My white and back dragon betta has had a tumor about midway down his side for most of the time I've had him, and I mostly let it be since I had heard they were genetic and normally didn't affect them... His was moderately sized and the scales had pulled back around it. It's never seemed to cause him pain, just looked weird. Today it looks like it ruptured though :( The skin that was previously over it is hanging off to the side and something clear and fuzzy is covering something that's hanging out... Here's a pre-ruptured pic:


I'll try to get a current picture, but it's hard to do since he likes weaving through the plants so much right now. Is there anything I can do for him? I added some aquarium salt since I've heard that's the general wound treatment cure-all, but is there anything else? He's still got quite an appetite and while he's not exactly swimming all over the place constantly, he still swims fine when he chooses to. Mostly he's been resting in the plants or inside the sail of the pirate ship decoration I have. Any suggestions you guys have for what to do would be appreciated!

Oh, I'm sorry... :( It's good that he's still swimming and eating, though. I don't have any experience with tumors or anything like that, but I do know that you should keep the water exceptionally clean. Aquarium salt is an excellent agent to not only facilitate healing but also to prevent him from getting too stressed.

The white fuzzy stuff sounds like a fungus to me... Maybe it wasn't a tumor, but a cyst of some sort? A betta expert could tell you more (and hopefully this answer will bump the thread up to where it can be seen), but for now keep the water clean and try to keep him as calm as possible.

You can also try adding just a drop or two of bettafix. A lot of people on here dispute its use, but it got my betta through a mild case of fin rot. Just use a few drops, because it can build up a layer of oil on the surface of the water and it can impede breathing.

I hope he gets better soon!

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

Aww,poor boy.I hate that so much about dragons.Lost my favorite boy to one awhile back.

As for treatment,Ive never had one rupture,but salt and pristine water will do alot to keep it from getting affected.Have you thought of getting some indian almond leaves for him?They are a natural antifungal and have some antibacterial properties.Its what the thai breeders and keepers use for their bettas.I would get some and add one to the tank for him.It will turn the water a deep brown though.

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

I don't normally do water changes since I'm doing a beaslbob planted tank method, but should I while he's recovering? The plants combined with the filter usually keep things pretty clean. Or should I just move him to the quarantine tank and do full water changes daily?

Also, where do you get indian almond leaves? I've heard of them being helpful but I've never seen them at my LFS.

While the beaslbob builds are good,for a fish that has an injury,it is not.So I would QT him and do the waterchanges necessary.

As for the IAL,There is a person here who sells them.I would get in touch with them.Your LFS will most likely not even know what they are unless they have a few select breeders around.You can also look on AB or ebay for some as well.

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

How's your betta, has he survived?

Sorry for the lack of updates, this weekend was a little crazy for me... My betta's doing much better now! I wasn't able to QT him unfortunately though, as he has been extremely stubborn about burrowing through the plants and hiding every time I try to catch him... Even injured, he can really move if he wants. Since my old fish-catching method of yanking out all the obstacles doesn't exactly work in a live plant situation, I gave up on the direct approach and was waiting for him to wander out into one of the few open areas, but that never happened... Bah.

In any case, the fuzzy clear growth vanished the day after I added the salt, and the tumor re-sealed itself. I think it's much smaller now than it was before the rupture, so that's a plus. He's still not back up to his old level of energy, but he's out and about more than he was the days immediately following the rupture, so he's definitely on the mend. I'm amazed at how resilient this guy is, I thought him a goner when I first saw everything hanging out of him with a huge hole there like that! I'm so happy he hung in there, he's such a fun personality

Glad he is a bit better, if it has just healed over the top it might break out again but I think the fact that he is so lively is a good sign. Fish can fight through a lot if they have the strength to.

Very glad he has gotten better!Yes betta are very tough little critters!

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

Glad to hear he's recovered! :D

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.