Betta has small white patch on dorsal area ... What is it?

[Morainy]

If you're going into the store, please ask someone on staff what they recommend. (I'm not a fish doctor.) I think the Seachem Polyguard is pretty good for a community tank and great to keep on hand as part of your emergency pharmacy but they may have something more suited to bettas.

One thing I like about Polyguard is that it's a powder, so it should be easy to make the dose smaller for smaller tanks.

QUOTE=PurpleMonkey;193103]Well I am just going to stay on top of the WC's and see what happens... I am gonna swing by Aq West to grab the Seachem Polyguard so I have it on hand if it looks like he isn't going to make it[/QUOTE]

[roadrunner]

I was wondering how is your betta doing. I've had bettas for years and I've learned that clean water, stable temperature and good nutritious food keeps them healthy and happy for a long time.
Longterm use of salt is not good because it damages their internal organs + next time your betta has some illness, salt will no longer work as a treatment. I use salt very rarely now and no longer than 10 days in a row. Have you tried almond leaves? They are good for all sorts of infections and create more natural environment for bettas, and help them when they are stressed out. I prefer natural ways before I reach out for chemicals, so if you have to, try more mild treatments first before you move to something stronger. I always used to have Melafix and Pimafix on hand, but I haven't had a need to use it for a long time now, because I keep the water very clean. Please be careful about dosage, bettas are very sensitive to chemicals. I hope your betta will be better soon. Keep us posted.

[PurpleMonkey]

I've been doing a 2.5g change every 4 days (heated, tap water with prime and seachem betta conditioner). I have stopped adding salt.

So as an update, the white patch on MJ's (the betta) back showed no change, and he had stopped eating. So I decided to use Seachem Polyguard. He is showing some signs of improvement, and is more lively. The white patch appears to be slowly disappearing.

He investigates the pellets I've been trying to get him on (Hikari Betta Bio-Gold) but he doesn't seem that interested. Anything I can do to help make them more appetizing? He was on flake before.

[TwoStonedBirds]

Hmm I'm not 100% but it could possibly be ich. My betta gets sick of the pellets as well I just give him blood worms every now and then as a treat. Try those maybe that will work. As for ich, I recently just had an outbreak in my community tank and i used (Aquari-sol) and just fallowed the directions and all of my fish are making a pretty good recovery. I've noticed that betta's seem to be pretty hearty. Best of luck with MJ im sure he will be alright!
-Blair

[Morainy]

Hey, PurpleMonkey, I'm glad that your betta is showing some signs of recovery. It won't hurt him to go without food until he's ready to eat.

Grey patches on bettas are very common and usually easily cured, I think.

If the Hikari pellets are new to him, maybe give him a single flake and a single pellet at a meal; feed him more only if he eats. If he gets the pellet with the flake, maybe he'll think of both of them as food.

However, he may just need a bit of time to recover. I hope that he does well.