Does our fish have ich?

[JadeAngel]

we have 2 bettas in separate tanks.

we woke up this morning to find that my husband's blue crowntail betta has what could be ich. I'm attaching a photo. His fish is 100% blue, so any white that shows up on his body is what appeared this morning.

He has a big white blotch on his face, and his top fin has turned almost completely white. This happened overnight, he didn't look like this AT ALL last night when we went to bed.

He is in a 5 gallon tank with a filter and air stone. 2 silk plants 2 small plastic plants, silk leaf hammock, heater, boat decoration, and gravel substrate.

My betta is fine, it's just my husband's betta.

I know I need to quarantine him in a small bowl and treat him with medicine... but can I have more specific advice? What would be the best medicine? Is this ich for sure (i've never had a fish get sick before), do I need to clean 100% of his tank before I put him back in, or 90%, 50% or what? when I quarantine him how much water should I put him in... and should it be tank water or fresh new water?

Please help :(

[sainthogan]

Ick usually looks like someone sprinkled your fish with salt. This could be a fungus. I don't have any experience with fungus or ick, so I don't really know for sure. But there are people on here who do have lots of experience with both of those. (Velvet on the other hand, yes, I have lots of knowledge there)

[gemsbok]

I don't think he has ich. Ich looks like tiny grains of salt all over the fish's body. That patch looks more like a fungal infection. Is it fuzzy looking? I'm afraid I won't be much more help, as I'm not an expert with fish diseases. I do know that isn't ich, though.

Edit: lol Ninja'd. :P

[Wendyjo]

It could very well be columnaris. Do some research on treatment, determine what meds are locally available to you, and start treatment right away.

[JadeAngel]

I just wanted to add some extra details as I've been reading up on some things.

He has not lost any appetite (my husband calls him a dog fish, because he always is begging for food)
He doesn't have clamped fins or obvious bloating
an he's not acting lathargic

The white on one of his cheeks is raised off his scales, the other cheek is not obviously raised. The white on his dorsal fin, pectoral fins, and scales just below his dorsal fin do not look raised, bumpy, stringy, or separated... those parts look more just like they suddenly changed colors to white.

no other symptoms for now

[Shirleythebetta]

Best advice would be to PM a moderator and give them the link to this thread. Most common two mods people message are Sakura8 and Oldfishlady and they rock but just about any of them could help you.

[JadeAngel]

I got this pic of him spreading out his dorsal fin so you know what I mean when I say it simply looks like it suddenly changed colors

[JadeAngel]

Originally Posted by Shirleythebetta

Best advice would be to PM a moderator and give them the link to this thread. Most common two mods people message are Sakura8 and Oldfishlady and they rock but just about any of them could help you.

I will try that, thank you shirly :)

[Shirleythebetta]

Originally Posted by JadeAngel

I will try that, thank you shirly :)

No problem

[JadeAngel]

I found a local pet store 3 miles away, the next closest ist 13 miles from here so I'm lucky I found this.

I called and he said he has tetracyclin and azithromycin, and that he recommends the later of the 2. I'm going down there with my camera in hand to show him the pics before I get anything. This guy seems to know a bit about bettas and knew exactly what I was talking about when I said my fish might have columnaris (rare in this area for a pet store employee to know anything about the fish they sell XD)

thanks for the help! I hope this works (fingers crossed)