Jacob has Ick

[Betta408]

Hi everyone, I just joined this website, though I have been reading the threads as a visitor for a few days now. I want to thank you all for the great information you have posted. I have learned so much from this website. :)

A few weeks ago, I bought my first Betta, and he's great. His name is Jacob, and I had him in a 1 gallon tank, then moved him to a 10 gallon tank so he would have more room to swim around. Unfortunately, I shouldn't have done this because there are also Black Skirt Tetras in the 10 gallon tank, and after a few days, they began to pick on Jacob's fins. I regret putting him in that tank; I thought that maybe they would be OK together because I have 5 Black Skirts together and hoped they established a pecking order just amongst themselves. I was wrong. :(

I bought a new 5 gallon tank, got it ready with the water, heater, filter, etc. and the next day (yesterday) I put Jacob in it. I noticed a small white spot near his mouth yesterday. Just a couple hours ago, however, I noticed many white spots and realized he has Ick. I went to a pet store, bought QuICK Cure, and just put it in Jacob's tank. I really hope he gets better; I feel terrible about putting him in a tank with the Black Skirts.

His fins are a bit straggly now too, and I'm not sure if it's from the Black Skirt Tetras biting him or if it is fin rot.

[dramaqueen]

Hello and welcome to the forum. You did the right thing by moving Jacob to his own tank. Hopefully, the Quick Cure will have him on the road to recovery soon.

[Betta408]

Thank you. I hope he makes a quick recovery too! :)

[Betta408]

Well, Jacob is doing pretty good I think. He still has a lot of white spots all over him, but it hasn't been 48 hours yet since I gave him his first dose of Quick Cure. He is pretty active and has been swimming around his tank. I'm concerned about his fins though. They are a bit raggedy, and I'm just not sure if it is from the Black Skirt Tetras picking on him or if it may be fin rot. I've read on this forum about giving your Betta a salt bath to heal their fins, so I bought Aquarium Salt when I was at the pet store yesterday but haven't used it yet.

Should I add some aquarium salt to his tank? I don't want to over medicate him, but the Aquarium Salt box says that it can be used "to enhance tropical fish disease treatment." I guess that means in addition to medicine?

[Betta408]

Here's an update on Jacob:

I decided to go ahead and give him some Aquarium Salt, so I mixed it with some of his tank water in a separate container and slowly added it to his tank. I've continued to give him Quick Cure for the last several days. Best of all, he's looking better! He is swimming around comfortably, and I'm pretty sure he has fewer white spots on him than he did a few days ago. :)

He's also pretty excited that I finally bought some freeze-dried bloodworms for him as a treat; I must admit I've been spoiling him a little bit with them since he is sick. He's still eating pellets, too, which is good.

I hope he continues to get better! :)