betta fry problem - red spot on head

[bahamuto]

This is my first time raising betta fry. I only had 6 or 7 to begin
with. Some of them are dying off. It seems like they have a red spot
on the top of their head and the ones that die, their bodies are all
white.. I read somewhere that it could be a broken blood vessal. Do
you guys know anything that would cause that?

They are about 3 weeks old. I have been doing a 25% water change about
once a week and I also added a couple gallons to the 10 gallon tank.
The temp is 80-82 and the Nitrate and Nitrite level looks good. I also
have a small filter and some Java moss in there.

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

--Nathan

[carlrs]

bahamuto wrote:
> This is my first time raising betta fry. I only had 6 or 7 to begin
> with. Some of them are dying off. It seems like they have a red spot
> on the top of their head and the ones that die, their bodies are all
> white.. I read somewhere that it could be a broken blood vessal. Do
> you guys know anything that would cause that?
>
> They are about 3 weeks old. I have been doing a 25% water change about
> once a week and I also added a couple gallons to the 10 gallon tank.
> The temp is 80-82 and the Nitrate and Nitrite level looks good. I also
> have a small filter and some Java moss in there.
>
> Thanks for any advice you can give me.
>
> --Nathan

Are your fry eating at all?
What is your ammonia level? You want it to be 0. kH at least 80 ppm.
This may be columnaris, which is a gram negative bacteria that will
take advantage of weak fish and/or poor conditions.

If your pH is above 7.2 Kanamyacin would be my first choice of
treatment.
Nitrofurazone works at lower pH, but is not generally quite as
effective.
Other possible treatments include Triple Sulfa or Pimafix for a natural
treatment.

I would also increase your water change schedule to twice per week (not
that you have a poor cleaning schedule).

Another consideration if your fry are more than a few weeks old is a
30 minute bath in methylene blue at double strength. You remove the
fish, and using your own water leave the fish in this bath for 30
minutes, then return the fish to the tank without the bath water. This
is very effective for some bacteria, all fungus and most parasites.

For some pictures of columnaris (flexbacter) and more information:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Columnaris.html

More medication information:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Medication.html

Carl