# Ich or velvet?



## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

I was away for a week and someone else was taking care of my fish. Before I left, Sparrow seemed to be a bit clamped, and by the time I got home he was fully clamped. He's eating and he's moving around every now and again though.

This morning I started some AQ salt treatment, and this afternoon when I looked at him, he looks like he's got pale fuzzy patches on his sides and fins (especially his tail). I'm not quite sure if it's ich or velvet and I was wondering if there's much of a difference between them. I don't see any spots...just fuzzy patches.

I don't have time to post a pic right now. I'll post one later if I can later.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Just from the description, it's hard to tell. I would actually say he has columnaris, not ich or velvet at all. Columnaris is characterized by fuzzy patches. 









http://nippyfish.net/sick-betta/cotton-wool-disease-flex/

See if the pics and info match up to what Sparrow has. Hope you can post a pic soon, that would help.


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

Gonna have to post them tomorrow...wasn't able to get any tonight.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Okay. I know, it can be hard taking good pics of moving fish. Reaaaallly hard. Good luck!


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

Here's the best pics I could get...he'st still fairly active when I check on him, so he was moving around lots. It seems that you can only see the patches really well if the light hits him right.

In the top pic, you can see the fuzziness on his tail and around the base of his tail. In the middle pic, you can see the white vertical patches just behind his gills and further down on his body. In the last pic, you can sort of see patches on his body, but also you can see how clamped his fins are.

He's currently in a bowl with some AQ salt (1 tsp/g). Would it be better if I just went ahead with a FungusClear treatment? The description of fungus on the back of that box seems to be the most accurate description so far (white-gray cottony growth/patches on fish).


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Hmm. True fungus diseases are kind of rare in bettas. My best guess is he has columnaris, which is actually a bacteria. Bettas are very, very prone to it. What I would advise right now is to up the dosage of AQ salt to 3 tsps per gallon and lower the temperature of the water to about 76 degrees. Warm temps make columnaris more aggressive. Daily water changes, redo the salt. Try this for 10 days. If he gets worse or reacts badly to the salt, we can try a medicine like Maracyn-2. 

Good luck and keep us posted.


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## wildflowers (Sep 5, 2011)

I found out my Betta had velvet through shining a flashlight on her....please do that in a darkened room and see if it is a shiny gold coloring on him. If it is a rust color or gold color then it is velvet. You can only see the physical symptoms of velvet on the skin by doing this method or if you stand at a certain angle looking at your fish. It is hard to detect, but with a flashlight it is easy to see. 

Ich from what I have heard is white and will not be shiny gold or iridescent like the velvet protozoan. 

Betta Revive is helping me out along with salt and a new heater that keeps the tank at 82 degrees. It is day 3 of treatment..I am hoping and praying I rid this terrible disease!

Go get a flashlight and shine it on your fish ASAP!


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

After further research, I'm guessing that it's either columnaris or fungus. I'm still not sure if it's columnaris because there's no fungus around his mouth, which is supposed to be where it first starts, but I do agree that it looks a lot like columnaris.

I'm currently using betta revive on him also. He's just had his 3rd water change. Hopefully it'll work for him. *crossed fingers*


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

And I did shine a flashlight on him, but the fuzz didn't look rust or gold coloured.


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## MaggieLynn (Jun 24, 2011)

Ich is little white specks all over like white sprinkles, similar to salt or sugar


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Here are pics for comparison.

The first is my girl when she had ich. You can see them all over her tail.








The second is a Petco rescue with severe velvet.


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

Whatever Sparrow has doesn't look like either of those. And you can really only see the fuzzy stuff when the light hits him right. Hopefully the betta revive and salt will help. 

He's stopped eating now, too. He wants to eat, but can't seem to swallow his food. He spits it back out.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Could it be columnaris? 








If it looks like columnaris, up the aquarium salt to 3 tsps per gallon and lower the temperature to around 76 degrees. 

