# Betta.. with a tumor?



## Melora (Apr 6, 2007)

My betta, that I've had for around 3 years, seems to have a weird bulge under his stomach area- it starts where the front fins are that hang down and makes a lump over his tummy area back to where the bottom tail fin starts It kind of looks like a tumor :/ His scales over it look fine. It's not dropsy, it's also not like his stomach is bulging, it's like another separate and well-defined bulge and it has been slowly getting bigger over the past 2 months- if not longer. He's very dark and I can't seem to get a good picture of it X( 

Is there anything I might try? Any ideas besides a tumor (which is just my guess) and then possible treatments I could try? He also seems to be getting weaker with time, laying with his tail on the bottom more.

The past 2 years he's been in this 3 gallon eclipse tank. There are 3 black tetras in with him and they have been there since he was put in this tank. Ammonia has always been 0, 0 nitrites, 10 nitrates (Always low), 6.8 ph, 75 degrees Fahrenheit (no heater but is truly stable, room is pretty protected and no natural light), I suction out at least a gallon of water (with the crud that collected in the eco-complete/gravel) at least every 2 weeks. I replace the carbon filter about once a month (sometimes it goes a little longer) Hikari frozen bloodworms are his main diet- he gets a few everyday. Occasionally he gets some betta pellet food and frozen Hikari brine shrimp for variety. http://www.fishforum.com/aquarium-log.php?t=1260


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## herefishy (Dec 14, 2006)

Could be a myriad of things. One thing I would do, however, is to get a little bit of veggies in his diet. Peas, shreaded zucchini, ect would work.

Next, I would look closely at him and check for an external parasite. If he does have a parasite, treat with a quality anti-parasitic.


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

Any chance you could get a decent photo?


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## Melora (Apr 6, 2007)

I'll try some veggies, didn't think of that, thank you  I also didn't think... Maybe he is just clogged up

I can't see any parasites, I've my boyfriend look too, (because he has insanely good vision and I don't) because I know how tiny some of the varieties are.

I wish I could get a good pic :/ It would be so much more helpful X[


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## Melora (Apr 6, 2007)

A picture, finally *woot* His tank is on a bookshelf so catching him is a little bit of a hassle (because I have to take part of it down to get full "net" access... I use a siphon to clean it so I don't usually have to do that) but I put him in a betta cup so I could get a picture of it. See the bulge under his pectoral fins?

Any ideas?

I tried giving him blanched peas. He's still eating mostly hikari frozen bloodworms. After a while he started just spitting the pea's out, he got picky with brine shrimp too, when I tried those.


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## Melora (Apr 6, 2007)

Sorry for the bump, but does anyone have any ideas?


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## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

:shock: Thats an insanely cool tank!!! I can't believe its three gallons, like noooo way!!!! How much did that little baby cost you?? I'm totally thinking about getting myself one!!! 

Also an insanely clear picture of your betta, I just wish I had a suggestion for you... It's not like hes bloated, or constipated or anything.... :? A tumor would be my best guess, its not a parasite, for sure. 

Have you spoken to bettababy? She has a lot of experience with bettas and she may have seen this before, you should pm her if she doesn't see this post.... I don't know if she is on this forum anymore? I haven't seen her post for a while and I can't remember what her exact user name is.

I'm sorry about your fish though  I hope someone knows how to help him out!!


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## Melora (Apr 6, 2007)

Wow, thanks, it's an Eclipse 3 gallon, it comes with a bio wheel filter and a fluorescent light- I have 3 of them, (Grom's for almost 4 years now,) they're awesome. They're sooo easy to maintain! And I've found that, since the temp in my house is pretty constant, the water temp. doesn't flux between night and day. My house is usually 68 in the winter and 72 in the summer, with the filter running and the lid slightly ajar, the water temp stays 76-80 between the seasons. (So I don't use a heater, the only small ones I know of would make the tanks too hot anyway) You can usually always find these tanks at Petco/Petsmart (sometimes on sale) and usually go for $34 to $53 bucks, depending on the store/sale/time/etc. Which I think is an awesome price because, besides the fish and decorations, it's so inclusive and such good quality.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3730+3848&pcatid=3848
here are my other ones:

http://www.melorasworld.com/photoalbum/albums/random/bettas/IMG_2847.jpg
http://www.melorasworld.com/photoalbum/albums/userpics/10002/athenoth.jpg

No, I haven't been able to speak to him/her on this, I would love too though. D:


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## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

Lol I actually wrote a responce to this yesterday, but my computer shut itself down in the middle of my message and I forgot about it until now. 

