Feeling lost

[Jenna]

I have 4 male beta (all in their own tank) and 3 of them are displaying signs of Lymphocystis! I do routine water changes and would like to think I feed them quality foods but since no one has mentioned brands it’s hard for me to actually know (which probably means I’m not ). I had a beautiful crown tail for 3 years in an unfiltered, unheated 3 gallon tank that had live plants and a Peace Lilly. He was a very healthy fish until the day he died. I recently purchased four new ones (they were all so pretty that I couldn’t choose just one ). I set up new tanks, but these all have filters and heaters. I wanted to be a better fish owner. All tanks have Corey Catfish. I also still am using the unfiltered/unheated tank.
I have one particular beta that has a very large nodule behind his left fin and it seems to be getting bigger along with his belly. I purchased Vita chem three weeks ago to help aid in the immune system but he only seems to be getting worse. He still eats and can swim (with a limp, since the growth is pushing his fin forward). Another one has a small nodule on his tail which seems to be getting smaller () and my third has no nodules but has an internal growth. He seemed to be expanding at his tail (the “muscles” seemed very abnormally large but seem to be getting better. I check my water and it’s ideal. I am using Seachen Prime with water changes and just ordered their Stressguard... is there anything else I can do to help them?
I realize this is overly detailed but I wanted to give a brief back story which may show my lack of knowledge
Oh, I forgot to mention that I they all seemed to be really well for two months then I placed almond leaves in the tanks and after about a month their health started declining (all except for one and his tank has a Corey and pleco, not sure if that’s relevant).

 

[DaveK]

First, make sure your actually dealing with Lymphocystis. If you are these isn't much you can do. It's generally considered incurable. Nodules on the fish could be a lot of things. They might be disease, or parasites, or some other growth on the fish. In some cases this may not be your fault, as the fish could have been born with the problem.

I know almond leaves are a big thing nowadays with beta keepers. Personally I would avoid them because you just never know exactly what your getting. If you were having no issues, I'd say leave things alone, but since you are having some problems, I'd remove them and make several large partial water changes, just in case.

What are your exact water parameters? A statement like "I check my water and it’s ideal." does not tell us anything. What seems to be fine to you might indicate a problem to someone else. Also, we don't know what you tested. It's possible something else should be tested.

I'm not a big fan of adding a bunch of additives to the water. Prime is ok to get the water ready, but the other stuff should only go in when there is no other way. Don't overthing this. Often good quality water and feeding goes a long way to keeping fish healthy.

What kind of filters are you using, and what kind of media, if any, are you using in them? Sometimes a filter can be the source of part of the problem. While we are on the subject, how large are the tanks your using?

 

[Jenna]

First, make sure your actually dealing with Lymphocystis. If you are these isn't much you can do. It's generally considered incurable. Nodules on the fish could be a lot of things. They might be disease, or parasites, or some other growth on the fish. In some cases this may not be your fault, as the fish could have been born with the problem.

I know almond leaves are a big thing nowadays with beta keepers. Personally I would avoid them because you just never know exactly what your getting. If you were having no issues, I'd say leave things alone, but since you are having some problems, I'd remove them and make several large partial water changes, just in case.

What are your exact water parameters? A statement like "I check my water and it’s ideal." does not tell us anything. What seems to be fine to you might indicate a problem to someone else. Also, we don't know what you tested. It's possible something else should be tested.

I'm not a big fan of adding a bunch of additives to the water. Prime is ok to get the water ready, but the other stuff should only go in when there is no other way. Don't overthing this. Often good quality water and feeding goes a long way to keeping fish healthy.

What kind of filters are you using, and what kind of media, if any, are you using in them? Sometimes a filter can be the source of part of the problem. While we are on the subject, how large are the tanks your using?

 

[Jenna]

The tank with the beta with the worsening symptoms is is a ten gallon (which I am aware is one of the hardest to keep) and the filter is a Aqueon Quiet Flow with floss, biomax rings a charcoal tray. My nitrate/nitrite, chlorine, alkalinity and ph are all at safe levels along with the ammonia levels. I unfortunately don’t have specific parameters since I’m using test strips and have taken samples to the local pet store. (Still learning, but have tried to research and using recommendations I’ve read). The leaves have been removed two weeks ago and I’ve done frequent water changes a couple 100% and 50% water changes.

