White fungus???

[BettaMamaPDJ]

Currently freaking out a little….

So, I’ve been switching my tank over from silk plants to live plants and just finished the switch last week. Only thing is, my betta was very upset about losing all his tall plants and hiding places. He was wiggling and dislodged one of his new anubias, which then began to float and he decided that he liked it that way and has been constantly resting in it. I felt bad that he lost almost all his surface resting areas, and so I decided to temporarily leave it. But then I noticed a growth on the roots…I thought it was normal, but my betta has been more sluggish lately, sometimes fins slightly clamped. He can be rather dramatic when he’s not pleased, but I’m a little paranoid over my betta’s health after loosing my other previous bettas to various unrelated illnesses. 

I checked the water perimeters about an hour ago, and the readings were completely normal, all in the safe zone. I started doing research, though his symptoms can also just be from stress…. But if it’s white algae that he’s basically laying on… could it be causing him health issues? I’ve only noticed this on the 1 floating anubias. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also, sorry for the quality on some of the photos, but the aquarium light is already off for the night. 

[Fish Folk]

Alrighty! Let’s see if we can help relieve your fears here.

(1) To be sure that this is the point of concern, I’m assuming that this stuff is what you’re concerned about…

 

At first glance… this doesn’t seem to be fungus. Maybe bio-film? You could pull out, and gently rinse off under running water.

Fungal infection on fish looks like this…

Generally speaking, fungus attacks injury sites on a fish body.

(2) I recommend you consider at least a once weekly water change of 20%. Be sure to use water treatment. For Bettas, maybe consider API Stress Coat…

One thing we do to lower risk of heaters cracking is lower them, making them horizontal in water so water change doesn’t expose the element…

(3) If you do end up with a fungal infection, you can treat with API Fungus Cure…

But beware! It will stain your tank green for a long time…

 

(4) I recommend considering getting a couple floating Water Lettuce plants so your Betta can enjoy some top-water organics…

Meanwhile, rinse that stuff off your Anubis rhizome, and reaffix the plant down low.

Hope this helps! 

[BettaMamaPDJ]

Thank you so much for your help! I do weekly water changes with treated water and will be sure to move my heaters.  I’ve been wanting to get some floating plants, but am waiting for them to get in stock. I will rinse off of my anubias today as well, though I may have to leave it floating because it seems my betta is not doing well. 

His fins are definitely clamped, he barely left the anubias to eat, and he did not eat with his normal gusto. His little blue eyes now look like they’re half copper…could he be going blind??? And his swimming was not smooth, kinda jerky. He also seems to be getting more air than normal. Could it be an infection? He is the only fish in the tank and I don’t have a quarantine tank. Is there something I could treat him with that won’t damage his live plants?

[BettaMamaPDJ]

And I just now noticed that his belly has turned metallic. Could it be velvet? 

[BettaMamaPDJ]

So, I wound up taking the anubias out completely (the rhizome was feeling kinda squishy, which I had read could be bad, and I just didn’t want to take any chances). I set one of his silk plants back in the tank to give his somewhere to rest for now. And I’m 95% certain he has velvet, so I’ve started treating with ich-x. He’s already swimming around more, not resting as much, a little more personable, so I’m hoping that this helps

[JoeQ]

How are his poops? I can't see his belly but it might just be constipation and hes laying on the anubis for easier access to the surface of the water

[Baphijmm]

What did you use to secure the Anubias before? I ask because, to me that looks like glue residue. If it's been in the tank for a while, it shouldn't be a problem.

Also, how did you obtain the Anubias originally? Was it a culture-grown specimen? Because that stuff also looks like it could be the agar gel used for that.

[BettaMamaPDJ]

His poops have been fine, though I don’t always see them. I’ve had constipated fish before, but he is acting different. His neck/belly has a copper sheen when I shine a flashlight on him, thus my hopefully accurate diagnosis of velvet. The ich-x seems to be helping some. Does anyone know if I should continue feeding him during treatment, or should I pause? And I’m following the directions on the bottle, but is the 3 day dosing accurate for velvet?

The anubias had only been in the tank for 1 week. I did not use glue to anchor it and I bought it from Aquarium Co-Op. It has been taken out of the tank already, and as long as it’s nothing that can cause health problems for my fish, I’m not worried about it any more, as I’ve got bigger problems trying to heal him 💕