Male Betta - After Ick?!

Hi

so i brought home a male betta two weeks ago from school (we had a lab on fish behavior and were allowed to keep the fish after)
It looked very healthy and lively and ate like a pig. It also flared every time it saw anything that moves.


However, a week ago, i came home from school and found white spots on its head and fins - i did a bit of research and found out my fish had ick.
so the next day, i went to a fish store close by and the only ick treatment the guy had was this bottle called Aquadene Anti-White Spot Special. The guy told me to put four drops into the tank and do a 20% water change every two days for a week.

A day later, all the spots were gone but I still followed the guy's instructions for a week.

I don't know if it's the side effects of the medicine or ich but my betta splenden's fins are deteriorating and down most of the time. It also moves a lot less. Most of the time, it stays in the corner of the tank and eats half of what it used to eat. Also, it doesn't flare anymore and hides behind the fake plant every time it sees something

(sorry for the bad quality)

I feed it this mixture of flakes and tubifex worms the guy at the store gave me and it's water temperature is around 26 degrees Celsius. I live in Hong Kong so the medication and food I can get for the fish is extremely limited.

What should I do now to make sure my fish is healthy again?

Thank you so much.

partial waterchanges every day (30-40%). If you can find frozen bloodworms/blackworms/tubifex) would be better food than freezedried. if you continue feeding freezedried make sure you soak them until they are soft before feeding to the fish.
chances are the clean water will help the finrot. also, do you have anything for cover in his tank (plants/cave/etc). he may be stressed out from meds and exposure leaving his immune system less than ideal. most cases of finrot heal on their own without meds. give him a week in clean clean clean water and see if it helps. likely it will (especially not that his ich is gone and meds are done).
all the best!!
cheers

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

loraxchick said:

partial waterchanges every day (30-40%). If you can find frozen bloodworms/blackworms/tubifex) would be better food than freezedried. if you continue feeding freezedried make sure you soak them until they are soft before feeding to the fish.
chances are the clean water will help the finrot. also, do you have anything for cover in his tank (plants/cave/etc). he may be stressed out from meds and exposure leaving his immune system less than ideal. most cases of finrot heal on their own without meds. give him a week in clean clean clean water and see if it helps. likely it will (especially not that his ich is gone and meds are done).
all the best!!
cheers

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

Click to expand...

thank you so much!!
oh and should i still feed it once a day? or is there a special diet routine for a recovering betta? thanks again

unless they start to look bloated or fat in the tummy once a day is fine depending on how much you feed. flakes are good staple as they dont swell when wet as pellets do and easier to guage how much they are actually eating (also limit overfeeding). just be very careful with the freezedried foods-make sure you soak them until they are soft before feeding. and dont feed too much at a time (1-2 pieces should be sufficient). also might be a good idea to fast them the day after the freezedried just to make sure they dont get backed up.
good luck. i hope his fins heal up nicely for you.
cheers

hey thank you so much!! his dorsal fin isn't clumped and down anymore and he's a lot more active now i'm so glad the ick is gone. thanks so much again!

Welcome to the fish world, JChan! What kind of tank do you have? For bettas, I reccomend nothing smaller then a 2 gallon- and it HAS to be heated, unless you live in a very warm countrie. You should also name your betta- remember, if you take care of him well, he'll live for six years Once again, welcome to the forum- I've tried out lots of fish forums, and I find that this one is the only one where you'll get really good advice, and super quick, helpful replies. If you need any more help, or just want to chat, feel free to PM me, or wright on my wall!

Cheers,
Zophie