Possible ich?

[Stefan3289]

Hello all,

I recently set up a betta sorority tank and it looks like one of them (which is who I would say is the dominant one of the group) seems to have a few white spots on her side. It looks like I caught it early but wanted to get a second opinion. I delt with ich before in my larger 75 gallon tank when I caught it early and used “rid ich plus” by kordon (active ingredients are malachite green and formalin) to no issues. Prior to treating that tank I did try the heat and salt method and it did not work and the ich spread more, so I am tempted to just treat early to prevent an outbreak. I put a picture below of the betta. I do also have mystery snails in the tank which I can transfer to a breeder net in my 75 gallon while I treat as from what I know they can’t get inch.

 

[Colin_T]

Looks like white spot. Treat the tank now so it's disease free in a week.

Snails normally don't catch white spot but can transfer it if they have contaminated water on them when they are moved. If you rinse the snails under tap water and then move them into a clean container without other fish, they should be safe to add back to the main tank after 2 weeks.

 

[Stefan3289]

Looks like white spot. Treat the tank now so it's disease free in a week.

Snails normally don't catch white spot but can transfer it if they have contaminated water on them when they are moved. If you rinse the snails under tap water and then move them into a clean container without other fish, they should be safe to add back to the main tank after 2 weeks.

Would the snails be ok if I have them in a larger container without a heater? The room with the aquarium is usually around 68-70 degrees so the water would not be too cold for them but not like the heated tank they are currently in which I have at 77/78 F. Also, are those two ingredients safe for plants? I have water sprites, cryptos, java ferns, and hawthorn.

 

[Colin_T]

The snails should be fine at the lower temperature but probably won't move around as much.

The plants will be fine.

 

[Stefan3289]

The snails should be fine at the lower temperature but probably won't move around as much.

The plants will be fine.

I have completed the treatment with the bettas, I will leave the snails out for a few more days but treated in total 5 days, took 2 days to see no more spots but followed the instruction to still treat several days after. What I do notice now is half my bettas seem lethargic while the other half seems very energized. The lethargic ones like to lay on the floor but will come out when food comes or swim around occasionally. Could this be because of the treatment? I just added active carbon today to remove the medication, temperature is back down from 84 to 78, still keeping the air pump on full aeration, and will do a larger 50% water change as well.

 

[Colin_T]

The white spot parasites naturally fall off the fish after a couple of days. They spend a few days multiplying on the substrate and then thousands are released into the water to reinfect the fish.

Post 1 and 16 of the following link have more info on white spot if you're interested.

What is ICH?

This is a common question that is often asked, what is ich and how is it recognisable and what causes it? The real term is ICHTHYOPHTHIRIASIS. OR commonly known as white spot. It is an extremely comon parasite that affects aquarium fish. It is highly infectious and potentially lethal and...

www.fishforums.net

If some fish are stressed it's probably a combination of heat and medication. Normally you either use heat (30C/ 86F) for 2 weeks or medication. Using both puts the fish under a lot of stress. Give them a couple of days and see how they go.