Possible Ich? (pic heavy)

[maycausedeath]

I've had Spencer for about four or five days now, and he's been generally healthy for coming out of a petsmart filled with finrot. However today I notice what looks like either a tiny little tiny hole or ich. I'm really hoping it's a little hole because we're nearly snowed in and the roads are terrible. There's also a parking ban all today and I don't have aquarium salt on me.

This is what it looks like. I tried getting it from both sides because it's nearly symmetrical.









Sorry about the bad photo quality

[Giri]

it looks like ich,not a hole :/ can you see through it?

[maycausedeath]

Oh dear... I'm not sure. Maybe I'll cup him again and put him on a black background or something :/ Thanks for your input though

[Oldfishlady]

It hard to tell if it is ich...I have an old computer and pic details don't show-up well for me....anyway.....even without aquarium salt if it is ich you can still treat...although salt can help to a degree with killing the parasite and prevention of secondary infection from the wounds the parasite leaves when it detaches from the fish........fresh clean dechlorinated water and water changes can do the same thing in most cases

With Bettas I like to do the two cup method to treat Ich....the small container you have him in work great for this especially if you have two of them....float him in the QT in a heated tank and slowly get the temp up to the 85-86F range...float the second cup with fresh dechlorinated water in the heated tank so it comes to temp and net the fish each day and move to the fresh like temp dechlorinated water-dump the first cups water-rinse with hot water and let it air dry...about an hour before the next daily water change fill the cup up with fresh dechlorinated water and float in the heated tank to come to temp and net the fish and move to that QT cup....do this every day for at least 3 days past the last day you could see any parasites on the fish

You can't kill ich while it is on the fish without killing the fish....raising the water temp will speed the life cycle of the Ich and it will help make the Ich fall off the fish faster so you can manually remove the Ich from the tank/container the fish is in.

By air drying the net and container between uses will kill any Ich that may be on it

Temp over 86F and the Ich is said to stop reproducing and some even say it will kill the Ich

You want to treat for at least 3 days past the last day you could see the ich on the fish to make sure you got the ones that may be hiding in the gill area.

If you have kosher salt or any salt without any anti-caking additive in it...you can use that with the Betta....Iodine is not the problem...its the anti-caking that can be toxic to fish.

[maycausedeath]

I went to look and I couldn't really tell.. I did notice white spots on his head though and I'm pretty sure they weren't there before.

Thanks OFL! I went and found some salt that only lists "natural sea salt" on the ingredients. I'm assuming this is fine? It's coarse grain though. If I have salt should I still do the two container method? He really hates to be in it...

[Oldfishlady]

I would still use the two container method...your goal with Ich is to remove it manually from the container once it falls off the fish and the small QT containers work well for this....

If you use the salt-I would pre-mix it in a clean 1gal jug (I use an old clean 1gal milk jug) add 1tsp salt/gallon of water (and dechlorinater if you normally use it)...by pre-mixing this keep the salt dissolved and make the dosage and daily water changes easier too...shake well before use and make sure the water is within a couple of degrees between temps...by floating the second QT container of fresh treatment water in the heated tank about an hour before you make the daily 100% water changes will help ensure equalized temps.....be sure and attach the QT containers to the side of the heated tank they are floating in so they don't sink or the treatment water gets diluted or worse the Ich transfer into the main tank.....

[maycausedeath]

Alright, I'm gonna start the QT today even though I know he'll hate it. When I fed him I saw some little white spots on his fins, so I know it's ich :/ I rinsed the gallon water jug with vinegar and water, and the little container I'll be using because I don't have two of the little betta cups.

What should I do to kill the ich in the main tank? Also, how do most of you attach your cups to the side of your tanks?

Wow, the ich is everywhere. It's on all of his fins... I'm gonna turn the heater up above 80.

Edit again: His fins look ragged and I think one of his little "points" is a lot shorter than the others. Could ich cause this?

[Oldfishlady]

The Ich can make the fins look tattered
I use duct tape to attach my cups

The main tank-make some deep vacuuming to get the Ich out...usually without a host (the fish) the Ich will die off in 24-48 hours

[maycausedeath]

Duh, I can't believe I didn't think of tape.

He's in the container, looking pretty unhappy but this has to be done :c
Can you tell me anything about what their behavior will be like in the quarantine? He just seems really stressed right now...

Edit: I don't have a vacuum or even a turkey baster, and I'm still snowed in. Is there anything else I can do?

[Oldfishlady]

Sometimes they will either pout a little or try to get out of the QT...this varies...

You can do the stir and dip on the tank.....what size is the tank and any other livestock in it...like shrimp or snail and any live plants or a filter on the tank....