The other two tanks are the Top Fin Enchant 3.5 gallon with the Element filter that came with the tank. I’ve placed the floss, biomax and charcoal filters in both! I was thinking that I should just place the filter trays that came with the filter back in them. But both Top Fin tanks are set up exactly the same and one is in top condition with healthy fish and one has the beta with the slightly expanding internal tail “muscles” but seems to be improving. I was going to up my water changes to 2x a week at 50%?!?!
Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

 

[DaveK]

I don't see anything that your doing that is obviously incorrect. However, I highly recommend you get rid of the test kits and get your own test kits so you can get actual readings.
Ammonia. Nitrite, Nitrate, and pH test kits are critical.
I'd also recommend General Hardness and Carbonate Hardness test kits.
A chlorine test kit is nice but optional. Since your using prime, it's very unlikely you would have an issue here.

The water changes will help, but once you have made a few of them, you can drop back to once a week or even less often.

 

[Jenna]

I don't see anything that your doing that is obviously incorrect. However, I highly recommend you get rid of the test kits and get your own test kits so you can get actual readings.
Ammonia. Nitrite, Nitrate, and pH test kits are critical.
I'd also recommend General Hardness and Carbonate Hardness test kits.
A chlorine test kit is nice but optional. Since your using prime, it's very unlikely you would have an issue here.

The water changes will help, but once you have made a few of them, you can drop back to once a week or even less often.

 

[Jenna]

Thank you so much! I will definitely get individual kits for each parameter and continue with frequent water changes... if you could recommend high quality food I would really appreciate it. I’m currently using Ocean Nutrition Betta Pellets and Tubifex Worms, but any other suggestions would be super helpful!
Thanks again!

 

[DaveK]

When it comes to foods, the dry foods are ok, but you can do a lot better.

If you want to spend the effort, nothing beats live foods. Live white worms or wingless fruit flies are not hard to culture. Other live food can be cultured, but are a bit harder. If your LFS sells them, live black worms or live brine shrimp are a good food. As a note, it's very hard to ship live food cultures in winter time. Best to wait until spring.

Frozen foods are often a good choice. Look for frozen mysis shrimp. Frozen blood worms are good also. Other small frozen foods are usually good too, Frozen brine shrimp is like candy to fish, but it is not very good nutritionally.

Don't overlook the seafood section of your grocery store. Fresh shrimp, clams, and crab can all be chopped up very fine and fed or frozen. To make then easier to chop up, freeze them for about 15 min first. You only need a few to make a lot of food, so it's often a good idea to get the amount needed to feed your family, and set aside a few for the fish.

As you no doubt have noticed, betas have upturned mouths, and are surface feeders. A lot of these foods will sink, so you often need to carefully feed each beta, making sure the food gets eaten. If your feeding live worms, a worm feeder helps here. You don't want to over do fresh or frozen foods, at they will decay if not eaten, but your fish will love you for them.

 

[Jenna]

When it comes to foods, the dry foods are ok, but you can do a lot better.

If you want to spend the effort, nothing beats live foods. Live white worms or wingless fruit flies are not hard to culture. Other live food can be cultured, but are a bit harder. If your LFS sells them, live black worms or live brine shrimp are a good food. As a note, it's very hard to ship live food cultures in winter time. Best to wait until spring.

Frozen foods are often a good choice. Look for frozen mysis shrimp. Frozen blood worms are good also. Other small frozen foods are usually good too, Frozen brine shrimp is like candy to fish, but it is not very good nutritionally.

Don't overlook the seafood section of your grocery store. Fresh shrimp, clams, and crab can all be chopped up very fine and fed or frozen. To make then easier to chop up, freeze them for about 15 min first. You only need a few to make a lot of food, so it's often a good idea to get the amount needed to feed your family, and set aside a few for the fish.

As you no doubt have noticed, betas have upturned mouths, and are surface feeders. A lot of these foods will sink, so you often need to carefully feed each beta, making sure the food gets eaten. If your feeding live worms, a worm feeder helps here. You don't want to over do fresh or frozen foods, at they will decay if not eaten, but your fish will love you for them.

 

[Jenna]

Awesome!! Thank you for all your help!