Does our fish have ich?

[Oldfishlady]

Its hard to tell by the pic-if it is a normal color change or if its an infection of some type.

What I would do-QT and start aquarium salt 3tsp/gal and tannins- with a low normal temp and good nutrition.

The small temporary containers some Betta are sold in work great for a QT-but anything will work that is small enough to float in the heated tank to maintain temp of 75-76F for treatment or if you have a 1-2gal that can be heated to use for QT-Be sure and attach it to the side of the tank so it doesn't sink.

Premix the treatment water in a 1gal jug of dechlorinated water-Add Aquarium salt 3tsp/gal and a tannin source if you have one-Either IAL (1lrg crushed/gal) or naturally dried and fallen from the tree Oak leaf (20 crushed/gal). Let this steep for 30min. Shake well before use....

Using the premixed treatment water make 25% water changes every 15min for 1 hour today.
He needs to stay in the QT-in the treatment water for the duration of the treatment period.

Tomorrow-using the premixed treatment water make 50% water changes daily for the next 9 days to complete the treatment.
If you used a tannin source-the water should look darker each day and this is what you want-don't worry about any leaf bits that get into the QT with water changes.

Nutrition-good quality varied diet fed in small frequent meals-If you have access to live mosquito larva-offer several rinsed a couple of times a day to boost protein intake to support the immune response.

Keep us posted....

[JadeAngel]

I took a video as it's really hard to get pictures of the detail of his white spots. I brought it to a local pet store I've never been to before, but his fish set up was much nicer and healthier than any of the big pet stores here and he seemed to know what he was talking about. I got some fungus and bacteria medicine he said to try first.

I'll see if that works (I don't know how long improvement should start to show after I start treatment though?)

If not, I have plenty of oak trees here and they all lost their leaves recently, so I'll try that next :)

Thank you, and I'll update if it works or not <3

[JadeAngel]

Update on our betta... he was not better nor worse for 2 days, then this evening it got slightly worse.

the patches on his gill plates have gotten slightly larger and turned slightly greyish/off white (as opposed to the pure white they were) 1 patch is slightly raised, cottony looking.

the pure white on his dorsal fin has also gotten slightly off white in color and spread a little to another ray of his fin and a couple more of his scales below the dorsal fin.

the fungus/bacteria treatment isnt working. I can NOT afford to keep spending money on medicines as they are $12-15 each... in addition to the other stuff I need to get (aquarium salt that I don't have)

I'm in negative numbers, so this is getting quite frustrating and worrisome as I simply don't have the funds to keep on trying different medicines.

aquarium salt, and tannin aside... is the color change from pure white to off white/greyish white concrete evidence of a certain illness so that I can get this guy feeling better?

other notes... he has been more sluggish the last couple of days... resting much more often... and his belly is a bit bloated

but he is still eating ok

[JadeAngel]

just wanted to throw in, looking at him with a flashlight (it is hard to see because he is a dark blue color) but the white patches are outlined with a blackening.

[Wendyjo]

I think I said this earlier in this thread - it's columnaris.

[JadeAngel]

Originally Posted by Wendyjo

I think I said this earlier in this thread - it's columnaris.

From what I've read and found online, it's very difficult to tell columnaris from fungul infections... but with everything building up, I'm also sure it is as well.

He also has a raw pink spot on his gill plate now :(

I started epsom salt baths... I just gave him one shortly ago, but he was very stressed after only 4 minutes in it so I had to take him out (1tbsp per gallon concentration)

I'm getting a stronger antibiotic today after my husband get's his paycheck.