duece has ich & is listless

[veen]

i got up this morning to see deuce with that dreaded ich on one side. other than that he seemed ok. he ate all of his pellets and swam around looking at stuff the way he normally does. i treated him with ich med -- super ich cure or something like that. i also just salt dipped him for about 25 minutes.

but now he is very listless, won't move away from the spot between the filter & side wall of tank near the very top of the water line. he doesn't appear to be gasping for air & i don't see any fungus, popeye, or anything like that on him. could ich be causing his listlessness? i didn't think ich did that.

i tested his water & all params were perfect. his tank isn't heated though, so i left the light on to heat the water. right now it's about 79.

any suggestions? thanks in advance

 

[Kiarra]

Ich seems to manifest itself in different Bettas in different ways. One of mine (a Betta brownorum, to be specific) is down with Ich right now, and it's got him so listless he won't eat or even startle (and this is a VERY shy species). It's probable that the Ich is causing the listlessness. Just keep treating him and see if he perks up within the next couple days during treatment.

 

[Skylar]

Hi veen!

There are these awesome mini-heaters that you can buy at various pet stores such as Petco and Petsmart, even Wal-Mart for about $9.00 CAN. I am guessing it would be about $5.00 US? They only heat the water up to about 82-83 degrees depending on room temperature but they really help with small tanks.

Keep going with the ich treatment. The treatments do not work until the ich bacteria have become free-swimming. If you get one of the mini-heaters, turn it up to about 82-83 degrees. The listlessness is probably caused by the temperature. I have always kept my bettas at a strict 81 degree. I always thought 79 degrees was a bit low.

Please post Duece's progress!

-Skylar-

 

[Kiarra]

If you have the means to do so, then raising the temperature to 84 degrees Fahrenheit during Ich treatment would help with treatment. But, if you don't, 79 is absolutely fine.

 

[veen]

ah, ok, didn't realize ich could affect the poor guy like that he's normally a very active, curious little guy. so, i'll just continue the meds & hopefully the ich will be cured soon. i won't be able to buy a heater for probably a week but will keep the light in his tank on. and i will post with progress. poor deuce

 

[BettaMomma]

If you don't start seeing signs of improvement with the ick in the next few days, start paying particular attention to his tail. If you see it starting to shrivel up and/or come off in long strands you need to consider getting him on some heavier meds - probably something for internal infections. Just make sure the ick starts to disappear pretty quickly. He should be perking up soon..

Also, salt dips can be pretty stressful on them and they can react oddly when you put them back into the tank, but it shouldn't necessarily be a lasting thing.

Just keep an eye on him.

 

[veen]

If you don't start seeing signs of improvement with the ick in the next few days, start paying particular attention to his tail. If you see it starting to shrivel up and/or come off in long strands you need to consider getting him on some heavier meds - probably something for internal infections. Just make sure the ick starts to disappear pretty quickly. He should be perking up soon..

Also, salt dips can be pretty stressful on them and they can react oddly when you put them back into the tank, but it shouldn't necessarily be a lasting thing.

Just keep an eye on him.

it was weird -- when i put him into the salt dip he was more perky than when he was in his normal tank. he was swimming around & looked like his old self. but as soon as i put him into his normal tank he went straight to his new resting spot by the filter at the top of the tank and stayed there. he did eat all the bio pellets i put in but he wouldn't swim around like he did during the salt dip.

i will definitely be keeping a close watch on his fins. i will change from the ich med to something else if he doesn't improve soon.

 

[BettaMomma]

The same thing happens with my fish. When they're in the salt dip, I think they're panicking because of the "weird" water they are in. If he's still eating that's a very good sign. Mayber the ick is just making him feel "icky" and he just needs to rest. Sort of like when you have the flu.