# Stressed fish; ich? Pictures



## Myrtaceae (Dec 17, 2011)

Long story shortish, Vimes went through 3 tanks in two days (see: why leak tests are important) and was, understandably, quite stressed out by it. He dealt with the first two changes pretty well, but after the third tank, and being introduced to a filter for the first time-- he turned a bit pale and started sulking. I baffled the filter, but I can't remove it entirely, because my house gets too cold and the tank gets these really hot/cold spots without it.

Anyway, after all that stress, I checked in on him and noticed a white spot on his chin. Since last night, I think I see another one starting on his tail. It's a bit fuzzier looking in person than ich usually is, but about the right size.

Sorry, the lighting in this one makes everything look reddish:










And a close up of his head:










His behavior has actually improved today, so he's not acting sick. His color seems to be back, and he's flaring and 'patrolling' the tank like normal. 

I have AQ salt on hand, but anything else will have to wait until tomorrow because everything is closed on Christmas. If it's ich, I will start turning the temp up, but I wanted to get other opinions, because if it's a fungus of some type, that would just make it worse...

What do you think?

Housing
What size is your tank? 5.5 gal
What temperature is your tank? 77-78F
Does your tank have a filter? Yes, baffled
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food 
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Hikari betta pellets, frozen brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms
How often do you feed your betta fish? Weekdays: 2-3 pellets in the morning, 2-3 at night. Weekends: variety of frozen (usually 2-3 brine shrimp or 2 bloodworms) once at night

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? twice a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? This tank is only a few days old, one 30% change so far
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Seachem Prime

Water Parameters: 
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:  0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: ~7.5
Hardness: ~150ppm
Alkalinity: ~300ppm

Symptoms and Treatment 
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? See pictures
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? see above
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Yesterday evening
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Water change, no additives yet
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No, but he was purchased from a pet store less than two weeks ago and did have some slight fin/scale damage. The fins have since repaired themselves, and the scale damage appears to be healing.
How old is your fish (approximately)? Just purchased, probably around one year


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Myrtaceae, don't worry. My second betta went through the same problem, 2 tanks and her cup in 24 hrs. 

Nice close up pic! It's hard to say as of yet if the two spots are ich parasites or not. They look like they could be but I would think he'd have more than just 2 of them, as once the little bloodsuckers latch on, they latch on in numbers. 

There is a theory that ich is always present in our tanks but it's only when a fish comes under stress that his immune system lets its guard down and the parasites can take hold. Since he was a bit stressed by his moving ordeal, he could have gotten one or two parasites but if they look fuzzy, it's possible that he's already comepensating for them by producing extra slime coat. I would recommend you hold off on any treatment until/unless you see several more, enough to be absolutely sure he has a full-blown case. If that does happen, then get him into a small QT that is easy to change 100% daily. Add 3 tsps of AQ salt per gallon and bump up the heat to 86 degrees. Change out all the water every day because you want to remove as many of the parasites that fall off as possible before they can reproduce/reattach. Continue until you don't see any sign of ich and then continue the treatment for 3 days after that to be on the safe side. 

What an adorable face he has, that really is an awesome pic.

Hope this helps and keep us updated.


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

From what I have seen with my own fish, we had ich twice, was similar to these pictures....



















I'd have to say Sakura is right. But, the fuzzyness worries me.


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## Myrtaceae (Dec 17, 2011)

Thanks so much for responding Sakura & Pitluvs.

I was freaking out because it's Christmas and I figured not very many people would be on. I hate to do anything to stress him out more unless I need to, so I want to start as conservatively as possible.

I actually saw ich recently at a petstore I visited while buying supplies (no the same one he's from, though), so I have a pretty fresh memory of it, and these spots don't seem to be as 'defined' as they were, and certainly not as plentiful. I just wasn't sure what else it could be, because they definitely are new. 

But enough of being a worrywart for one evening. I'll check tomorrow morning to see if they've multiplied/grown and have a QT tank at the ready in case. I can stop at the pet store during lunch tomorrow and pick up anything needed.

And Sakura, I can't claim the photo-- my husband took it after he saw me flailing around the tanks. He'll be pleased you liked it. The full version is probably the best one we have of him so far, lol.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Oh yeah, the second pic definitely reminds me of when my sorority got ich. *shudders at the memory* 

 Will your hubby come take pics of my fish? I can't get anything half as clear and well-defined and close-up.


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## Myrtaceae (Dec 17, 2011)

Heh, he likes taking close-up shots of bumblebees, so most of his camera stuff is for macro photography, which is a big help for little fish. He curses a lot about lighting and water distortion and stuff in fish tanks though, so I think he's going to stick to bumblebees except when I make him.

Here's the full shot from today: 









He really does look better than he did when I got him, despite all the stress. Here he is 8 days ago:









You can see the damage to the anal fin & side is healing up nicely, so I figure he's a tough little guy. I really hope I'm just fretting too much. Better safe than sorry though, I figure.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Awesome shots! He's gorgeous guy, so blue! 

