Fungus among us???

I noticed this week, fuzz on the fins of my Betta, I have been trying to get a picture but still can't get one with good quality.

I will say I have been busy and I usually do a weekly partial water change but recently I have only done water changes every two weeks. I also noticed when doing an inspection after changing the water, that the White bio filter has a fuzzy growth on it too. I about two weeks ago changed the Carbon filter, and hadn't noticed the fuzz at that time.

Some questions I've already looked up that I will answer here if it helps me to determine what is wrong with my fish.

1. How many gallons is the tank he is being kept in?
5 gal Filtered
2. Was his tank cycled before you put him in?
Yes
3. How long have you had him?
5 months
4. How often do you do water changes and when you do them how much water do you remove?
Every two weeks, used to be every week, trying to get back on a good schedule. 40%
5. Do you treat his water with dechlorinator?
Yes. Start Right.
6. When doing water changes do you use a gravel vacuum?
Yes. How well I can't be sure its such a small amount of water to begin with that it come out quickly through the siphon as I vacuum.
7. Does his tank have a filter?
Yes. Aqua Tech 5-15 Activated Carbon Filters.
8. Does it have a heater? If so, what temperature is it set to?
Yes. Its an automatic heater. Keeps the water near 76 or so.

9. What are the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels of his water? Test results before today's water change: Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrites 0ppm, PH 7.6, Nitrates untested.

10. How often do you feed him and what do you feed him?
Every other day. Blood worms, or Betta Pellets, Sometimes freeze dried brine shrimp.

11. Are there any plastic plants in his tank? One plastic 2 live, 1 piece of drift wood.

I also noticed that my snail poulation seems to have declined.

I'm hoping this is nothing too serious. I also noticed one his top fin what appears to be a small pin sized hole. I was thinking fin rot, but the only thing that appears to along the edges of his fins is the fuzz its not all over, and only on his Anal Fin. He appears to be swimming fin, not seeming out of the ordinary.

I know this is something brought on by my negligence. I just want to know how to fix it.

fungus isn't uncommon and the answer to your problem is very simple just add a little salt to the tank... some say 1 teaspoon for every gallon is how much, but I've always done 1 teaspoon for every ten gallons. It won't clear up over night. But you will notice a big difference the next day. it should clear up in about a week.

Huh... Sweet! Thanks... I haven't used aquarium salt since I bought him, I was told that it wasn't necessary, but it this case i suppose it is. I guess it is a good thing i still have it.

Bettas are sensitive. If your betta has never been exposed to salt, start out with a 1/2 tsp, dissolved in new water before you put it in. For bettas, never use salt for more than 10 days. And do 50% pwc's every day until it goes away. Salt does not evaporate so you have to take water out to get rid of it. If you just keep dumping salt in, you will pretty much OD the betta. This is info I got from a lady who has been breeding bettas for 30 years.

So... I think that should be easy to do.
Question: What is it that the salt actually does? I understand the need to eventually get rid of it, as if I read elsewhere correctly, too much salt would do to a freshwater fish, as it would to us, in essence dehydrating? No? Or something like that? I know there are diffrences in salts... Just not sure specifically. I know I use aquarium salt in an aquarium, but what is really the difference? Back to school for me!
There are Epsom salts, sea salts, kosher salts, iodized salts. So what kind of salt is aquarium salt, and how and what is it changing in my aquariums water?

I probably really don't need to know this

If iam adding salt, and the box of Api aqurium salt I have says 1tablespoon for every 5 U.S gallons, how long do I let it "marinate" before I would start doing the frequent patial water changes to remove it. Is daily nessesary for the water changes? I'd be affraid to put my fish in shock, being that he's in a small enviroment already.
My ammonia levels where 0, as well as nitrites. I know that water paramiters are important to keep in check, but they weren't off kilter, so I find it odd, unless there is something else I'm neglecting that could be causing the poor health of my fish.
I don't believe that I overfeed. I keep feeding to a minimal, being that I have a small fish. His belly gets "big" after one feeding... I give him betta 3 betta pellets a day, once a week I give him blood worms. But not in conjunction with pellets. He likes his pellets. I know an inaduquate diet can cause poor health, any suggestions there?

The salt is to build up a slime coat for them to resist another outbreak. Kind of like us wearing protective gear and a helmet lol. So essentially yes, I think it does start to dry them, which is why they build up the slime coat.
I only let mine "marinate" until I swirl around with my hands and feel no more salt in the bucket. So just until it's dissolved.
I know the box says 1tsp/5G, but a lady who has been in the betta business for 30 years told me to gradually bring it up to 1tsp/1G. So with my 5G tank, I started the first day with 3 tsp. Then the next day 4 tsp, then 5 tsp. And yes, you have to change the water every day. Clean water is the BEST cure for fish illnesses. And the main reason bettas are sick all the time, is because people put them in small containers and only change their water once every two weeks. If your betta cut himself on something, and the water had not been changed in a few weeks, he can very likely get fungus.
With my bettas, and all fish for that matter, I do 50% pwc's once a week on the filtered tanks. When I had an unfiltered tank, I did 50% twice a week. I liken it to me setting a glass of water on the counter and drinking it 7 days later. YUK! LOL.
You don't overfeed, since you only feed him every other day, and 3 pellets at a time. My bettas get fed twice a day, but they get boiled de-shelled peas on Thursday afternoon, and they get 1 frozen bloodworm with their 3 pellets on Friday night.
I forget what the difference is between epsom and aq. salt, but there is a difference lol. There are things you can treat with epsom salt, and you can also use table salt, as long as it doesn't have some chloride junk in it I think. I just stick with aq. salt because I KNOW it's okay for aq.'s.

