Please help…

[sallen]

I have a 5gal planted aquarium (approx 2.5yrs old). My betta has been like this since about nov 23 slowly becoming more noticeable. He has jagged fins but other than that seems fine. I can’t figure out what it is exactly. I need to treat but don’t know how. Tank parameters: nitrite /ammonia 0 , nitrate 10 ppm pH 7.8. Any help would be appreciated

 

[Bradders]

Does anyone think that looks like Graphite Disease or Tetrahymena?

 

[Bradders]

Also, @sallen, can you please send us a picture of the fish's living environment and all the details like size, filter, etc? Just helps a little.

 

[sallen]

Does anyone think that looks like Graphite Disease or Tetrahymena?

I did wonder this, he is all black but there is a lot of info out there so is confusing.

Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 5
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What temperature is your tank? Currently 23.3oc
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? Amano Shrimp (3) + snail (1 nerite/2 assasin)

Food:
What food brand do you use? Aqua care + and fluval
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Pellet and bug bites
Freeze-dried? No
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? 4 pellets a day and a small pinch of bug bites

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? Weekly
What percentage of water did you change? 25%
What is the source of your water? Tap
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? Dip out water
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner? API Leaf zone and aqua care bio boost. API stress coat

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water before the regular water change; not after one.

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10
pH: 7.8
Hardness (GH): 7
Alkalinity (KH): 10

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? Nov 23
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? Grey white patches over head and body and jagged fins
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? Not much. Seems a little slower now
Is your Betta still eating? Yes
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? Back in nov I treated with anti internal bacteria medicine by interpret. That didn’t do much and it got more visible. Treated for fungus in January and it did nothing.
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? No
How long have you owned your Betta? ~ 8 months
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? A month or so after purchase he ripped his fin (had a hole in the bottom one) but it healed then shortly after (1 month) the patches started. Assumed maybe colour change but quickly realised it’s not normal.

 

[sallen]

Plan was for him to go in the bigger tank (8 gal) but I won’t move him until he is better.

 

[Bradders]

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? Nov 23
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? Grey white patches over head and body and jagged fins
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? Not much. Seems a little slower now
Is your Betta still eating? Yes
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? Back in nov I treated with anti internal bacteria medicine by interpret. That didn’t do much and it got more visible. Treated for fungus in January and it did nothing.
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? No
How long have you owned your Betta? ~ 8 months
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? A month or so after purchase he ripped his fin (had a hole in the bottom one) but it healed then shortly after (1 month) the patches started. Assumed maybe colour change but quickly realised it’s not normal.

My current feeling is that this is Graphite disease, as it also has symptoms of fin disintegration - affecting black Bettas (or blue) with NO other colours. However, "diagnosis by wire" is tough.

There is not a treatment for Graphite disease, so I would recommend falling back to a formalin/malachite green type medication in the hope this is something else. (I noted you treated for fungus and also internal parasites, but lets look at external treatment).

However, I would like to hear other peoples views on this, just so I am not leading you down the wrong path.

 

[sallen]

Okay thank you. Really appreciate your time