I understand how you feel, it's so easy to worry about these little guys.

Haha, I'd feel safer taking pics of the fish than the bumblebees.


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## mwalters400 (Sep 2, 2011)

Sakura's advice is right on. Just make sure that you increase the salt dosage from 1 tsp to 3 tsps per gallon gradually over the course of 24 hours. This is absolutely the most reliable method to cure an ich infestation. BTW, I've never bought into the "spontaneous" ich theory. IMO, if you haven't had ich and it suddenly appears, then it was introduced by something that was recently added - all the more reason to quarantine.


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## Myrtaceae (Dec 17, 2011)

Hey guys, I'm more and more convinced that it's not actually ich because I haven't seen any new spots appear (over 48 hours with no new spots now).

He still has the one on his chin and one on his tail, and I don't think they've changed in appearance. Any ideas as to what they might be if not ich? I know this seems like a lot of worry, but they are definitely new, and random new growths usually aren't good.











For now I'm holding until I see a change.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I'm hoping they don't grow into lymphocystis because I don't like the location of that one growth. If it did turn into a full lympho growth, it could seriously hinder his ability to eat.


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## Myrtaceae (Dec 17, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> I'm hoping they don't grow into lymphocystis because I don't like the location of that one growth. If it did turn into a full lympho growth, it could seriously hinder his ability to eat.


Oh dear, I hope they aren't. If it is, I hope his immune system is strong enough to fight it off before it gets too bad. 

No change so far. There is a small pinprick sized hole behind the growth on his fin that I'm pretty sure has been there the whole time(in fact, I spent a long time trying to determine if the growth on his fin was a growth or just new tissue growing in and looking white).

He's acting pretty spunky now that he's used to the tank, and he's fully colored up. At least it doesn't seem to be making him unhappy.

In the meantime, I'm going to keep all of the equipment for his tank separate from the other and keep a close eye. Gah, I wish it would change so I could figure out what it is, but I also don't want it to change because it might be for the worse. :-?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

He sounds like he might be able to fight it off. Feisty and lively, so that's good. Yeah, I understand. Not knowing what it is can be frustrating because you don't know how or if you should treat it. Hang in there, you're doing a great job with him.


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## Myrtaceae (Dec 17, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> He sounds like he might be able to fight it off. Feisty and lively, so that's good. Yeah, I understand. Not knowing what it is can be frustrating because you don't know how or if you should treat it. Hang in there, you're doing a great job with him.


Thanks, I really appreciate hearing it. I feel live I've come back to fish keeping only to totally stress out and consequently damage my first fish back! I'm very happy that his inital (pet-store) fin damage healed up quickly, because that tells me he's pretty strong

I've made a promise to myself that I'm going to have all new tanks set up and cycled before I add any fish, so I don't have to stress any new boys out like this poor one was. It would be one thing if he got it from the pet store, but I think it's the rapid tank changing that stressed him out enough to catch whateveritis, and that's on me. :-?

I really appreciate your taking notice of this thread Sakura; it's definitely helped keep me sane/at least not freaking out as much as I would be.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Aww, don't be so hard on yourself, you're doing great. One thing I want to point out is a lot of pet store bettas have lasting effects from their stints at the store. Whatever your guy is going through could just be a lingering side effect from being stuck in that dumb cup for who knows how long. 

I'm glad I could help you, Myrtaceae.  And I know the feeling. It's so easy to freak out because you get so darn attached to them. And I understand the stressed feeling too. Feeling a bit of that myself with my tropical community tank, haha. But it's all part of being a fishowner. It seems like it's a neverending learning process. 

Whatever your guy has, if anything, we'll knock it cold.


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## Myrtaceae (Dec 17, 2011)

I swear I'm not trying to be hard on myself; I just feel like I learned all of these lessons years ago and promptly forgot them! I do appreciate you talking me down. I know that a lot of fish come sick from the pet store, but I hate to think that the stress I put him through encouraged it. The promise to have future tanks set-up in advance is as much for _my_ stress levels as it is for the fish, lol. 

Anyway, I'll watch him closely. I have a feeling he's more annoyed with the constant picture taking than he is with the growths...:roll:

Oh well, I have three pet stores within five miles and an active credit card, so if he does start showing more signs of something weird I can jump on it pretty quickly.

The thing is, if this goes away and I never find out what caused it, I'm going to be super perturbed. I wish we could just bring fish to the vet like we bring cats/dogs, and get him tested.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I tried taking my sick betta to my vet a few weeks ago. Even told them exactly what was wrong with him and what meds he needed but it was a no-go. I guess I understand they can't just give out potent drugs willy-nilly but still . . . *shrugs* The world needs more wet vets! *dunks a vet into a pool* Voila, one wet vet.


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