Mystery betta illness.

bettasnsnails

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As the title says, my betta seems to have a mystery illness. It looks like Ich, but I have NOT added anything new to my tanks in the past 6+ months, and nothing to this tank in over a year. I was treating with coppersafe for over a week at 2ppm with no results, things are only getting worse. I just started ich-x yesterday after 2 large water changes and am waiting on maracyn two to come in the mail to see if that will work for potentially epistylis though it's also not looking like that. Any other suggestions? I raised this girl from fry so I really want to save her. She's still got an appetite and is actually behaving somewhat normally, but she looks god awful. Any input as to what this is or what to try next is appreciated. We are going on week 3. She's a fighter that's for sure.
 

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Last edited:
I'm not sure why the Coppersafe didn't work as the size of the spots seem more akin to ich or velvet than epistylis.
How long does it say to keep the coppersafe in the tank?
Did you replace the treatment in proportion with the water changes?
Do you have ion-exchange resins or heavy metal adsorbing filter pads in the filter?
Did you use a skimmer during the treatment?
 
What is the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH of the water (in numbers)?
What sort of filter is in the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Is the new water dechlorinated before it's added to the tank?

Is the fish rubbing on anything in the tank?

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When the images are small it looks like excess mucous. However, when expanded it looks like spots.

If it was velvet or whitespot, then copper should have killed it. Ich-X contains Malachite Green, which kills external protozoan parasites (as does copper). If it didn't respond to copper and isn't changing with Ich-X, then it's not protozoan.

Do not add Maracyn. It's an antibiotic and this is not a bacterial infection. Improper use and mis-use of antibiotics has lead to drug resistant bacteria that kill people, animals, birds, fish and reptiles.

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If the water quality is good, then see how the Ich-X goes over the next few days. If there's no improvement then do a big clean (80-90% water change, gravel and filter clean) and see how it looks after a few days. If there's still no improvement then add some salt. Post more pictures before you add salt.
 

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