Help with My Betta's White-colored "Scab"

[koobek]

I would appreciate it you all could please tell me what to treat this white colored, scab-like growth on my Betta's side with.

It started small, and I assumed that he just scatached a few scales off, but it has continually grown over the past month to what you see in the photo, and I'm concerned for my fishe's health. So far, he (or she) eats and acts healthy, but I can't imaginge that this growth doesn't adversely affect his health.

The lady at Petco working in the fish section had no knowledge of fish; she had to use a book to try to find a remedy to the problem to no avail. I finally bought some drops fro API called "Stress Coat" that's supposed to be good for fish abrasions, but it hasn't helped.

My fish is in a 2.5 gallon tank with a charcoal filter, and I keep the water clean.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you,
Barrett

[Ivana]

Check this page-

http://www.2cah.com/pandora/Disease.html#External

Does it look more like the pictures of a bacterial infection or does it look like a tumor?

[Incredulous_Ed]

It's probably fungus. Get some medication at your LFS, and before you put it in, remove the charcoal filter. Be sure that you follow th directions carefully. Then again, I'm not really sure what it is.

[Lady Hobbs]

I can't tell if it's a fungus or not but your pictures looks like one. If it really is more like a scab, would he have burned himself on the heater?

[kimmers318]

Melafix is a good treatment for skin injuries/illness etc. It can also be used in conjunction with pimafix....it won't hurt your biological filter and when I have used it seems pretty easy on the fish. Read the labels to decide if you want to use one or both depending on what you can see on your fish. A picture may be worth a thousand words but actually being able to see the spot closeup is even better.

[f1oored]

If you want to try something with a few less chemicals you might add aquarium salt to your bettas water. I would start with one teaspoon per gallon and remove the fish if he shows any signs of stress. Many bacteria and fungus have a bad reaction to salt.

Tips
- Mix the salt with water before putting it in the tank
- Have some clean room temp treated water standing by if the fish show signs of stress
- You can leave the salt in as long as necessary for treatment but you should not leave it in once the fish is better. Just stop adding it during water changes to remove it.