HELP!!!!

Fishareconfusing101 said:

The betta was also previously with wood which I believe did not help with the fins you can see that the wood has been removed. I have been keeping them in the cleanest water I can without over doing it. He has been absolutely fine before the guppies were added and both of the tanks got ich after the fish from the store were added and I know all the tanks in the store are connected to one sump. So far all fish are eating and betta still has enough energy to chase guppies. All invertebrates were removed when I added the ich meds. I don’t think betta boy had fin rot but I will start watching much more carefully though I has seen some improvement in the fins over the month. I currently don’t have enough quarantine tanks for all the fish that could be infected which is why they are being dosed in their tanks. All the current infection has happened in the past 3 or so days which is why I was surprised to see my betta had so many white spots already. I have ordered some meds to mix in with their food in case it is not ich but instead epistlis because last time my fish had “ich” it was actually epistilis but I am hoping this is ich. All fish showed signs of being hungry but were not fed and I found a couple scratching against items in the tank thank you all for the input by the way! All the tanks got one more tablespoon of salt today in hopes to slowly increase but I might keep it at this level for awhile.

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Epistylis is not as common as it's made out to be by certain people online. It is an opportunistic parasite, unlike ich. Epistylis lives freely in the environment, with no host. It only attaches to other animals if that animal is weakened by a primary bacterial or fungal infection, especially if that infection is external. Ich, on the other hand, is an obligate parasite. It cannot exist without a host, so the fish can be perfectly healthy otherwise and still get ich.

I can tell you with near-certainty that what your fish have is ich. Personally, I would not bother using the medicated food unless the ich meds don't work for some reason.

I doubt the wood had anything to do with your bettas fins. If it was a very rough or sharp piece of wood, it might tear long fins. However, your betta's fins do not look torn. They look melted away by fin rot. It's extremely common in pet store "rescue" bettas. If you bought the betta looking that way, then the fin rot is not your fault by any means, and I'm glad you've seen some minor improvement, but it is now your responsibility to properly address it and treat it. That's the danger with "rescuing" bettas from pet stores. It feels nice to give them good homes, but they often come riddled with diseases which may or may not be treatable. It's always a gamble.

Seisage said:

Epistylis is not as common as it's made out to be by certain people online. It is an opportunistic parasite, unlike ich. Epistylis lives freely in the environment, with no host. It only attaches to other animals if that animal is weakened by a primary bacterial or fungal infection, especially if that infection is external. Ich, on the other hand, is an obligate parasite. It cannot exist without a host, so the fish can be perfectly healthy otherwise and still get ich.

I can tell you with near-certainty that what your fish have is ich. Personally, I would not bother using the medicated food unless the ich meds don't work for some reason.

I doubt the wood had anything to do with your bettas fins. If it was a very rough or sharp piece of wood, it might tear long fins. However, your betta's fins do not look torn. They look melted away by fin rot. It's extremely common in pet store "rescue" bettas. If you bought the betta looking that way, then the fin rot is not your fault by any means, and I'm glad you've seen some minor improvement, but it is now your responsibility to properly address it and treat it. That's the danger with "rescuing" bettas from pet stores. It feels nice to give them good homes, but they often come riddled with diseases which may or may not be treatable. It's always a gamble.

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It was rescued from another persons tank, they had two bettas and two bristle nose placid in a ten gallon, no water changes. After one betta died the tank was gifted to me. I would not be surprised if he did have fin rot and looking closer he definitely might! He was put in a quarantine tank with pleanty of oxygen and salt as well as some ich cure. I do have fun and body cure if he recovers from ich (crossing my fingers) I will add that to his quarantine tank!

Seisage said:

Epistylis is not as common as it's made out to be by certain people online. It is an opportunistic parasite, unlike ich. Epistylis lives freely in the environment, with no host. It only attaches to other animals if that animal is weakened by a primary bacterial or fungal infection, especially if that infection is external. Ich, on the other hand, is an obligate parasite. It cannot exist without a host, so the fish can be perfectly healthy otherwise and still get ich.

I can tell you with near-certainty that what your fish have is ich. Personally, I would not bother using the medicated food unless the ich meds don't work for some reason.

I doubt the wood had anything to do with your bettas fins. If it was a very rough or sharp piece of wood, it might tear long fins. However, your betta's fins do not look torn. They look melted away by fin rot. It's extremely common in pet store "rescue" bettas. If you bought the betta looking that way, then the fin rot is not your fault by any means, and I'm glad you've seen some minor improvement, but it is now your responsibility to properly address it and treat it. That's the danger with "rescuing" bettas from pet stores. It feels nice to give them good homes, but they often come riddled with diseases which may or may not be treatable. It's always a gamble.

