Please help me save my best friend

[Jeff F]

#25878

Hello,

I joined the IBC a few months ago looking for more in-depth knowledge on betta care. Many of the articles were helpful, but I’m currently at a loss for whats afflicting my best friend, Colonel William Prescott.

I bought the Colonel about 8 months ago from a local pet store. He’s a generic blue veilteil with a huge personality. We spend a lot of time together and to say his normal temperament is gregarious would be an understatement.

Tank Specs

20 gallon tank
filtered/cycled/heater
all silk plants
PH 6.8, 0 NI, 0NA

7 days ago I noticed the Colonel was having trouble swallowing his pellets (Ocean Nutrition, micro-size). He would flare at them and attack them with vigor, but its like they would pop back out of his mouth and he would keep going after them until he could hold it in to swallow which was weird. He usually eats 4 pellets a day, but I stopped feeding him for 1 day thinking this may be a sign he was on the verge of constipation.

Well, 5 days ago I went to greet the Colonel in the morning and he didn’t surface, which was strange since he’s always waiting on me for his feeding. I looked around the tank and found him hiding in the rear right corner under the plants. I moved the light to see him better and he scurried off to hide even deeper under the plants. I turned off the light and let him be for a while and returned at 1pm to check on him. He was still hiding in bottom right corner, so I checked the water parameters and everything was normal. I was concerned, but thought maybe he would be normal in the morning.

The next morning I went to see him and I was shocked to see a large white postule or cyst like growth right on his chin with something kinda dangling out of the middle. He also had a rough texture on his right gill cover (which was extended more than left) with some grayish white fuzz on it, but he was no longer hiding and kinda hanging around the surface. I went into panic mode and searched web trying to identify what it was and how to treat him.

I grabbed some Paraguard by Seachem from local store to administer, along with a 50% water change while I tried to diagnose what was going on. The next morning, the cyst was completely gone and his temperament was better, but the rough gill cover with fuzz was still there and the trouble swallowing persisted. He goes after the food with seemingly great hundger btw. After hours of internet searching I determined it must be a bacteria or fungus afflicting him so I stopped paraguard treatment, did a 75% water change and started treating him with Kanaplex. Tonight is the 48 hour mark from beginning of Kanaplex treatment so he’s due another dose tonight, but he’s not improved. He’s been able to swallow a few micro pellets but cannot hold down the normal size ones he used to eat with ease. He’s got clammped fins and kinda floats around on the surface and gulps for air with more effort than before.

Here is a dropbox link with some pictures….

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dy32bfuhonwo10q/AACGfaTYmspirn3NXeUhLkoPa?dl=0

I really hope someone can give me some guidance on how to help him. Thank you in advance

[Author]

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