Alpha's health crisis (now passed)

[angelrob]

So continuing from my intro, I wanted to share the odd thing that happened to my new betta, Alpha. As noted, I was a bad beginner and bought the fish before my tank was ready. But I got him home and put him in a 1/2 gal mason jar while I prepped the tank, planning to change the water often...the "fish in" method, I guess. After about a week of a quite active and interactive new fish, I noticed the dreaded white spots, 3 on each fin, 4-5 on each side of his head and body. I panicked (we'd just lost half the big tank to ich No, I hadn't shared any equipment between the tanks; all of Alpha's stuff is new.

After some discussion and worry, I put 4 drops of Ick Guard in (what Bill had used on the big tank after the outbreak). The next day the spots were nearly gone (I saw 1 on his head) but he was pretty listless. I did a 50+%water change. He continued to be listless and after a couple of days, was spending most of his time on the bottom, except when I changed the water. I had gotten some Melafix and although it smelled pretty strong, at that point I thought he was so far gone that it couldn't hurt. Each time I put 4 drops in, he'd come up from the bottom and hang out around where I'd put the drops in, even after they were stirred.

He did continue to eat which is what kept me hoping

After a few more days and several water changes, (and at his worst, he was on the bottom, on his side, one time even nose down to the bottom, pressed against the rock arch) suddenly I get up one morning and he's looking like nothing ever happened! He's back up, blowing bubbles, flaring at his reflection in the back of the tank...

A couple of days later now and he's got a nice new bubble nest and seems like nothing happened. My only guess is that the Ick Guard nearly did him in. I'm going to get Aquasol for possible future issues.

In testing his water, it never got very Ammonia-y or Nitrite-y. I did add a little bit of aquarium salt a couple of times while changing the water, but not every time. And I added a few drops of AquaSafe each time. Water temp about 78. Any other input on what might have happened?

Robbin

[AyalaCookiejar]

It probably had a thing or two to do with the medication. Ick doesn't go away when you no longer see white... It's still in the tank and needs to be continually treated. The water changes probably did a lot of good as well. Lethargy is a common symptom of many things and bettas are generally pretty hardy and bounce back quickly.

[angelrob]

Originally Posted by AyalaCookiejar

It probably had a thing or two to do with the medication. Ick doesn't go away when you no longer see white... It's still in the tank and needs to be continually treated.

Thanks. What do you use to treat ich and how long do you treat for it?

[AyalaCookiejar]

•Treatment: You can treat Ick either conservatively or with medication. Ick is a parasite. Because ick is contagious, it is preferable to treat the whole tank when one fish is found to have it. Ick is temperature sensitive: Leave your betta in the community tank and raise temperature to 85 F. Then you can choose to treat with salt or medication. Conservative: Add 1 tsp/gal Aquarium Salt 3 times, 12 hours apart so that you end up with 3 times the normal concentration. Perform daily 100% water changes to remove fallen parasites before they can reproduce. Replace the water with the right amount of salt. Do not continue this treatment for more than 14 days. If it fails or you do not want to use salt, treat with Jungle’s Parasite Clear, API Super Ick Cure, or Kordon Rid Ich Plus. If your betta lives in a jar/bowl, then it can be difficult to heat the water. There are heaters for smaller containers, but you can also float the quarantine container in a larger heated tank during treatment. Do a full water change every day and add an appropriate amount of medication to the water.
•Alternative Treatment: Personally, I have not found Ick medications very effective. I prefer to use PP to treat all external parasites. In the past, I have used 3 or 4 different ick medications unsuccessfully, and every time I resort to PP which works like a charm. Do lots of research before using PP as it is a more dangerous chemical than most.

I would treat it for the entire recommended time. You should not use AQ salt for longer than 7-14 days.