My betta fish had what appeared to be an ulcer or some sort of sore in front of his left eye in the beginning of July. It was swollen and there was white fuzz on it. I treated it with drop in tablets to clear up the infection. The infection had appeared to go away and he is swimming and eating again, however the area where he had the infection has not healed yet and it appears that in an area double the area of the original infection the scales have fallen off. Is this because of the infection or is there another problem. He appears healthy has he is swimming around the bowl and eating. Any ideas?
2007-08-27 14:20:13 · 4 answers · asked by Mike 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
It sounds like your fish has an infection called columnaris. It's a bacterial infection that can easily look like a fungus (the white fuzzy look) and often is seen around the mouth or face first, hence it's common name, mouth fungus. Even with that common name, it's not always on the fish's mouth, nor is it a fungus at all. It can occur anywhere on the fishes body and there have been documented lab cases of it being a systemic, or body wide infection. It's not real easy to treat as it only responds well to a very limited number of antibiotics. The best treatments for columnaris is Furanace or Furan -2. They contain the only known antibiotic that will treat both the surface and internal parts of the infection and the only one that will treat it if it becomes systemic. Tetracycline can be effective as well and is usually much easier to find under the name Maracyn TC. Treat for a minimum of 7 days for columnaris, 10 is really better.
If I can help further feel free to email me.
MM
2007-08-27 15:32:16 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It sounds like the only way to fix this is to start doing weekly water changes. Your fish has too much bacteria in it's water.
Your fishy friend needs to be in a tank with a filter which is regularly cleaned and has water changes. This will reduce the amount of bacteria in your tank. Which will lead to a much healthier fish.
The scales falling off is probably a result of the bacterial infection the fish had before. if the scales start to puff out then your fish has droopsy.
2007-08-27 14:32:06 · answer #2 · answered by Alison B 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't use bottled water, there are mineral in tap water that can help your fish. Go to your local pet store and get a Ph balancer to remove the toxic chemicals (i.e. chlorine, fluoride) from the water. There are also several medications available to help with fin rot. If you go to a petsmart or petco just ask and they can point you in the right direction.
2016-05-19 21:40:32 · answer #3 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes the scales fall off if the fish is stressed. Test your water with a test kit. Petland does water changes for free.
2007-08-27 14:34:23 · answer #4 · answered by Megan 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