What's wrong with him?

[Purple8790Betta]

Hello!
I'm a new member to this site, but I have used it quite often to learn more about my (relatively) new Betta fish. I have a male betta, named Leo, which I got early December.

PROBLEM: Yesterday, I did a full water change (tank: 2.5gal). He seemed fine, as he swimming around and he ate his food. However, today I noticed a white spot on the left side of his head, a little below his eye. I'm not sure what it is and from the research I've done, I think it may be a parasite? The tanks has silk plants and no other sea animals living in there. He is still swimming around just fine, but I did notice him brushing against some plants/objects.

Please help! I am extremely worried for him. This is my first betta (first pet fish!) and I have come to adore him.

(I attached a picture, but it was hard to capture the white spot )

[Purple8790Betta]

I just realised I needed to include this Q/A:

Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5g
What temperature is your tank? 24*C
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? 1-2 times a day.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? twice a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? NutraFin Betta Plus Water Conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? Not yet.

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? A white dot near and below its left eye, other than that, the appearance has not changed
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Started to brush up against silk plants and decorations (fake palm tree)
When did you start noticing the symptoms? About two hours ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Not yet
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Ever since I've had him, no.
How old is your fish (approximately)? Almost two months

[callistra]

I really can't tell from your photo.. it's too dark and blurry.. but is the dot fuzzy or does it look like a sprinkling of salt?

To me, your description sounds like he has the beginnings of Ick.. This would be the salt spinkle as opposed to anything fuzzy.

This most effective and gentle treatment for this is actually heat. Raise temp to 30C-31C. You should raise this very slowly. No more than a degree per hour and 5 degrees per day.. stop if he seems stressed. Leave it this high at least two weeks and one week past when the last sight of ick is seen. Some people treat with heat alone but you can also (as long as no live plants) add 1 tsp per gallon aquarium salt. Predissolve it and you can use this for up to 10 days. You only need to redose salt with water changes and then only add as much salt as water you replace.

Ick is an opportunistic infection when fish are stressed. Make sure when you do your water changes you use water that is the same temp as the water you're replacing (run tap with thermometer to match temp) and add dechlorinator before you add him. I'd always acclimate slowly during such a change by floating in a cup i in the tank for an hour= and adding new water to the cup at the rate of a couple of tablespoons every 10 minutes.

HE's also too cold. He should be more like 26-27C on a normal basis.