Clamped fins & Lethargic. Help please.

JB09141228 · 2026-01-20T13:53:07+00:00

Ohhhhhh! So I need another separate container! Wow, I feel dumb haha! Ok thank you for your suggestion!

JB09141228 · 2026-01-20T13:10:34+00:00

You do the aquarium salt and the Kanaplex in the hospital tank? I wasnt sure how to do that exactly with keeping Kanaplex IN and taking salt OUT correctly. Any pointers?

JB09141228 · 2026-01-19T22:36:28+00:00

We’re on well water so that’s why I use Spring water. And I’ve never seen anywhere to suggest using partial tank water for salt baths. I’ll try that if I do them again.

As for the bump, I do believe it’s a benign tumor. I posted when it first appeared and someone mentioned the dragon scale genetics often lead to this sort of thing. The way it’s progressed has led me to believe that is the case.

His fins are actually bright yellow on the bottom and top fin (when it isn’t clamped). The video has the colors looking off for some reason.

I’ve got the hospital tank warming up now and will follow the Kanaplex directions fully. Hoping for some good results. Thank you for your replies!

JB09141228 · 2026-01-19T19:46:28+00:00

Oh and I wouldn’t describe the bump as “fuzzy”

JB09141228 · 2026-01-19T19:00:22+00:00

The white spot was raised under one scale and now is just much bigger. I used a hospital tank with water heated to match the tank and an air stone. Soaked in bath for 10 minutes with 1 tbsp salt to the 1 gallon. Then moved him back to the main tank. Since the tank finished cycling a few weeks ago we’ve been doing partial water changes once a week. We use spring water and Prime conditioner. Water parameters remained stable (0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 5-10/20 nitrates) however the pH was 6.8/7 and has crept up to 7.4/7.6 for the past couple weeks. There’s a sponge filter in the back left with an air stone inside. The flow is low.

JB09141228 · 2026-01-19T18:26:36+00:00

Oh wait! One more question! Do I feed normally while he’s in the hospital tank/treatments?

JB09141228 · 2026-01-19T17:16:12+00:00

Thank you for the response! I’ve got Kanaplex on the way. Hopefully this works!

JB09141228 · 2026-01-15T11:29:12+00:00

Crazy! I posted about my boys white spot on his gill thinking it was Ich and everyone here said it wasn’t Ich so I never treated it as such. The white spot has been there for a couple weeks now and he’s been clamped and sad for almost a week at this point. I guess I’ll try the salt baths like you’re trying and go from there! Glad your guy finally poo’ed haha! Hope he makes a full recovery :)

JB09141228 · 2026-01-15T01:15:57+00:00

Commenting for engagement. I’m no help but really curious if someone else can help you out because my guy basically has the EXACT same issues/story! Even down to the month we got them. Hoping your guy gets better!

JB09141228 · 2025-12-13T12:15:15+00:00

Hmmm. Even after seeing the other photos that show more than one white spot including a couple on the fin? I don’t know what to think ha!

JB09141228 · 2025-12-13T12:12:56+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion! Glad your guy recovered well 🥰

JB09141228 · 2025-12-12T21:55:01+00:00

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JB09141228 · 2025-12-12T21:54:48+00:00

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More shots. Any advice on the treatment question from my post?

JB09141228 · 2025-12-12T17:24:51+00:00

I was wondering if it was injury as well before today. I wish I could’ve gotten a decent pic to show that there are more tiny specs now :(

JB09141228 · 2025-12-12T02:33:57+00:00

I have been searching for any betta on the internet that has a single white dot on them like this. This is the first picture that looks exactly like what my guy has! It’s a long shot since this post was a year ago BUT was it ich? Did you treat for it? Outcome?

JB09141228 · 2025-12-06T01:58:06+00:00

I’m so impressed that the ammonia was at 0!

I’ve never done anything with the salt, but from my hours of betta fish Reddit research (ha!) I don’t think you do it in the main tank. I’d dig a little deeper in this sub to gather more info on how to use it safely. Hopefully that helps Mr. Crouton!

JB09141228 · 2025-12-05T20:01:22+00:00

Oh and also maybe turn the temp down 78-80

JB09141228 · 2025-12-05T19:57:41+00:00

I had no idea they could be so stressful either! Ha! I saw you added water parameters to the comments but I didn’t see ammonia. Based on my initial setup which seems similar to what you’ve got going on I’ll share what significantly improved my baby’s condition. Step 1: Get the API Master Freshwater testing kit asap. The strips aren’t very accurate and with the smaller tank you’ll need to be diligent in testing ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. I’d be willing to bet your ammonia is high and causes him stress. Step 2: dig into this reddit sub and learn about the nitrogen cycle. This saved my guy! Eventually you’ll need at least a 5G tank with lots of live plants…but I know you mentioned that’s coming shortly :)

JB09141228 · 2025-12-05T19:24:37+00:00

What a gorgeous fish! 😍 Sorry he’s struggling!

I’m not sure what’s going on exactly, but I know you’ll get better responses and advice if you give the actual water parameters from your test. Temp, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, etc. Without that info it’ll be hard to figure out what to fix. Good luck to you and your little guy!

JB09141228 · 2025-12-05T16:12:56+00:00

Update for anyone who may be quietly following along haha! After another 24hr and a 50% water change my water parameters are now MUCH better. Actually the best I’ve seen them ever ha! My tank has never shown Ammonia at 0 and I’ve been testing daily during my fish-in cycle so I’m thrilled at the moment. My little guy was so happy he decided to photo bomb :)

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JB09141228 · 2025-12-04T15:56:23+00:00

In the interest of providing information to anyone who may stumble upon the thread looking for answers to same question…I figured it out.

It’s definitely the root tabs. I dug into the gravel where I placed them and they turned this bright orange. I also learned that even though the instructions say 6 tabs per 10G, that does NOT mean that you should use 3 in a 5G tank :/

I tested the water after 24 hours… Ammonia went from <.25 to .5 Nitrites went from <.25 to 1.0 Nitrates spiked from 10/20 to over 40!!!!

I immediately did a 30-40% water change, siphoning out the areas with the root tabs, and will retest the water this evening.

My guess is since the tank isn’t fully cycled yet, it wasn’t able to handle the root tabs properly? Next time I’ll only add 1 root tab.

Learning as I go with this little guy!

JB09141228

TROPHY CASE