Try crushing his food into tiny bits and hopefully that will help.


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

It seems to me that his fins (he had really long fins) are individually kinda stuck together so that he can't spread them. While I was watching him eat today (and thankfully, he did manage to keep some food down) he seemed to be trying to open his bottom fin, but wasn't able to do it. He's still swimming around when he sees me, though, so at least he's active.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Aww, so he's got his fins clamped. That's a sign that he definitely doesn't feel well. Poor guy. So what treatment are you giving him, if any?


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

He's still doing the Betta Revive with AQ salt that I mentioned earlier. Should be done that on Saturday.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Okay. Good luck and keep us posted.


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

I took some pics and a video of my fish. Anybody have any idea what this could be? I've already done a betta revive treatment and I'm finishing up a AQ salt treatment. He hasn't gotten any better or any worse. He's been like this for more than 3 weeks now.  

He's got a good appetite, but if the food is too big he regurgitates it. And he always swims around when I check on him.

It is possible that there might be some chlorine poisoning along with what was originally wrong with him. I'm not quite sure. The first time I did the betta revive, I can't remember if I put in the dechlorinator or not, and I didn't think of it until the next morning, which means he was 8-10 hours in water that MIGHT have had chlorine in it. I've researched the symptoms and he doesn't seem to be exhibiting any of the signs of chlorine poisoning, but I'm just not sure.

The first four pics are from this past Sunday, and the final pic is from last night. Hopefully the video will work.

http://http://s808.photobucket.com/albums/zz1/newfiedragon/Sparrow/?action=view&current=DSCN2874.mp4


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

We had columinaris here, we did the Maracyn treatment and almost everyone ended up fine. I lost two Glowlights and one lost his gills and mouth but is still swimming and eating fine. I had 4 types of fish effected by it, not cheap treating a 30g tank ($10 per 10g twice). Urgh. I am unsure if this is what your guy has, but I do know that fungus is extremely rare and 99% of the time its columnaris. This happened 1 week after treating Ich here lol Now my Black Neon Tetra that I got a month ago showed signs, my tropical tank is cooler (73-75F) and he cured on his own. Checked today and he's clear of patches and no damage.
Also, its noted to effect,the mouth by 50% of my fish that got it, it was on their sides.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

How high is your pH? I know that sometimes a very high pH can cause the fins to "melt" together like your guy's fins have. It's also possible his time in chlorine caused his fins to become like that, IF he did indeed spend time in chlorine. What is your water change schedule and have you tested your water?


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## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

I second taking a sample of water in for testing, I think all the shops will do it for free around here. Take a sample of tank and tap water in. I know I had mine tested yesterday and it was was 7.6-7.8. I have to get it retested to see if it's like that from the tap. Andi t would explain why my Scuzi doesn't have the most flowing fins anymore.


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

I've tested my pH and I know that it is on the high side, but all of the fish stores locally have high pH, so that shouldn't be an issue. I have 8 other fish, and they're fins are all fine. Sparrow's fins were absolutely beautiful until this happened, and I've had him since May.

I've been changing his water every day with his treatments.

His side fins have spread out a bit more, they were originally really clamped, so that's why I'm thinking that he just can't open his fins because they're stuck together.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Do you have a water softener? Or do you use R/O water? You may want to PM OFL on this one because she knows water conditions pretty well.


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

Sparrow's been doing lots better lately. His fins have started to open up, and he's slowly improving where his eating is concerned. Still has trouble keeping pellets (even crushed) down. Thankfully he's able to eat freeze dried blood worms.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Good to hear, newfied.  Hopefully he'll be able to keep his pellets down soon.


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

So after weeks of LOTS of TLC, Sparrow's almost completely better! His fins are spreading out again, and he's eating pellets that don't have to be crushed! I put him back in his tank on Friday, and he's really active again! :-D

Here's the most recent pics...


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

That's great news, newfied! He does look very good in those pics. His fins look much fuller. Way to go! :-D


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