# Ich Attacking My Betta



## stevenjohn21 (Dec 4, 2010)

I have a 5.5 gallon Tank which is divided and houses a Male & Female Betta. My Male has Ich, or at least i think he has. He looks like somebody has flicked a paint brush with white paint at him. His body and fins are covered in tiny white dots. Today i noticed his fins are shaggy and missing some of the ends.
I have Ich treatment which i treated the tank with today along with aquarium salt and turned the heater up slightly. The bottle of Ich treatment says not to use it with carbon media in the filter. I have had the same filter cartridge (Carbon) in for over a month now so will this still effect the treatment or will it be ok since the carbon is not active anymore ?

Also is it a waiting game or should i expect the male to "kick the bucket"


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Can you post a photo of the affected fish please? The first thing to check is to be sure what you are seeing is ich. Bettas are not prone to ich.

The 2nd thing to check is the ingredient list of the medication you are using? Can you list those ingredients here please? Bettas are very sensitive to many common medications.

If you have carbon in the filter, even at a month old, it is still capable of removing the medication from the tank, even if only partially, that will still affect how effective the med is and how it affects the fish. 

Can you post water parameters for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH please, along with water temp? IF the betta does indeed have ich then its important to be sure the water chemistry/quality or temp is not the primary cause. You should always check water params before using any medication. Any ammonia or nitrite, or high nitrate can cause medications to have adverse affects that can be deadly.

The tattered fins would not be caused by ich. It is more likely either a bad reaction to the medication or an infection (bacterial, fungal, or both simultaneously) that is causing the tattered fins. Once I see a clear photo of the fish I can better help you determine what treatment is needed.


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## stevenjohn21 (Dec 4, 2010)

The camera on my phone is not the best so the pictures arnt the best sorry.
The temp is 76 degrees. I have just bred the 2 fish about 1 month ago (babies are in seperate tank) The female is not showing any signs of sickness and iss in the same tank.

I use Kordon Ich Attack (100% Organic) which treats diseases caussed by: Ich, Fungus, Protozoans & Dinoflagellates.
Contents: 5% active ingredients (multiple natural herbals containing Naphthoquinone)
95% Inert ingredients
My Ph is around 7.2


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## Bigguy71 (Apr 8, 2011)

*Probably fungus*



stevenjohn21 said:


> I have a 5.5 gallon Tank which is divided and houses a Male & Female Betta. My Male has Ich, or at least i think he has. He looks like somebody has flicked a paint brush with white paint at him. His body and fins are covered in tiny white dots. Today i noticed his fins are shaggy and missing some of the ends.
> I have Ich treatment which i treated the tank with today along with aquarium salt and turned the heater up slightly. The bottle of Ich treatment says not to use it with carbon media in the filter. I have had the same filter cartridge (Carbon) in for over a month now so will this still effect the treatment or will it be ok since the carbon is not active anymore ?
> 
> Also is it a waiting game or should i expect the male to "kick the bucket"


 I had a Betta that had what looks to be the same thing. I got a box of Jungle brand tank buddy fizz tabs called Fungus Clear. I just followed the directions on dosage and within 3 days the white stuff was gone. Oh and no matter what, still remove the carbon.


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

That doesn't look like ich to me. It looks more like an advanced case of fin rot, which is bacterial and fungal both. Jungle's Fungus Clear is one option, but I prefer the Fungus Eliminator instead. The contents are different, and the Fungus Eliminator is something bettas respond to quite well. Iit is broad spectrum and manages to handle most of the cases of bacterial and fungal issues found in bettas. If using Fungus Eliminator do not use salt treatments at the same time. There is a fair amount of sodium chloride in the medication already and adding extra salt would be more than the bettas could handle. 

It is very possible that the infection started after spawning where most bettas end up with fin damage... leaving a stressed and weakened fish with damaged fins... great place for infections to start. Most cases of fin rot are not obvious until they are in an advanced stage, making it much harder to treat. Fungus Eliminator is the best med I have found yet for treating fin rot in bettas.

And yes, regardless of how old the carbon is, it needs to be removed during medication. Carbon that is not actively absorbing waste anymore because it is full has the potential to release waste back into the water column, so that should be changed every 30 days if you plan to use it.

Please check your water parameters before introducing any medications. Any ammonia or nitrite (even trace amounts) can have a major effect on how the meds work and how the fish respond to the meds. Nitrate over 20 is also a danger zone with medications. If those parameters are off then a series of small water changes should be done over the course of a few days until the readings are appropriate. If water changes don't do the trick there is filter media that can be used to help quickly clean the water quality to make it safe enough to medicate. Polyfilter can be used short term (no more than 4 days at a time) and PuraPad can be used in place of the standard filter cartridges and needs to be changed about every 3 - 4 wks. Both of those medias would also have to be removed during medicating.


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## stevenjohn21 (Dec 4, 2010)

After reading about fin rot now i am aware that the tips of his fins could go black slightly. . . . which they did. I hate knowing that i missed it a an earlier stage. 3 days after i went on vacation and left a friend to feed them for 2 weeks so i cant expect the friend to have noticedanything. 
I do have some Kordon Anti Virus/Fungal Protection but im not sure if thats to cure it or to prevent it.

His tiny white spots do look to have gone now and is just left with tattered fins in which i noticed after changing his water today that there are bits of red fin in the bucket. Hopefully he is getting better . . . fingers crossed.


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

A few things for you.... 1st, get the Fungus Eliminator and start the treatment asap. Continue to treat according to directions until the fins appear to grow back to normal. I recently helped nurse one back to health and he needed over a month of treatment, but end result was that he healed completely and is thriving now. If you stop the meds too soon the infection will come back. If left alone it can damage the fish's immune system or kill the fish. If you don't treat long enough the bacteria can build up an immunity to medication, making it impossible to find an effective treatment the next time around. 
Keep the fish warm... 80 - 82 degrees. Be sure to feed nutritious foods which will help to keep the fish strong through his fight. Betta pellets, brine shrimp, live black worms if you have them available, mosquito larvae, all good options. Avoid blood worms and flake foods which tend to pollute the water more than they feed the fish. Dirty water contributes to fin rot.
If the sick fish is sharing the tank water with another betta (via divided tank) be sure to treat both fish in this tank, do not remove the other fish. The early stages of fin rot are typically undetectable. That means even if the other fish doesn't yet show symptoms that does not mean that the other fish isn't infected. The Fungus Eliminator is safe to use as a preventive treatment as well as for the illness and when long term treatment is needed it will not harm the fish. This is not true of other medications. The fizz tabs are not something I would opt for in this situation because there is no way to control the amount of medication the fish is getting. 

And lastly, be sure water changes and carbon are used to remove ALL of the ich meds from the water before adding any other medication. Not all medications can be mixed safely, some combinations can be toxic/deadly.

Best of luck to you. If you need further help or have questions about treatment please ask, don't guess or assume. If Fungus Eliminator is not available to you then please let me know and I will do my best to suggest another medication, but please be aware that the effectiveness of other meds in treating fin rot in a betta is nothing compared to the Fungus Eliminator. Effective options are quite limited.

Best of luck to you!


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## stevenjohn21 (Dec 4, 2010)

Thank you for your time, i will get started right now and let you know how i get on.


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