sick betta? columnaris or fungus? treat w/ kanaplex?

[pickle123]

I’m wondering if my betta is sick. A week ago I noticed my betta’s chin was turning white. I think his chin was already lighter colored so it was hard to tell if I was imagining it at first, but now it definitely seems whiter. From the research I’ve done it looks like it could just be a natural color change, although I think he’s only about a year old so is that too young to change color? Or could the color change be caused by stress? The tank water quality could have been bad enough to stress him because I had been overfeeding and it was probably a bit dirty at least. I have done water chances since then so i don’t know what the parameters were. I’m wondering if you can tell from the photos if he is sick, and if so what disease does he have?

Do you think it could be columnaris or fungus? I heard you can treat columnaris with kanaplex so I bought it. Should I treat him with it? I don’t want to wait till it’s too late. But from googling around it looks like it’s a fairly heavy duty drug and it can cause kidney damage if you use too much, but if I don’t go over the recommended amount should it be fine? I haven’t read that it is dangerous or has side effects. I’m not used to using antibiotics with fish, so I don’t know how risky it is to use them. I was thinking I could treat him with less than the normal dose of kanaplex? Or should I just do extra water changes and keep an eye to see if he comes down with other symptoms? I was also thinking of treating him with table salt because I don’t have aquarium salt, but I heard it can be toxic because it contains yellow prussiate of soda so I don’t know if it’s worth the risk? From what I have seen he’s not acting strangely, I haven’t kept a close eye on him but I’ve noticed him opening his mouth a few times. And once it seemed like he might be gasping for air but I might be being paranoid. Also, maybe it’s not columnaris because from what I’ve read it usually kills ish in a few days, but maybe in some cases it takes longer? The photos aren’t great, I can add better ones later. I'm not used to posting, so do these photo links work?  

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[Carl]

I do not see any evidence of Columnaris or a real fungal infection

What are the water parameters, including GH & KH?
How well is he eating?

What is the water temperature?

Be careful as to use of Google, a lot of bad information on this spammy search engine.

Here is some good reading for Kanamycin, which by itself is usually not enough for a true Columnaris infection:
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumMedication2.html#kanamycin

I suggest reading this article in full (as it seems you have gotten some poor information), in particular prevention, as treatment is but 25% of the cure:
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Columnaris.html

[pickle123]

Ok, thanks so much! a week ago I moved him to a small tank with mostly new water. I have done several partial water changes in both tanks since then. according to my test strips, the paramaters are normal in the betta's qaurantene tank except that the GH is at zero, while the ideal is supposed to be at least 25, and the total alkalinity is at 40 while the ideals should be at least 120. I did a water change but when I tested again it was the same. The paramaters of the original tank are the same except the alkalinity looks like it's between 40 and 80. Should I be concerned? (also is the total alkalinity the same as KH?) He is eating well, and my heater heats the water to 77 degrees farenhieght. Someone else told me they also thought as long as he's acting normal and he doesn't have an overall color change he's probably not sick, and they recomended that I give him baths with salt/methylene blue in case he's coming down with something because they're pretty mild treatments and would be safer than treating him with the kanaplex. Do you agree? I will probably do at least the salt bath. I don't know what disease he could have, do you know what he might have, or do you think it's probably just a natural color change?

[pickle123]

also, I actually caught him on video gasping for air, but that was the only time I saw him doing it. his little tank doesn't have a filter, so maybe he's not getting enough oxegyn without one? also there are some bubbles lining the edge of the top of his tank.

[Carl]

Sorry for the late response (got busy elsewhere).

Alkalinity and KH are the same as per aquarium keeping basics are considered.

It seems you have a misunderstanding of aquarium chemistry basics. If you are referring to GH in ppm being 25, this is not ideal rather much too low for mineral Cations. Zero is downright dangerous as per healthy fish osmoregulation.
I suggest a 1/4 dose of a fresh AAP Wonder Shell to improve this.
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/MedicatedWonderShell.html

I strongly suggest reading this article in full for a better understanding of aquarium chemistry:
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumKH.html

I do suggest a salt/MethyBlu bath.
www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2009/07/fish-baths.html

I also would suggest the use of AAP/SeaChem StressGuard
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Seachem.html#stressguard

[pickle123]

Ok, thanks so much! Is there anything I should do to increase the GH while I'm waiting for the shells to arrive? is it important to get it to the right GH and KH levels quickly? Should I add baking soda to the water? Also, how much water conditioner should I be using? I've read that it should be about a drop per gallon, but another article said to use quite a bit more.

[Carl]

Changing water with a good natural source (not softened) will generally do the trick for GH and Redox (although testing your fresh water source can determine this for sure).

Adjusting slowly is best. Baking soda can work for KH ina pinch, but I would recommend SeaChem Alkaline Buffer.
Resource: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Seachem.html#alkaline

As for the AAP Wonder Shell use; I recommend only 1/4 dose as per the information sheet AAP provides with purchase. You can then later use a 1/2 dose if needed.
Hopefully you ordered the fresh product from AAP. not the clearance product with incorrect use information sold elsewhere from parasite retailers and Amazon

Water conditioner amounts vary by product; some are drops, some are by teaspoons, some are by capfuls (such as Prime which is one I would recommend).
Further Reading as to Water Conditioner Use:
www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2007/04/aquarium-water-conditioners.html

As noted earlier, I would strongly suggest the use of AAP/SeaChem StressGuard too!
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Seachem.html#stressguard

[pickle123]

Thank you! Yes I'm getting the fresh AAP shells. Do you think it's neccesary to use the regular wondershells in my other tank? In that tank the GH is somewhere above 25 and the total alkalinity is about 40 (or a bit more.) the inhabitants seem to be healthy. there is a betta in there. Also, should I use regular wonder shells in general when I’m not worried my fish are sick, or is it fine to use medicated ones all the time? And is it necessary to use wondershells long term or can I use the SeaChem alkaline buffer or something else as a substitute? And the instructions say in general not to use the medicated shells with a carbon filter, which both of my tanks have, am I right in thinking that this is just because the filter would filter out the medication? with the carbon filter will the wondershell still bring the GH and alkalinity a safe level? I could just treat it with regular wonder shells, but do you think my betta needs the medication? And do you think I can move him back with the other fish since he's probably not contagious?

[Carl]

This depends if the GH is ppm or dGH. 25 is a very low ppm, but higher dGH

Alkaline Buffer is not the same as Wonder Shells, as this affects KH.

Please Read this article on full for a better understanding:
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumKH.html

Or this article for a more simple explanation:
www.fishbeginner.info/home/aquarium-gh-kh-ph-chemistry-what-to-know/

Medicated Wonder Shells are not for constant use, just occasional, not more than 2 weeks per 4-8 weeks.
However keeping regular AAP Wonder Shells in the tank long term is beneficial for mineral Cations and this is the main point for use (even if at just 1/4 dose)

More about Wonder Shell use:
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/FAQ.html#wonder-shell

I would suggest moving the Betta back, but adding SeaChem StressGuard too.