Bettas in tank have ick, help!

[BlueBetta17]

How long do you think I should wait for the salt to dissolve after cupping them?

[AyalaCookiejar]

Just until you can't see any of the salt grain any more. If you stir the water with them still in it you might stress them, anyways.

Don't worry too much.. I've seen a few other people on here add salt to their tanks before they knew they were supposed to dissolve it first, and others advised them to cup them and then dissolve the salt. I know it might be slightly difficult with two fish in the tank.

You also might possibly be able to scoop up the salt with a net or something and swish it around in a separate cup if that's easier? I've never done it, but it sounds doable.

[BlueBetta17]

I was able to scoop them up with baggies and then I stirred the water. Going to add them back in in about 5 minutes. I stirred the salt and it's okay, you didn't know I already had put it in so it's not your fault.

[AyalaCookiejar]

Well, I was going to mention it earlier but it slipped my mind. As long as you were able to fix it, it's okay. At least now you know so you don't have to go through the trouble when you add more.

Hopefully the salt does the trick. I personally can't give any recommendations on any other medications since I have never used them, but I do think that if I did have to deal with something like this, I would probably try AQ salt before putting any chemicals in my fish's water.

I have read that sometimes ick seems to get worse before it gets better. Hopefully that's not the case for you. Good luck to you and both your little finned friends!

[BlueBetta17]

Thank you. Ick does get worse before better. I remember that back when I had a male in the past with it. He was already undergoing treatment and got covered in more dots before they disappeared. He ended up surviving after a week. I'm sure these guys will too!

[BlueBetta17]

Update. I have done two 100% water changes and have been adding in the correct amount of salt. The tank has been staying around 82 degrees. The spots on the fish are bigger. The male is moving around a tiny bit more, and the female is acting normal except for her random tiny spasms sometimes. The male won't eat, but the female will.

[AyalaCookiejar]

I'm glad that the male is doing a tiny bit better and the female doesn't sound like she's doing worse. The slightly higher temp will help, too, but it's the waiting game that really sucks. :/

[thephantomdragon]

I've used Non-Ich (a blue dye type medicine) that I got from a top fish store I had around the house when I lived an hour farther south than I do now. It got rid of Ick in less than a week. I can find the brand for you and post it here around 10:45 EST. I HIGHLY recommend this medicine, the treatment is almost instant.

[BlueBetta17]

UPDATE: I'm still sticking with the salt and temperature method, but I do have some ich meds that I have a back up. The male just died, but the female is still acting normal. How can I wash the decorations that were in with the male? And should I just quarantine the female or keep her in there and keep doing treatment? I'm leaving her on her side still. I'm paranoid to put anything on the other side of the tank lol

[AyalaCookiejar]

I would continue treatment and QT her so you can clean the entire tank. You can use the water/bleach solution or the water/vinegar solution. I think it's 10:1. When using bleach, I think people normally set it out to dry to kill the bleach, and just rinse and rinse and rinse everything, and rinse and rinse again.
Bleach sounds very dangerous but is actually safer than soap.

I'm very sorry that you lost your little guy :( you did everything you could.