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It was rescued from another persons tank, they had two bettas and two bristle nose placid in a ten gallon, no water changes. After one betta died the tank was gifted to me. I would not be surprised if he did have fin rot and looking closer he definitely might! He was put in a quarantine tank with pleanty of oxygen and salt as well as some ich cure. I do have fun and body cure if he recovers from ich (crossing my fingers) I will add that to his quarantine tank

Fishareconfusing101 said:

It was rescued from another persons tank, they had two bettas and two bristle nose placid in a ten gallon, no water changes. After one betta died the tank was gifted to me. I would not be surprised if he did have fin rot and looking closer he definitely might! He was put in a quarantine tank with pleanty of oxygen and salt as well as some ich cure. I do have fun and body cure if he recovers from ich (crossing my fingers) I will add that to his quarantine tank!

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my bad I typed this fast they had those fish (2 bettas and 2 bristle nose plecos in a 5 gallon split tank (I don’t think it really matters for the current situation but just in case )

You're in for a 3 week process. The white spot is a cyst that shelters the parasite while it feeds on your fish, and breeds. If one cyst pops, enormous numbers of parasites are in the water, desperate for a host. Once a lot of cysts start popping, Ich is everywhere. But while encysted Ich can't be harmed by meds, freeswimmers can be slaughtered. It's the goal.
In the vastness of the wild, a fish might get one cyst every now and then, but in the confines of the tank where the parasites surround it, the fish is doomed without help.
With clean water and medication, you can wear the parasites down. It sometimes takes 3 treatments to really eliminate them.

It's a pet store special, and with so many fish coming in and going out, it's always a risk even from the best stores. Deal with it first would be my advice. Once it clears, attack the fin rot. I haven't seen bacterial fin rot in a long time, but I don't keep fancy bettas. The best practice is a weekly water change, of 25 to 50%, every week. That's a preventative approach for the long term.

If the betta survives, and she probably will, salt would be my choice for the next stage of treatment. It's a harsh one, but targeted at a surface fin infection, it may do the job. It works along with water changes.

When I started in the hobby, fin rot treatments were big business, and there were competing brands in every store. Most were based on Acriflavene, a green yellow dye that in now considered to be possibly carcinogenic. Now, they are hard to find - but in between aquarists bought into the regular water change routines, which made fin rot rare. When I accepted the "balanced aquarium" myths of the 1960s and 70s, I always had a bottle of fin rot medication on hand, and I replaced those bottles regularly. Now, I figure it's been 25 to 30 years since I saw the problem. Hang in there, and these problems will become rare for you too.

GaryE said:

If the betta survives, and she probably will, salt would be my choice for the next stage of treatment. It's a harsh one, but targeted at a surface fin infection, it may do the job. It works along with water changes.

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Fin rot will kill the fish if it is not treated soon. The poster has API Fin and Body Cure, which contains an antibiotic and salt in it, so I would use that for the fin rot instead of just salt. As soon as the Ich-X treatment is done, I would clear out the Ich-X and start the API Fin and Body Cure asap. Time is of the essence to stop that tail rot.

The damaged fins are probably from the white spot. Treat the white spot first, then wait a week or so and see how the fish looks before adding more chemicals.

Colin_T said:

The damaged fins are probably from the white spot. Treat the white spot first, then wait a week or so and see how the fish looks before adding more chemicals.

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Yes, I agree with treating the Ich first, and waiting a week or so for the Ich-X to work before treating the tail rot. Tail rot looks pretty bad already.

Unfortunately I have run into yet another road block. I leave for camp in a week and will be gone for a week. I can have my mom take care of my fish to some extent but she is only so reliable and idk if she would be able to follow medication requirements like “do a water change after 48 hours”

I would write down clear instructions for her to follow with the medications and the water change, leave the tap water treatment etc out for her so she knows exactly what to use and how much to put in. I’d be so anxious leaving a task like that to my mum!

So far everyone is alive and I believe I have seen at least a bit of improvement across the board! My golden ram barely picked up the spots his tank mates have and they haven’t gotten any worse so I think all my fish are going to be ok! The only one I am worried about is the betta in quarantine. He still eats and swims but definitely still has spots and some tail rot. Hopefully with a little more time I can give a better update for him. All the guppies he lives with don’t seem to carry the same spots which was surprising to me but they are still being treated!

Here is an update on how the checkerboard barbs and golden ram are looking!

Fishareconfusing101 said:

Unfortunately I have run into yet another road block. I leave for camp in a week and will be gone for a week. I can have my mom take care of my fish to some extent but she is only so reliable and idk if she would be able to follow medication requirements like “do a water change after 48 hours”

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The white spot should be gone in a week.

I would just finish the white spot treatment and do a big water change and clean the filter the day before you go. Then leave the fish alone. Don't get anyone to feed them while you are away. Have the light on a timer. Have a nice holiday and see how they look when you get back.