Sick betta

[jillnjasper]

My fish has a case of ich, which I am currently attempting to treat. This is about the second day of treatment. Right now I'm keeping him in a small container of clean water until I can clean his tank out, which I will do as soon as I can. I'm concerned about him though...he never swims at all. He just sits with his fins clumped, unless I feed him. In addition, today I noticed that the top of him looks sort of swollen, or bigger than it was before. So I am wondering...
1. Are these part of ich and will they go away when he is cured? (I wouldn't think so, but it doesn't hurt to ask)
2. What is the best procedure to go about treating a fish with ich? I've never had a sick betta like this before, and I'm not totally sure.
3. If the clumped fins and "swollen" body are NOT part of ich, what are they?
4. How long does it normally take to cure a fish of ich?

For reference, I have about a 1-gallon tank with a light, but no heater. The filter is not real complex...there's a tube with a circumference that's slightly larger than a penny down the middle of my tank, and inside THAT tube there's another, smaller tube that has air pumped through it to sort of create a flow throughout the tank. I unfortunately do not have the moolah to spend on a new tank or heater.

[JMeenen]

You have a one gallon tank....previously to your Betta getting ick did you do regular 25% water changes every other day or once a week? If you are to treat your fish for Ick it is critical that you have a heater in your tank..you will need a constant temoerature of 78-80 Degrees F...and for treating sick fish a constant temp of 80 degrees F..a Hydor flat heater would be sufficient for 1 gallon and would cost you under $10...a small Azoo songe filter unit about $10 as well these two items would greatly improve you Bettas overall health but for right now you must have a way to raise the temp of the tank..If you clean up your tank now and get it ready to put him in and do the ick treatment do not dump all the water & gravel out and put in all new..vac the old gravel and change about 50%, put on the heater , put him back in and continue with the Ick treatment.
I hope this helps

[Little-Fizz]

Can you post a picture of this swelling?? And can you please put your fish back in his bowl... Being in a small container is more stressful then being in a bowl with ich. How did you get the ich? Have you added anything new lately?

When you can I recommend upgrading to at least a 3 gallon tank.

You can use just heat and salt to cure ich. No need to go out and buy fancy medications that can usually become more harmful to a betta.

The clumped fins could be as easy as poor water quality, or maybe not enough room to spread his fins?

I have to look for the salt treatment, I'll post it in a second.

http://www.fishforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=7705

[Kim]

As was previously said, you really need a heater. This will prevent stress to your fish during recovery, and the higher temps. are not favorable to the parasites that cause ick. What medication are you using? What I would recommend is that you vacuum the gravel of your 1 gallon bowl, do a 50% water change while your at it, buy a small heater, return the betta to the tank, and treat using a medication that contains malachite green as the active ingredient. Quick cure is one that I have used and had success with, but anything with this ingredient should work. I know some people have had success with just salt, but since this has not worked for me, that is what I recommend. I would guess that it would be about the same whether they are in a salty tank for a longer time, or in a more strongly medicated tank for a shorter time. The clumped fins are probably because he is stressed from being in a cup and being sick. The swelling is what worries me though. Are his scales raised giving him the appearance of a pine cone? This could be dropsy. Has he been itching himself, maybe he scratched too hard and caused the area to become swollen. He could also be constipated, but I don't think so because you said the swelling is on the top. Maybe you could post a picture as these are all just possibilities, and no one can recommend a treatment for such a vague discription. As for the time it takes to cure ick, every fish is different. I think that it took slightly less than a week for mine. If you can post the answers to these questions, we may be able to help you a little more. Good luck, I hope this helps.

PS: I agree with Little-Fizz, when you can, upgrading to at least a 3 gallon tank will help your buddy live a much healthier and longer life.

[John1871]

My fish was fine IU cleaned the tank once a week but know I notice my does not swim the it did when I first git him he looks like he my have ick but I am nto sure . He only comes up when I feed him .