Betta fish has what problem?

Question

Hello. I have a betta fish that is about 2 1/2 years old which I bought at a pet store (probably Petco or Petsmart, I can't quite remember). Now, right after I got him, we also gained other pets, eventually having 4 very large dogs, 2 cats, a Russian tortoise, 1 aquatic frog, and 4 wild toads) Along with my busy academic schedule and extra curricular activities, it is needless to say that I got very busy. I am NOT trying to make any excuses, I'm just explaining the situation...betta fish do not talk, or at least bark/meow when they need something. Despite this hecticness and admitingly, days I might forget to need to change the water or feed him, he was holding up quite well, I mean, I'm not /that/ bad. But all of a sudden, over the past two weeks, I suddenly noticed a bulge developing around his chest area. At first it was hardly noticeable, but just yesterday I realized that it had gotton quite big.

HERE IS A QUICK DESCRIPTION OF AILMENT:

Large, transclusent looking bulge in chest area of betta. It still swims around, although when he stops he looks a bit top heavy, still eats but as I said, being topheavy makes it a bit harder.

ALSO I was on vacation for a week last week, but we did have a sitter for the pets. I'm not sure exactly how much she fed him, but I told her that a pinch would suffice and there was info on the food jar.

Please do not tell me I'm a terrible fish owner or something. I'm 13 and worried about my fish. I need to know what's wrong and how to treat him, and the online info isn't clear.

Answer 1

This looks to be something like these, it's a bacterial tumor on a betta.

This site is very helpful. For information on treating [as I don't advise doing the surgery yourself like the person mentioned] you can contact the woman that runs the website, she should at least have some idea what to do.

Good luck with your poor fish.

http://fishpondinfo.com/fishcare/tumorph...

OR

Try this page [from the same site]. It has more info on lumps on fish;

http://fishpondinfo.com/health4.htm#lump

Answer 2

your betta may have some form of ick, which is just an infection on the scales, but it may lead to the betta's death, if not treated. i buy my father these all the time and they usually die after two months or so, due to improper care on his part. if the fish is 21/2 years old, you are caring for it very well. i would suggest that you call petsmart and ask over the phone what could be the cause of this, they are very polite when i ask them questions about my father's betta. just describe whats going on, the worst they'll do is probably charge you 5 to 10 bucks to look at it. which i doubt they'll do because the fish is only 5 bucks itself. good luck

Answer 3

That is definitely not ich.  Ich looks like white grains or fuzz on the body.  This is what ich looks like: http://www.nippyfish.net/Ich4.jpg

I'm sorry, but it looks like your betta has dropsy.  Bettas are especially prone to dropsy and it eventually hits every betta owner, no matter how experienced.  Dropsy can be caused by any number of things, but it's nearly always fatal, especially once the bloating has become so severe.  Most betta information you'll find mentions "pineconing" or protruding scales as a symptom of dropsy, but that's not always the case.  Dropsy simply refers to the internal buildup of fluids and organ failure that can be caused by an infection, parasites, viruses or genetic problems.  

That said, you shouldn't just give up on him, particularly if he's still eating and active.  Pay extra attention to his water quality, and if he has trouble swimming you may want to consider lowering the water level in his tank so he can more easily reach the surface, but that depends on the size of your tank.  I wish you and your fish luck.