Betta with ich

[vanillaXtiffy]

I have a female betta who I thought had ich, but by now I'm wondering if it might be something else. She had it when I bought her, just a white spot on her tail. I've been treating her with an over the counter ich med for the entire month that I've had her. The spot hasn't gotten any smaller or any bigger. I'm wondering if maybe it's just a weird coloration or a different sickness? She's being housed in a bare half gallon hospital tank right now because it's easier to do frequent 100% changes on than the 2.5 gal that she'll be housed in when she's better. The temperature is 70 F.

 

[abcdefghi]

Not sure what the spot could be, but you might want to put the heat up closer to 76F.

 

[wataugachicken]

ich generally shows up as several spots all over the fish, like you took a salt shaker and sprinkled it on. after a month (!) of treating with ich medication, i think it's safe to say the spot is not ich. more likely scar tissue from a tear in the tail or a cyst. there are some types of cysts that fish can get on their fins - the name escapes me right now, but my angels have them. they look ugly, but there are no health consequences. purely an aesthetic issue.

 

[Zebulon]

Ich spots will fade as the free floating spawn are released and new spots will be created when they take root on the fish again. So the overall effect is that old spots will generally go away while newer and more numerous spots will appear. The turnaround is only a few days on this so, by your statements I'd say definately not Ich.

Do WCs to get the meds diluted out of the tank and start to raise your temp gradually; 70F is too low. I'd say 75 is the minimum and 79-80 would be much more appropriate. These fish like warm water up into the eighties. Take your time and bump it a degree or two at a time every 4-6 hours.

 

[vanillaXtiffy]

Well if it's safe to assume that it's not ich, I am moving her back into her bigger tank. The reason her temp is so low right now is because the container I have her in is too small for a heater. I did this as I said in my previous post to make it easier to do frequent full water changes as the meds required.

Thank you all very much for your help. I knew there was something fishy (ohohohohoh pun) about that spot.