# Betta has ick :(



## felwyntara (Jun 10, 2010)

I just got a new Betta yesterday and put him in his new 2.5 gallon tank. I did everything you are supposed to do before adding the Betta. The next day i noticed he had ick so I went to our local petstore and they gave me ick medicine to put in the tank. I was just reading here that aquarium salt is a great cure. However I asked the guy at the store and he said don't use aquarium salt. So its been three days and I don't see any improvement. Can i still add the salt even though he is on the medicine? Also his fish tank is at about 78 deg. I was going to try adding warm water but I am 2 scared to touch anything. He looks awful floating at the top of the tank. I feel bad for him. How do I go about adding warm water and should I add salt? should I just leave the tank alone since it is being treated with meds?


Also what causes ick?


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

First off.. its actually "Ich".. not ick.  Ich is short for Ichthyophthirius which is a parasitic fungus that can be caused by a number of different things. One of the main causes I've read is being cold.

The BEST way to treat Ich is to slowly turn the temperature up to 85 or 86*F, you need to do this over a few days so you don't stress the fish. Leave the temperature up there for a week after you no longer see the ich on the fish (you need to wait this time to make sure you have killed all the fungus in the tank).

Most aquarists say that simply turning up the heat is enough. In conjunction with your medication it should get rid of the ich in no time.

Don't add any salt if you already have a medication in there. Do a partial water change but make sure to add the medication back in. Most medications come in doses for 10 gallons so you need to be certain your only using 1/4 the recommended dose.

Heat is the main thing that is going to cure it.
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## felwyntara (Jun 10, 2010)

Thanks! I will just keep treating the tank and try the warm water.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

The way I like to treat mild cases of ich with Bettas is the two cup method, I use two small container and switch them out each day from one cup to the other, cleaning the cup between changes making 100% water changes. I do this for at least 3 days past the last day I could see the parasite on the fish.

You can't kill the parasite while it is on the fish and you can speed up the parasites life cycle with higher temps. In temps over 86F the parasite is reported to stop reproducing.
Aquarium salt 1tsp/gal can also help kill the parasites if they are not resistant to the salt and some are due to over use and wrong dosage of salt over the years. Salt can also help the fish by helping them make a heavy slim coat and avoid a secondary infection due to the wounds from the parasite after they drop from the fish.
These parasite can live in the substrate so it is a good idea to make deep gravel vacuuming to manually remove them.
You can have ich in the tank and it will not attach to the fish unless the fish becomes stressed from poor water quality, overcrowding, other illness, sudden temp changes...etc.......sometimes just fixing the problem in mild case the ich will go away without treatment.
Often the ich can attach in the gill area and you can't see them, but you will know when the fish flashes (rubs/itches) his gill area on objects in the tank, other things can cause this as well...not just ich.

In server case ich can kill the fish so it is important to start treatment as soon as you can and then fix the problem to prevent it..i.e. poor water quality-step up regular water changes, re-eval stocking, keep temp stable etc.....


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## wallywestisthebest333 (Nov 30, 2009)

How can I raise the temp in my tank and keep it constant if I have a heater that keeps the temp at 78?

I think my Genie either has Ich or Velvet I'm gonna transfer him to my room where it's nice and dark most of the time.

I'm using salt but today it looked AWFUL.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Your only real option is to get another heater or to raise the temperature of the room. 

Before you treat make sure you diagnose what your treating. Ich looks like white salt crystals on the fish, Velvet looks like a goldish fuzzy fungus.


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## wallywestisthebest333 (Nov 30, 2009)

Yeah it's Velvet. Thanks for clearing that up 1fish2fish! =]


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## felwyntara (Jun 10, 2010)

My betta is dead. 

I got my betta from petco. Honestly I am unhappy with petco betta's. I got a crown tail at petsmart at the same time I got my betta at petco. I did everything the same for both fish. Same tank, same rock, same decorations and same heater. I basically got two of everything. The betta from petsmart is super happy and healthy. I named him Hiku and he is my little happy, healthy buddy. The Betta from petco was sick the next day I got him. So, I went back to petco cause the betta was sick and they gave me another fish. While I was looking in the store at the betta's over half of them lay dead and the other half looked sick! It was awful like a crypt. So I finally found one that looked like it was in good shape. I get him home and the next day he has ich. I don't know if I am doing something wrong. But i think I am just going to stick with the one Betta for now and return the other tank.


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