# Bubba The Betta



## cottoncandy946 (Apr 2, 2009)

Bubba is my betta fish and he has white on his face. I was wondering if this is normal or if he is sick

Thanks,Kayla:fish9:


----------



## COBettaCouple (Mar 24, 2009)

How long have you had him? Did he always have that white or did it come along slowly or sudden? What are the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings for his tank? Does the white look like salt or fuzzy or smooth? Do you have a picture that you could post?

It could be normal coloring or possibly fungus. If it's a fungus, I like to use a liquid called Rid-Fungus to treat fungus since it's worked really well for us, but also is safe and not-harsh on a little Betta's system.


----------



## cottoncandy946 (Apr 2, 2009)

COBettaCouple said:


> How long have you had him? Did he always have that white or did it come along slowly or sudden? What are the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings for his tank? Does the white look like salt or fuzzy or smooth? Do you have a picture that you could post?
> 
> It could be normal coloring or possibly fungus. If it's a fungus, I like to use a liquid called Rid-Fungus to treat fungus since it's worked really well for us, but also is safe and not-harsh on a little Betta's system.


 Thanks for awsering my question I got anti fungal treatment Bubba is getting better but still has some white.

Thanks!!!!:betta:


----------



## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

Some bettas do indeed actually have white on their faces for their natural coloring, but we would really need to know a little more like Dave mentions. What does it look like and if possible can you post a picture of him? We do love pictures but mostly it will help us to see what the area looks like.

He sounds like a great betta and I know that you love him. Usually if you keep them at the correct temperature the worst of the diseases that would be causing white areas will clear up if that is what they are. If it is cottony or looks fluffy at all then he is going to need an antifungal medication like Maracyn or Maroxy that will kill the stuff off. But if it is just a regular part of his coloring we do not want to medicate a healthy betta, so we really need a little bit of a picture or some of the information that Dave asked you to give us.

Mostly what temperature is his water? And is his tank or container filtered and did you cycle the filter if it is before you added him to it?

If it was not filtered or cycled he needs to have very frequent water changes to keep him healthy and that usually means daily changes of about half the water and make sure it is conditioned with something to take the chlorine and chloramine out beforehand. 

Bettas are Tropical fish and really need to be kept between 78 to 80 degrees F or around 28 degrees C depending on where you are located. It will keep them much healthier for longer than just depending on room temperature where the temperature will fluctuate a bit and allow their metabolism to slow down and speed up erratically.

Rose


----------



## cottoncandy946 (Apr 2, 2009)

Thanks for saying that it was really helpful. Now i'll be a better betta owner!! Sorry about not posting a pictures but I can't get my camera to load pictures. His water temp is 24 degrees.


Thanks,Kayla


----------



## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

He really needs to be a bit warmer if you can manage it. 26 is perfect for Celsius readings and 28 Celsius is the limit to have when he is sick and has a disease you are treating.

If he has too cool a temperature he is susceptible to diseases like ich, velvet, fungal infections, and constipation since their metabolism is determined by how warm the water is. If they get overfed and then are cool beside or if they are even not overfed and they are too cool, they cannot digest their food well and they get bound up and many bettas die from this every year. If his tummy starts to swell and he looks like he is overfull and he wants to hang at the bottom he is constipated. 

He should have a tiny piece or two of pea with the skins removed (frozen peas work best that have been defrosted) that is about half the size of his eye a couple times a week to keep his digestion good. But this will not work if he is too cold.

Rose

:betta:


----------



## cottoncandy946 (Apr 2, 2009)

i'm going to put some peas in and put in a heater for a little bit.

Thanks


----------



## COBettaCouple (Mar 24, 2009)

Does he have a heater in his tank all the time? It helps keep the temp. steady and I recommend the VisiTherm Stealth heaters, they've done the best for me and never gone nuclear.


----------



## cottoncandy946 (Apr 2, 2009)

should i keep it in all the time


----------



## COBettaCouple (Mar 24, 2009)

Yes, it's best to have it in all the time and I try to check the temp. strip whenever I feed them to keep my eye on the temp. The better the heater, the less often you have to adjust it but even the best need adjusted here and there to keep the temp in that narrow range of 78-80F.


----------



## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

If you have a heater that reads Fahrenheit degrees then Dave is correct it should be 78 to 80 but in Celsius degrees 26 degrees will put you right in that range and 27 will be acceptable also. Since Celsius degrees are generally equal to almost 2 degrees of Fahrenheit you have a narrower range so it would only be 26 to 27 degrees Celsius with a top of 28 degrees to be used only when he is very sick or constipated for a period of a couple of days.

I know that it is very confusing but since you said you had him at 24 degrees I was guessing you had a Celsius heater.

Rose


----------

