# White spots around mouth and on body-- not quite ich?



## elijahfeathers (Oct 15, 2010)

So, a few weeks back I bought a betta I named Good Sir at Petco, along with a DT. Good Sir is a king, a kind of sausagy plakat. He eats pretty well... for the past since I've gotten him really, he's been... sickish. he wasn't doing terribly well in the store, and he almost died of shock when I tried to alcimate him to my water. He's constantly looking like he's getting sick-- white spots liek ich, discoloring, ect-- but then a day or two later he looks fine. Not this time though.

He's got these white dots around his mouth and head, and down his sides some, too. They're a little bigger than ich... and they look whiter. He's acting fine-- I had him in a QT cup with some aqua salt, 1 tsp/gallon, but it only seems to have made it worse, instead of helping it clear up. I've taken him out of the cup as he has a nasty habit of trying to jump through the lid. x_x; He managed to jump out on my one time and now I swear he thinks he's half-dolphin. Always jumping to avoid everything. D8 I'm scared he'll hurt himself.

My question is, how should I go about treating this? I'm starting to get a little worried, as he's always sick with something....

Housing 
What size is your tank? 5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 80 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
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? NLS betta formula, frozen blood worms, omega one betta pellets, aqueon pellets.... any pellet I can find with 2 or more fish meats as the first products. I like to mix it up.
How often do you feed your betta fish? once a day, 4/6 pellets (he's a big boy)

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Prime water conditoiner

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

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? White spots aorund face and down body
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? hasn't
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Four days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? 24/hr in salted water, only seemed to make it worse
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Yes. He always seems like he's about to come down with something
How old is your fish (approximately)? No idea, I've had him for like a month.


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## elijahfeathers (Oct 15, 2010)

And now all but one spot by his mouth is gone. This fish is strange. Still worried though, any feedback?


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## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

It does appear to be ick... Ick parasites can vary in size and based on the disappearance and reappearance I'd say he has had multiple cycles of Ick. Ick goes through several stages including a larval stage (not visible), adult parasite (visible on fish) and fallen parasite that gives birth to new parasites (not visible). So basically, you see the adults attached to the fish, they fall off and reproduce, then after a few days they grow to adulthood and reattach to your fish, then repeat. 

To treat, add 1tsp/gal three times 12 hours apart so you get a concentration of 3tsp/gal. Raise the temp to 84*F. Perform DAILY 100% water changes to remove fallen parasites before they can reproduce. Continue for 14 days. 

You can QT him to make water changes easier. Float the QT in his tank to maintain the right temp. After 14 days all parasites in his tank should die for lack of a host but perform 1 or 2 100% water changes on his tank before putting him back in. 

Since ick disturbs the slim coat it is also a good idea to use Stress Coat or Kordon's Fish protector. 

Good luck and keep us posted.


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## elijahfeathers (Oct 15, 2010)

Alright. Well, I'm really busy with work, and I've got some live plants in his tank, so I think I'll try my QuickIch (malchite green). It worked previously for me, and honestly with him I don't think the cup is safe since he beats himself up in it. 8C And doing water changes every day in the five gallon would be difficult. I thoguht it might be ich before... but eh. It was never more than 2-4 spots on him before this last time.


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