I'm seriously thinking about getting myself one of those tanks, I just love what you've done with them. I didn't think it was possible to fit so much stuff in a small tank and make it look so nice!! I would need a heater though, my house is always fluctuating in temperature.

All of your tanks are really cool, I'm totally jealous. Lol I've wanted a betta for quite some time now. 

And I searched Bettababy and found a recent post by her saying she wouldn't be on the forum for a while. You can trying pming her but I'm not sure that she will respond. Sorry  

How is your betta anyways? Any changes in his behavior?


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## Julie's Julies (Jun 11, 2007)

My betta is starting to look very similar to yours. Her lump is slightly bigger and a bit less distinct, though. It started as a bulge on her right side and is now progressing down under her stomach. I am at a loss as to the problem. Let me know if you discover anything!


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## Melora (Apr 6, 2007)

Little-Fizz: Yeah, bettababy seems to have had some loss in her family, according to one of her other posts, so I don't think I'll bother PM'ing her about this. I lost both a grandmother and grandfather last year, so -as much as I like Grom- it seems a little trivial compared to that. LOL, I also hate it when my computer does that! I lost 8 hours of work on a drawing one day because I forgot to save in photoshop DX And it's always eating my posts X) Thank you so much too, I feel all giddy that someone likes the tanks X3 I'm also a horrible an enabler; I say go for it! Yyou should totally get one of those tanks and a betta if you've always wanted one  They look nice anywhere in the house ;D

No, I'm still waiting and hoping someone has seen this before. If anything, he's slightly worse from when I took this picture. He's still eating, but he doesn't swim much and the lump is a bit bigger.

Julie's Julies: I read your post, I really hope yours ends up being okay too. I honestly don't have too much of an idea as to exactly what it is, but it makes me think of another thread I read a long time ago about a bacterial build-up causing a bulge- and the fact that it's moving it's place a little, kind of makes sense, like her body is trying to purge it. If I were in your place, I would try adding salt to the water. Either in your main tank or in the hospital tank. I don't know if it would be more or less stressful to add her to the 10 gallon without filtration if she's used to a filtered tank, but with that much water and only one fish, it seems like you wouldn't have to worry about water quality being bad quickly. I, personally, would do that if you don't want to add a bunch of salt to your established tank. I've found salt to be absolutely wonderful with a range of health issues in fish. I had a betta with dropsy (I don't think yours has it either, but-) that wasn't going away, he was really pine-coned, and salt was the only thing that worked. I ended up having to add a lot more to his water than I wanted, but it was obvious he was going to die anyway, so I figured it was worth a shot. I noticed it working in a few days. I'm not an expert on this; but in 10 gallons, maybe 1/2 a tablespoon to start?


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## Julie's Julies (Jun 11, 2007)

Thanks, Melora. I've been considering the 10-gallon without filtration - BettaBaby says betts actually prefer still water anyway, so as long as I check the parameters daily, I think it might be worth a shot. I've got cories in my established tank that HATE salt, so I really don't want to hurt them while treating my betta. Really appreciate the input - and I will look into that bacterial build-up. That really makes some sense, and the salt might be just the thing. If she gets worse with the salt, I can always put her back into the established tank.

Hope your betta recovers! He's gorgeous, by the way.


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## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

Hm the bacterial build up definitely sounds possible. I'm going to look into it too. 

When treating for dropsy I added 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water, but thats epsoms salt.... But I just remembered I wrote down the treatment I did for ich and I added 1 tablespoon per 20 gallons... Lol so yeah in other words, Melora is right, and you should add a half tablespoon. 

And you'll have to preform more water changes, the water could get really gross. If you have an air stone or something you should run that in the tank with him. 

I'm going to look into this bacterial build up, I'll post if I find anything. good luck guys.


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