Mystery Slimy, White Substance in Tank with Fin Rot Infected Betta

[cbohn]

I have a mystery slimy, white substance in my tank that showed up a couple of days ago.  As my fish has increasingly severe fin rot, which I have been trying to treat for quite some time - to no avail, I'm a bit on edge about it.  Does anyone have any idea of what this is and, or how to stop it if it is not healthy?  From my research I am assuming it is a bacterial build up, but I am no expert in this field - hence my failure to lower my tanks PH and cure my fishes fin rot using a variety of medications.  If anyone has any advice for those topics as well, it would be greatly appreciated.  I've posted previously about my PH and fin rot issues and even though I got some help on it, the ideas that were suggested were ineffective.  I just want to help my little buddy and am hoping that I can save his life.

[Brandy]

It is hard to tell from the photo what the white stuff is--I almost think I see a hydra (harmless) on top of the filter. 

Your water, however, is super hard and high pH. That is probably contributing to the betta fin rot. 

Easy fix would be to do some gradual partial water changes with distilled water. I would aim at replacing 1g every other day with distilled water and keep testing. Once you get below a pH of 8 (preferably lower), I would try to hold it there, and see if the fin rot improves. Betta pH range is 6.5-7.5, and they prefer softer water. They can adapt up a little, but your water is off your test range.

[cbohn]

9 hours ago, Brandy said:

It is hard to tell from the photo what the white stuff is--I almost think I see a hydra (harmless) on top of the filter. 

Your water, however, is super hard and high pH. That is probably contributing to the betta fin rot. 

Easy fix would be to do some gradual partial water changes with distilled water. I would aim at replacing 1g every other day with distilled water and keep testing. Once you get below a pH of 8 (preferably lower), I would try to hold it there, and see if the fin rot improves. Betta pH range is 6.5-7.5, and they prefer softer water. They can adapt up a little, but your water is off your test range.

Thank you for you help! I am aware that the ph is the biggest issue in regards to my buddy’s health and I have tired every chemical ph “reducer” or modifier, but have been unsuccessful. I appreciate your distilled water idea. I had thought of that and started the process, but I’m overall glad to see that my idea holds water.  If I’m able to use distilled water to get the ph down, should I then start doing water changes with only distilled water or should I do them with a mix of distilled and tap? I ask because when I tested the distilled it came up as a ph of 6, which I know is too acidic. Would mixing the water theoretically help me find a happy medium?

[Brandy]

11 hours ago, cbohn said:

If I’m able to use distilled water to get the ph down, should I then start doing water changes with only distilled water or should I do them with a mix of distilled and tap? I ask because when I tested the distilled it came up as a ph of 6, which I know is too acidic. Would mixing the water theoretically help me find a happy medium?

Mixing the water is exactly how to get the correct pH going forward. I would start testing with a half and half ratio, and then move from there to get a ratio that works for you. The fact that your water is so hard means it is highly buffered. "Buffering" means it is resistant to changing it's pH, which is why the chemical adjustments are not working. Distilled water doesn't have any buffering capability, so as you replace the hard water the pH will move more quickly. Assume once you start to see a shift on your test kit that you may want to start to make smaller and smaller changes, and switch to doing water changes with mixed water. A gradual change will be easier on the fish. Aim for it to take a week or two.

[Brandy]

Also, I was thinking. The slimy white stuff is likely also related to the high pH hard water. Mineral deposits and normal bacteria.

[cbohn]

@Brandy thank you so much for your help! I appreciate you explaining why the hard water affects my ph changeability. I was so frustrated that I couldn’t figure it out. I will definitely take it slow. Do you mind if I use this thread to ask you further questions as my water changes?