ich?

They are a little blurry, but he won't sit still long enough to get the picture. Is this ich? If so, does MelaFix treat ich?

and another

It's hard to tell by the pic, to me it looks like he just scraped himself a bit. Is there any way to get a closer shot? Does it look white or like he has salt sprinkled on him?

I really can't tell if it looks raised or not... I don't think it does, though... he just has those three grayish/white spots on his back. He also has some very faint, very thin white streaks on his sides that weren't there when I got him, and his gills look like they have sores on them, though that could just be a streak of red coloring, I can't really tell for sure. His anal fin is also torn, and the edges of his ventral fins are turning black, but the black parts sometimes look white. He is eating less than usual, but he still swims around like normal and flares every time he sees his reflection. He's really got me stumped. I've been asking around here a bit and doing a lot of research, but I can't find anything that would explain this stuff.

Well,the answer could be right there in his tank. By the description you've given I would guess he is somehow wedging himself through a tight area. Not sure what though because I can't see his home. Is there anything in it that he could possibly be squeezing himself through and scraping himself?

well, now that you mention it, maybe that's all it was... He was in a half gallon bowl with a little green plastic plant. I moved him to a one gallon yesterday with two small silk plants, and he did seem better once I moved him... his color is improving a bit, too. I also changed his water... I'm using treated tap water now instead of the Wal-Mart drinking water I was using, and I'm using MelaFix in his tank. The new tank also has a light in it which keeps the water warmer... I don't know what it was before, but I know it was cooler than what it is now, and it's 78 now. Maybe that's all it was... would that make his fins shriveled looking, too? That happens because of stress, right?

What still has me stumped, though, is the ventral fins. I can't figure out why they are turning black, and why that black part sometimes turns white. Any ideas on that?

A plastic plant could very well scrape him exactly as you described,so I bet that was it. As for his ventrals changing color...that's a mystery. My first instinct is to say it could be the melafix. Melafix really isn't very good for bettas...it's very,very strong and it kind of suffocates them because the scent is so overwhelming. It would kind of be like you breathing in nothing but mentholatum for days and days...you'd want a bit of fresh air now and then because it starts to burn when you inhale. Bettafix is an extremely diluted version of melafix. When you use melafix I would suggest no more than a drop or two per gallon,but honestly I wouldn't ever suggest melafix for bettas at all

Okay, should I use BettaFix instead, then? I have both.

What are you treating? Is there a need for either?

I'm not trying to frustrate you. I just don't use meds unless absolutely necessary, so I'm trying to understand what's going on. If you are certain he has ich,then melafix or bettafix will do nothing for you. Ich is parasitic and you'll need a completely different med to treat with. Do you think he's sick?

From your description he sounds fine. His appetite should pick up after he settles in his new tank.

wuvmybetta said:

What are you treating? Is there a need for either?

I'm not trying to frustrate you. I just don't use meds unless absolutely necessary, so I'm trying to understand what's going on. If you are certain he has ich,then melafix or bettafix will do nothing for you. Ich is parasitic and you'll need a completely different med to treat with. Do you think he's sick?

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Don't worry about frustrating me. I'm just trying to figure out what's wrong with him.

About a week ago, he completely stopped eating, just out of the blue. I didn't know what was going on, but he was getting pale and his fins were a bit shriveled. So, I tried using a bit of BettaFix, and that didn't help. Two nights ago, I thought I had lost him. He was just laying on the bottom of his bowl, and only came up every 5-10 minutes for air. He wouldn't even move when I shook the bowl. I also noticed his torn fin and a couple white spots at that time. I went to bed, and the next morning (yesterday) he was still with me. So, I went to the store and got him the new 1 gallon aquarium and water conditioner and MelaFix. He started eating, but not nearly as much as he used to... maybe just 2 pellets a day. He used to eat 5-6.

I'm just worried about him. This is my second Betta. My first died because of my own ignorance, and I don't want this one to die, too. Maybe I'm just trying to do TOO much... I just want to know what to do to make him better. He's my baby. Do you think that now that I have him in a new home that simply leaving him alone would help more?

I understand. And I think so,just give him time to settle in. But at the same time watch him closely. Avoid freeze-dried foods and offer him something frozen. Freeze dried will shred his gut,it's like digesting cardboard. BettaMAX is great stuff,especially for cases such as this where you're just not sure how to pinpoint it but you know something's not right. So if you treat with anything, maybe it should be that.

wuvmybetta said:

I understand. And I think so,just give him time to settle in. But at the same time watch him closely. Avoid freeze-dried foods and offer him something frozen. Freeze dried will shred his gut,it's like digesting cardboard. BettaMAX is great stuff,especially for cases such as this where you're just not sure how to pinpoint it but you know something's not right. So if you treat with anything, maybe it should be that.

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Okay. Thank you so much.

I just changed out 50% of his water to weaken the MelaFix that's in there... Can you tell me how often and how much of his water I should change? (I swear this is my last question... for a while. )

In a 1 gallon?
I do 100% water changes on my 1 gallons every 3-4 days. If you do 50% every other day or so with a 100%'er at the end of the week,that should be good. He'll soon get used to you messing with him, right now he's probably not sure what to think. He's never had somebody care so much about his welfare in his life!

wuvmybetta said:

He's never had somebody care so much about his welfare in his life!

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I know he hasn't... I "rescued" him from PetCo. He wasn't anything special... just your run-of-the-mill dark blue VT... he was probably a little sick when I got him, because his water was the dirtiest. That's what drew me to him... I felt sorry for him. It's so cool to see him have his own little personality, though. he sits on my desk, and always watches me when I type, and he likes it when I make fishy faces at him... he always wiggles his tail at me when I do that.

</mushy stuff>

By the way, wuv, here's a pic of him in his new home.