Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi, i posted a few days ago, but i have another question concerning my betta that i haven't been able to find on other sites. i noticed after transferring my betta to its permanent home, he started developing this fuzzy white stuff at the very tip of his fins (not all, just a few, mostly on the bottom fin...). the color of his fins don't seem to be changing and they appear healthy. i started using jungle fungus eliminator in his bowl to combat any diseases he could come into contact with... i change his gallon bowl about every 5 days and use jungle start right, ammonia eliminator, and aquarium salt, all diluted to use in a one gallon tank, along with the fungus eliminator. are these white things a sign of fin rot? or could he just be picking up debris in the water? and is it normal for bettas to shed the very tips of their fins? almost like people shed hair? i noticed yesterday that when he swam away from my finger (which was on the outside of the bowl), it looked like he shed a tiny piece of his fin... but he wasn't around anything that could have ripped it off....

Hi. White fuzzies could be a couple things. One is ick, and the other is a fungus. Of course it could be something else on top of the others. For example, it could be fin rot and a fungus. It's hard to say without seeing it in person. Is he still eating? I'm not familiar with jungle fungus eliminator... is it a natural product? (like melafix is) The reason I ask is because some disease treatments are not good to use unless your fish actually has the disease. Another thing I wonder is: when you are treating the water with these various treatments are you adding them directly into the tank or are you putting them in a cup or something with water to dilute them before they hit your fish? Fin rot is usually detected by fins deteriorating, not necessarily white fuzzy. Bettas do not normally shed anything (fins, scales... nothing).
-----
Phishie
Site Coordinator

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Yes, my betta (his name is Manny) is eating very well, incredibly active, showing no signs of ill health (according to my novice eye, ha ha!). His tail is intact and i can't tell where that piece of fin came from.... it's incredibly small (only about 1/4 inch, if that) and still colored red. If it were black, I would definitely think it was fin rot. But the fungus eliminator contains nitrofurazone, furazolidone, and potassium dichromate... it makes the water slightly blue.... and i add all this stuff to the water before he ever swims in it, so it's definitely already diluted. I'm really starting to think the fuzzies are this film that keeps forming on top of my water.... i just changed it yesterday, and already this film is on the top of the water... any idea what that is and how to avoid it?

Keep an eye on the fins, let me know of any changes... and if you could take a picture of him if it gets any worse, I would be able to judge a little better what's going on.

I think I know of the film you are talking about. My firebellied newt's tank gets like a white film on it. My best guess is to keep the tank covered. I think a full hood would do the trick nicely without messing with the dissolved oxygen (the surface water gets oxygen through diffusion from the atomosphere).
-----
Phishie
Site Coordinator

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."