching. Help?

Answer 1

You are exactly right, those symptoms are classic whirling disease symptoms, but as you have seen in your research, Whirling disease has never been documented outside of the salmonid family.

Whirling disease is caused by myxozoa cerbralis or myxobolus cerbralis (scientists are still debating this but coming to the conclusion it's the former not the later). There are over 700 species of myxozoa parasites found throughout the world and all of them are parasites of various fishes and have been documented in hundreds of different species of freshwater fish.

It is reasonable to assume what your betta has is one of these myxozoa species as many of them produce similar symptoms to m. cerebralis in their hosts. Unfortunately one of the things all these parasites have in common is the fact that the spore cycle inhabits the cartilage of the fish and is untreatable without killing the fish. I took the liberty of contacting a former professor in fish health who confirmed that there is no confirmed treatable pathogen that would cause these symptoms in a tropical fish and would assume a diagnosis of a myxozoa sp. infection.

Assuming it's not related to water quality ( high ammonia can cause similar reactions from bettas) I'm afraid there would be very little you can do for your fish. If this fish is housed with other similar species it's possible they are also infected, but highly unlikely. You should be safe in removing the infected fish for euthanasia.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but that appears to be the most probable diagnosis.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I've never seen or heard of this with betta's, but your description sounds just like whirling disease, I have had a weather loach with it once. If that is what it is, your treatment options are pretty limited, and will probably not work. Check your water parameters and raise the temp a little bit and see if that helps.

Answer 4

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