Ich on a betta fish?

Question

ok, i think my betta may have ich. the first day i spotted white spots on his tail, then it got worse so i moved him in a little bowl until he gets better. and its pure white and it looks bigger than a grain of salt. I thought ich started on the head?? his started on the tail. im gonna be doing a big cleaning on his tank tomorrow probably. and im not quite positive its ich..help? oh and btw he also has inflamed gills. im going to the fish store tomorrow with him to get medicine but i wanna know, which should i treat first??

Answer 1

moving him to a new bowl won't help: ich matures under the skin of fish before it becomes visible. so it's basically stuck with him.

ich does not always start on the head, it can start anywhere.

what do you mean by inflamed gills? is he flaring at you? or do his gills look red, swollen, covered in mucus?

at the pet store get rid ich or quick cure. both contain malachite green which is effective at getting rid of ich.

his gill problem could be linked to ammonia toxicity in his bowl. I would up my water changes if I were you, otherwise he's going to get ammonia burns on his gills which can become irreversible if not fatal.

join a betta forum and ask your question there, you will likely get far more accurate answers than on yahoo. just a hint.  

Answer 2

Taking him with you could cause more stress to your fish. Take a picture of him instead with you. You were smart in taking him out of the tank and isolating him from other fish. I would start treatment immediately, I use Ich Clear from Jungle. I have had fish survive, and die from ich. Good luck.

Answer 3

Ich can start anywhere on a fish's body.  And be careful moving your betta into little bowls because smaller spaces are more stressful on fish.  The concentration of wastes in the water builds up much faster in smaller containers and I bet that bowl isn't nitrogen cycled, so that waste will all be in the form of toxic ammonia.  The betta would be better off in the larger permanent tank you keep him/her in.  

To treat ich, the first thing you should do is add aquarium salt at the concentration of four teaspoons for every ten gallons.  This salt helps your betta's immune system and a betta with salt in the tank in the first place very rarely gets ich.  Also, you should make sure the temperature is gradually raised to 80 degrees fahrenheit.  Heated water helps your fish recover since bettas are tropical and that is the temperature they like the best.  It also hinders the parasite Ich from spreading.  When your fish gets ich, you don't need to scrub down the tank he or she was in.  Ich is present in every aquarium.  Your fish contracted it because he or she had a lowered immune system.  What you want to do is raise the fish's immune system, not attempt to eliminate a ubiquitous organism like ich.  So don't bleach the tank or do anything other than the normal routine maintenance; it won't matter.  The ich is always there in some amount.  

Now, with your fish in a larger, cycled, heated tank with salt in the water in the concentration I said (four tablespoons for every ten gallons), you should go out to the store and buy some anti-ich medication.  I use 0.075% malachite green, but I've heard that other treatments are effective, too.  Just follow the instructions on the package of the ich-fighting medication and your fish should recover in no time at all.  You'll usually be able to notice that the ich is gone by the second or third day after treatment.  Finish out the prescribed medication as it says on the bottle even if you stop seeing ich spots, since you want to follow the directions and minimize the chance that the fish will relapse.  

The inflamed gills are probably a result of being in water with a high ammonia level and low general cleanliness.  You should treat your betta like any other fish, with clean heated water and a decent-sized tank that is at least a few gallons big.  Small tanks like that tiny bowl just never cycle, and your fish's gills get burned by ammonia again and again.  For a short-term solution, treat the ich and add aquarium salt.  For a long-term solution, get your betta in a comfortable home, not a tiny cramped bowl.

Edit:  Even if it's not ich, adding aquarium salt is a good thing to do.  It'll make your fish happier and will prevent future problems like this from happening.  Also, don't physically take your fish to the store.  He's already sick, and riding in a car or being carried is just traumatizing and may shock him.  Just take a picture and post it here and we'll diagnose your fish better than most pet store employees.  Or take a picture and show that picture to the employees.

Answer 4

your betta fish should be fine it is probably peeling mine does this often it may change color after peeling  

Answer 5

The gills are always red in color due to the blood that flows through the gills for gas exchange.  The real problem is the ich.  Treat the ich and the betta will probably be OK.  Ich can appear anywhere on a fish when the infestation begins.  It may have had ich when you bought the fish.  If the betta was in an aquarium with other fish, you should probably treat the entire population of fish in the tank.  Increased temperature will speed the cycle of the ich protozoan and help expose the susceptible stages to the ich medicine.  Follow the directions on the package.  Good luck!