Please Help!!

[Dusty Roots]

I posted two days ago about 2 new additions to our household. Junker a crowntail, and Skittles a butterfly Delta tail. Junker seemed to adjust fine and has finally eaten twice now :)

Skittles on the other hand has not. Though his heat is turned to 27 degrees Celsius he is still listless and will not eat. I figured it was all just stress untill my girlfriend noticed what looked to be flaky skin, and or a fuzzy coating. Through some research the only thing we can think of is a Freshwater Velvet. In this case I added 1 teaspoon of Aquarium salt, and upped his temperature to 30 Celsius. I have pictures and would like to get an educated opinion. Please help.

Two days Ago

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/Thewaaagh/DSC00523.jpg

And Now...notice the red gills, and the fuzzy pieces alon his topside.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/Thewaaagh/DSC00538.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/Thewaaagh/DSC00536.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/Thewaaagh/DSC00540.jpg


Thanks for Looking

[Mvjnz]

If it's velvet the temp needs to be 32 degrees, it can be treated with heat treatment just as ich.

If you don't turn the temp up, you need to medicate for it.

[gm72]

Heat along with a small amount of aquarium salt (1/2 dose or so) is a good idea as would be treating with Pimafix medication. Looks like a fungal infection, perfectly treatable if you act quickly.

[LosC]

Definitely looks like fungus on him and you should treat him fast because it's looking bad. I lost my first Betta to fungus during treatment.

[Dusty Roots]

Hey guys, thanks for the quick replies. I too thought Maybe a funal infection, so I turned the tank up to 32 Celcius, but his gills where puffing pretty hard when i hit the hay last night....and he didnt make it.I guess thats just the way it is sometimes :( RIP poor skittles.

[Kayla-Bug]

Sorry about your Betta :( You have to catch these problems in their earliest stages or do your best to prevent it. Did you have a heater in the tank, water tests, and how often do you change the water? Sometimes it's best to do MORE water changes to prevent sickness.

[Dusty Roots]

Hey Kayla, thats the thing. If I had time to catch it earlier I would. Skittles was only two days old when the symptoms of him struggleing occured. We took his body, and water samples in today, back to the LFS. They told me the water looked fine (amonia, Nitite, Nitrate, Ph) And Judging by the mold like fuzz covering his gills, was some sort of infection he had prior to purchase.

[gm72]

Given his light color I can imagine it would have been more difficult to see the infection early. He had those spots at least from 2 days ago though, infections like that don't pop up overnight. The physical signs appear before the behavioral signs appear. Hey, now you know what to look for next time!

[Kayla-Bug]

Hey Kayla, thats the thing. If I had time to catch it earlier I would. Skittles was only two days old when the symptoms of him struggleing occured. We took his body, and water samples in today, back to the LFS. They told me the water looked fine (amonia, Nitite, Nitrate, Ph) And Judging by the mold like fuzz covering his gills, was some sort of infection he had prior to purchase.Did he look fine when you bought him? I mean, you can usually tell when they are sick when you buy them is why I am asking.. And like GM said, they don't just pop up overnight, even if you can't see them due to the lightly colored body he had. And sorry he has passed :(

[Mvjnz]

Turning the heat up for fungal infections will only make it worse. Keep the temp normal if it's fungus, and change some water every day. Usually clears up on its own with clean water.