Growth eruption in white areas

[flameon]

I've been dealing with this issue on my betta for a while now. I first noticed a small white growth, so I tried treating it with some stuff, including salt. It didn't seem to work, and the growth just kept getting bigger. The other day I came home and it looked like it was shedding or something. Now it's burst and it's all red - I'm really not sure what to do about it.

[furify]

I've been dealing with this issue on my betta for a while now. I first noticed a small white growth, so I tried treating it with some stuff, including salt. It didn't seem to work, and the growth just kept getting bigger. The other day I came home and it looked like it was shedding or something. Now it's burst and it's all red - I'm really not sure what to do about it.

Can you tell me more about the location of the growth - is it on the operculum or behind the gill sprig? How much does it protrude from the body? It's possible that it might be a tumor, and while the pictures show it looks quite unpleasant, the fish doesn't appear to be in significant distress, with no signs of clamped fins, for example.

Applying methylene blue to the area might be a good idea - I'd use it full strength, straight from the bottle. This is a trick I learned from a vet years ago. It's not meant to treat the growth, but rather to see if there's a slime coat present on the affected area.

Methylene blue will only stain fish tissue that's not protected by its slime coat. So, if the growth stains blue, that would indicate there's no slime coat, which is a concern - it's similar to having exposed skin. The fact that the growth now appears to be a raw wound isn't a good sign.

Bettas are prone to developing tumors, and if that's what this is, there's not much that can be done, unless you can find a fish vet. In some cases, surgical removal is possible, but it's expensive and fish vets are hard to come by.

Is your betta still eating and behaving normally?

[flameon]

I'll be moving him to a smaller tank that I can fully treat with methylene blue. He's still eating and swimming around, just not as active as he used to be. Lately, he's been laying at the bottom or on objects more often, but he gets up and moves around - this behavior isn't new, it's just more frequent now. The growth is located right behind the Sprig and it does protrude quite a bit.