sick betta has ich and body turning white

[n9qiy]

I am treating my fish for Ich. I am treating it with Cupramine for the 16th.
am now seeing Gunny's body turning white and he is not moving around much will
not eat or even flare when I put a mirror up. I have the water temp at 83 the
ammo is .25 ppm on nitrate or nitrite. and by the way he is breathing very hard
and rapid. then what should I do, or better yet what can I do?


Bruce and Gunny

[veggiegirl]

Hey there,

The ammonia really needs to be at 0ppm otherwise it will do harm to your betta, in fact this may explain the fact that you say that your betta is turning white. When faced with a toxic substance such as ammonia a fishes slime coat will thicken in an attempt to protect it's body, this will give the fish in some cases the appearance of a white film over the body. To remove the ammonia I would recommend a 100% water change as soon as possible to prevent further damage. His increased respiration rate will be a combination of the ammonia poisoning and the parasites affecting him. I have never used cupramine before, generally copper based medication such as coppersafe and malachite green work best against parasites. Goodluck