Betta Ich? Please let me know.

[bettacarl]

I just bought a betta yesterday and I didn't notice until I had added him to my 29 gallon tank. I was watching him intently to see how he would do with my community fish and he was doing really well but then I saw this spot on him. I took him out right away, and now he's in a 5 gallon tank so I can keep an eye on it. I am thinking it is Ich but I wasn't sure because I only see one spot on him. Please let me know and what treatments have worked for people? I bought some generic Ich medicine form Petco yesterday.

Tank size: 29 gallon (right now 5 gallon)
pH: 7.4
ammonia: 0
nitrite:0
nitrate: 20ppm
tank temp: 79.0

 

[Essjay]

I can't see any whitespot in the photos but you can see the fish - does it look as if he's had salt sprinkled over him? If he does, that is ich.

The best treatment for ich is heat. All the chemical treatments for ich use powerful ingredients which are not good for fish. Adding an ich treatment 'just in case' is never wise but he won't come to harm with heat treatment.
Do a water change with water a bit warmer than the tank water then turn the heater up to get the water to 86 deg F. Leave it at that temperature until he has been spot free for 2 weeks, then turn the heater back down and let the water cool slowly.

The betta would be best left in the 5 gallon tank as they are not community fish.


Keep an eye on the fish in the 29 gallon. If the betta does have ich, the fish in the 29 gallon may well come down with it as well.

 

[bettacarl]

I can't see any whitespot in the photos but you can see the fish - does it look as if he's had salt sprinkled over him? If he does, that is ich.

The best treatment for ich is heat. All the chemical treatments for ich use powerful ingredients which are not good for fish. Adding an ich treatment 'just in case' is never wise but he won't come to harm with heat treatment.
Do a water change with water a bit warmer than the tank water then turn the heater up to get the water to 86 deg F. Leave it at that temperature until he has been spot free for 2 weeks, then turn the heater back down and let the water cool slowly.

The betta would be best left in the 5 gallon tank as they are not community fish.


Keep an eye on the fish in the 29 gallon. If the betta does have ich, the fish in the 29 gallon may well come down with it as well.

There's just one big white spot on him. It almost looks like a piece of chunky corn starch stuck near his fin. In the pictures it's the bright white on him (that isn't the light, that's the speck).

 

[Essjay]

That is not ich, though I'm not sure what it is

 

[FishGuest5123]

Is it cottony or fuzzy looking. Could be fungus. I’d do a water change of 75%. First day, add 1 teaspoon of dissolved aquarium salt for every 5 gallons of tank water. After that, each day do a 50% water change and add 1/2 teaspoon of dissolved aquarium salt for every 5 gallons each day. Do this for 10 days and see if improves. Just ask if you need help.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Maybe fungal? Does the spot look sort of like fluffy mold?

 

[bettacarl]

Is it cottony or fuzzy looking. Could be fungus. I’d do a water change of 75%. First day, add 1 teaspoon of dissolved aquarium salt for every 5 gallons of tank water. After that, each day do a 50% water change and add 1/2 teaspoon of dissolved aquarium salt for every 5 gallons each day. Do this for 10 days and see if improves. Just ask if you need help.

I was trying to see if it does look fuzzy but it honestly to me looks like cornstarch. It's just a white mass. It's very odd looking

 

[bettacarl]

Maybe fungal? Does the spot look sort of like fluffy mold?

It has the consistency of cornstarch. So it's lumpy but pretty solid and not at all fuzzy. There's also just the one spot, so I'm a bit puzzled as to what it could be.

 

[bettacarl]

I was trying to see if it does look fuzzy but it honestly to me looks like cornstarch. It's just a white mass. It's very odd looking

I don't want to hurt the fish, but is there any way it could be something that is just stuck to his body? And I could carefully remove it?

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Is it cottony or fuzzy looking. Could be fungus. I’d do a water change of 75%. First day, add 1 teaspoon of dissolved aquarium salt for every 5 gallons of tank water. After that, each day do a 50% water change and add 1/2 teaspoon of dissolved aquarium salt for every 5 gallons each day. Do this for 10 days and see if improves. Just ask if you need help.

Great minds think alike! I hit post just as I saw the notice pop up.

I'd go with salt treatment anyway, OP. Salt inhibits a lot of bacterial and fungal problems, and can even help against some external parasites, and it's a relatively mild first treatment. If he lost scales due to an injury, a salt water treatment can help prevent a secondary bacterial or fungal infection happening. If it doesn't help, you can move on to trying something more powerful, and will likely have more info for a more definitive diagnosis.

 

[bettacarl]

Great minds think alike! I hit post just as I saw the notice pop up.

I'd go with salt treatment anyway, OP. Salt inhibits a lot of bacterial and fungal problems, and can even help against some external parasites, and it's a relatively mild first treatment. If he lost scales due to an injury, a salt water treatment can help prevent a secondary bacterial or fungal infection happening. If it doesn't help, you can move on to trying something more powerful, and will likely have more info for a more definitive diagnosis.

Thanks, I'll try the salt first. It's a new fish so I don't know what he looked like before but is there any way that he might have white naturally in his colors? It's really hard to tell if it is scale loss or something foreign on his body.

 

[FishGuest5123]

You can actually use up to a tablespoon of aquarium salt per every 5 gallons of tank water. I just start at a lower dose with bettas. Keep that in mind if it appears you need to increase it some. Just remember that salt doesn’t dissipate so it won’t leave the tank until you remove it.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Thanks, I'll try the salt first. It's a new fish so I don't know what he looked like before but is there any way that he might have white naturally in his colors? It's really hard to tell if it is scale loss or something foreign on his body.

He wouldn’t change color that quickly.