Thanks! like the way you compared my fishes aquarium water to a glass of 7 day old water on a counter... and i totally agree... puts it all in a new perspective. hmm... My poor fish. I was really good at taking care of him...
He so cute... its funny the way he hurries to the glass every time i get close... i think he's expecting food. Anyhow. i have a filter, but this week i will do the 50% water changes daily to rid the waste and whatnot.
I know i would appriciate someone cleaning my place at least half of it daily instead of once a week or twice a month.

I Thank you for your responses, and as will my Spike(tough name for a pretty fish).

I would do daily pwc's as long as you have the salt treatment going even with the filter. And until you see his fins good and the fungus totally gone, I would try to do one at least every other day.
My fish act hungry all the time too lol! I even have one that will jump out of the water and squirt water at me when I walk by ROFL! They are too funny!

That's funny... Some people think that fish don't have personalities. I believe they they have pleanty of character though.

I think all my fish have personalities, except for the loaches, cause they are all just crazy lol. And they also say fish can only remember for 2 minutes...I don't believe that either lol. Mine seem to have a fantastic memory! They sure know when it's feeding time!

Salt is just sodium chloride. They add iodine to table salt, because people used to get goiters for lack of iodine. That was a long time ago when Americans lived mostly off the local agricultural system, and some parts of the country lacked iodine in the soil. They still add iodine to table salt, and they probably add some more stuff to keep it from globing together. I believe Kosher salt and canning salt are pure sodium chloride, but read the label. Lots of medications are on the market to deal with fungi among aie They say that you need to remove the charcoal element from the filter or the meds will not work. Many people also raise the aquarium water temperature because this tends to speed up a fish's metabolism and thus help them ingest the meds faster. Also some fungi and other bad cooties can't live in warmer water. Just don't get too carried away with the hot water and meds.

I always use an anti fungus+fin rot treatment if fuzz/cotton wool like growth appears on fish
You do have to remove carbon filter for 7 days to allow treatment to do its job
I generally keep my carbon filter sponges submerged in aquarium water in a bowl until they can go back in to the filter to try keep good bacteria alive
I dont rise the tempature with this medicine but some other types do require it
Ive never used the salt as this type med usually dose the trick
Best of luck!

oh god thats gotta be false my fish seem to know when it's feeding time all the time. they know when I walkinto the room and there's nothing in my hand they are just gonna be watched. but once I get the food can in my hand they all rush to the top lol. it's kinda cute to mess with them a little by just grabing the food thing and putting it back.

Well, that doesn't have much to do with clonlaracyclone's cogent comments.

LOL John!

So here's one more cogent comment, this one from a codger.

It has been my experience that poor water quality is responsible for most fish health problems. Over feeding and over crowding seem to cause many of the water quality issues. It's probably a good idea to consider medications as an absolute last resort; while they may cure a condition, they do not address underlying issues.

How about that for some crisp, cogent codger comments or maybe just geezer garble.

I do agree... Meds cure the problem, not the cause...

After two 50% water changes, i have already seen an improvement. I did add a bit of aquarium salt, but i will say that i had no sort of problem with my fish after my tank was completely cycled and i was doing frequent water changes. It wasnt till i started slacking on the cleanings that this occoured.

Although my water paramiters, as far as test kits, remained consistant, I'm sure the build up of decompomposing matter added to the ability for other "Yuck" to form.

I am glad to hear your fish is doing better! Good job!

Delighted to hear things are getting better for you+ your fish

Okay, so the "white fuzzy stuff" that was on my bettas fins, is no longer on his fins, but i do see it in the filter compartment of my fish tank, its on the white "biofilter" i changed the carbon filter yesterday when i did my water change, i didnt want to rinse or attempt to clean off the white fuzz on the bio filter because i didnt want to destroy any of the benificial bacteria...

So what should i do, my fish seems fine but i wouldnt want a reoccourance... water temp is at approx 76, and i dont have a way to increase it as its an automativ thermostat without a setting adjuster.

Do you think it's bad, or do you think maybe it's calcium build-up? I have calcium in my water here, and it makes white EVERYWHERE, especially on the filter.

I dont believe that the white stuff i see is calcium, although that does exist... this reminds me somewhat of the dandilion seeds, i think thats it, you know the little plants you pick, then you blow on it to watch all the little white fuzzies fly around...
I'm going to try to get a picture to post if my disciption isnt good enough.

iv had something similer when i started my first tank it looked like the "dandilion seeds" that you described,it was only on my glass though, i was told it was algea so i reduced the amount of light and my oto worked hard for a few days eating it lol. im prity sure this isnt the same as what you have (unless algea can grow on fish lol) but the dandilion description sounded similer to what i had.