Female Betta With Fungus And Ich

[MrNiceGuy]

i have a really nice lookin female betta that has come down with illness. i moved it from the main tank into a small 10 inch square container. I added some salt and fungus clear medicine (not too much) and i've been changing the water every 2 days in an attempt to keep it clean. it hasnt improved. actually, its gotten significantly worse. the betta hasn't eaten since isolation either. I took a good look at her 5 minutes ago and shes got white spots all over, fungus on her face, and a bit of fin damage (maybe from the fungus?). i think the fungus on her face interferes with her ability to open her mouth. she has a hard time coming to the surface for air. she is active though, at least when i come in the room. I'm thinking I might just have to put her out of her misery. is there a relatively pain-free way to do this? shes gotta be living a pretty miserable existence now. anyone have any ideas on saving my fish?

 

[LauraFrog]

Ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and temp of the container. It's not recommended to treat in an unfiltered container as the meds remove oxygen from the water (but an airstone would do as long as you're using ammo-lock). Heater is very important - ramp the temp up to 30 C because this will help get rid of the whitespot. It speeds up the lifecycle (which will help you get rid of the spots faster) and the parasite that causes whitespot doesnt appreciate being cooked anyway.

Fungus on the face actually sounds like columnaris which has been called mouthrot because on the face is one of its classic sites to appear. usually looks a bit like cotton wool. A photo would help.

If it is columnaris and is already on her face then putting her down is probably the kindest thing to do, columnaris is very difficult to get rid of at the best of times and with a bad ich infestation as well I don't like your chances. Personally I use clove oil - about fifty drops would do it in that sized container, they just go to sleep and never wake up.