i just turned on my aquarium lights and noticed his body (like the torso bit) is a lot more blue on both sides and the tumor (got told they were tumors a while ago by people in here) near his gills got slightly bigger, he also had finrot which i tried to treat recently but hasnt worked, any tips on what i should do or what could be wrong would be very appreciated
https://v.redd.it/e3bvlh0c4fvg1
Posted by Akihyee
14 Comments
Honestly, are you prepared?
Poor sweetheart. I think he is succumbing to cancer. You did your best for him.
* **Tank size**: 10 gallons
* **Heater and filter? (yes/no)**: yes and yes
* **Tank temperature**: 77 fahrenheit
* **Water parameters: Key water parameters include the amount of ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH.**: ammonia 0 , nitrite 0 , nitrate 0 (i tested them myself with a water test kit, NOT the test strips the water ones)
* **How long have you had the tank? How long have you had your fish?**: ive had the fish since january 13th 2025 and i upgraded his tank to his current tank on october 26th 2025
* **How often are water changes? How much do you take out per change? What is your process?**: once every 2 weeks , 20%-25% , i use aquasafe by tetra to treat the water
* **Any tankmates? If so, please list with how many of each**: 4 kuhlis
* **What do you feed and how much**: betta bio-gold (10-12 pieces every other day) + sinking wafers (2 for the kuhlis which he sometimes tries to steal) both from HIKARI
* **Decorations and plants in the tank**: catappa leaves , 2 mossballs , 1 big rock , 9 small-medium rocks , a few plants but not a lot (they always die within days in my tank)
I’m sorry. Blessings to u for taking care of him and giving him a safe and loving place to pass 😢
I’m new to betta keeping as an adult. This makes me sad. I have a dog. I thought getting a fish would be a better way to prepare me for when the time comes for my dog someday if I’m still around. But I’ve grown so attached to my fish over the past few days I’ve had him, I’m going to cry like a baby for him one day. What did I get myself into 🥺
I think it’s time to break out the clove oil.
End it’s suffering humanely.
Kanaplex tends to stop finrot in its tracks but getting fins 5o grow back is much more difficult. Also if you fish has cancer them I would say that you did the best you could for him. But for your next fish do your best to make sure your water parameters are safe, because bettas get finrot from ammonia poisoning
It may be time my dear… I’m very sorry.
Wow, rough watch.
Honestly, look scary when they change like that, but a lot of bettas do this naturally over time.
Well, this is not “SUDDENLY” change color.
Like many have already mentioned he might be very sick and you might not be able to treat him.
This is what you can do to make him comfortable:
– Lower water level, so he can reach the surface easier to breath
– Build or buy an elevation for him, so he can rest closer to the surface. You can just turn over a small plastic container and put soft sand on it & some moss, so he can lie in it like a bed. The closer he is to the surface, the easier it is to breathe.
– Increase temperature a little to around 26-27 °C, but be careful! If you decrease the water level, your heaters original output might already increase the water temperature. So make sure to measure the water temp, until you are certain it doesn’t rise to high or fall to low.
– Increase Oxygen saturation in the water. You can either put in a bubble stone or make sure that your filter outlet disturbs the water surface a lot. You can increase the output or adjust the outlet to the correct height so it creates ripples in the water. To not create strong currents, which is bad for the Betta, make sure to point the outlet against a wall for example or at least not in the direction of where your Betta is resting.
– Offer him some frozen Daphne. I pipet it directly in front of the mouth and it has helped get sick fish & snails active again. Frozen, as they can’t run away from him & have a much lower chance of having parasites.
Hopefully he starts to feel better!
If he doesn’t, you can write me up and we can try to find a solution that is best for both of you.
Sorry to hear about your betta, it does genuinely seem like there isn’t much more that you can do for them and to start making peace with their death approaching and trying to make their end as comfortable as possible.
However something no one else has mentioned is the fact that your nitrates level is at 0 and how you’re aquatic plants are dying. THIS IS WHY! Aquatic plants need nitrates inorder to live and grow (hence why they are really good at removing them) if you’re purposely trying to keep the levels at 0 then you should stop if you wanna keep your aquatic plants, if not on purpose perhaps look into why you have 0 nitrates and how to increase them (I don’t know how personally since I’ve never had this problem before). You ideally want something between 25-50 mg/L (I’m British and idk the other conversation, sorry) nitrates so that theres enough nutrients for your plants without it being toxic to your betta.
Do remember to introduce this slowly as any sudden changes in perimeters can affect the health of your betta, even if it is to a “better” water quality.
Bless his heart still trying to eat like that. What a good boy and a beautiful fish, I’m so sorry you both are going through this.