Hey everyone. Hoping someone more experienced can help me figure out what’s going on with my girl. I’ll keep this as organized as I can.
Timeline:
• Oct 20: I noticed a small raised white spot on her midsection. Not cotton-like, not fast spreading, and didn’t look like ich. Around this same time she suddenly lost a LOT of color (maybe 40–45%).
• I moved her into my established 16-gallon planted tank so I could monitor her better.
• I tried Kanaplex (3-dose cycle) + Indian almond leaves in case it was bacterial or fungal. No major improvement, so I suspected she might’ve injured herself in her previous tank (there was sharp driftwood in there).
Nov 13:
She stopped acting normal. less responsive, sitting on the bottom between breaths. I noticed poop attached to her vent that wasn’t dropping. I started fasting her. The next day she perked up, but the poop was still stuck.
Since then:
She has now had the same piece of poop stuck for 11 days straight.
I’ve done three Epsom salt baths, but she gets extremely stressed being moved, so I’ve been hesitant to do more. I fed frozen daphnia once to try to help, but no change.
What worries me most is that there’s now cotton/fungal-looking growth on the poop itself, presumably because it’s been hanging on her for so long. The fuzz is only on the poop, not her body as far as I can tell.
Her white midsection spot has also gotten noticeably larger since all this started.
Tank details:
• 16 gallon planted tank (cycled, stable)
• 82°F to help her metabolism
• Regular 30% water changes twice weekly
• Good aeration, consistent CO2 + lighting schedule
• No ammonia, nitrite 0, nitrates low
• Planning to feed lightly with Fluval Bug Bites to try and stimulate her gut
She’s my first betta, so I’m still learning, but I’m doing my best to keep her comfortable and stable. I’m mostly unsure what to do next:
• Is the “cotton” on the poop dangerous?
• Should I continue Epsom baths or avoid stressing her?
• How long can constipation like this go before it’s a serious medical risk?
• Could this be an internal infection instead?
Any advice would really mean a lot. She’s such a sweet fish and I hate seeing her like this.
Thank you guys <3
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1p661kg
Posted by BusyBroccoli8191
1 Comment
The white dot between their fins under them is an egg spot. I was also worried when I first got my girl and she had what looked like a white poo “stuck” and also tried several things to get rid of it. Meanwhile it was just a normal thing. However the cottony stuff looks like a fungal infection. I would recommend looking up stuff on fungal infections for fish. There are a few options like methylene blue baths/polyguard/paraguard but I don’t have personal experience with fungal infections so hopefully someone can give a second opinion.