i could have SWORN it was ich...

[twoluvcats]

now I'm not so sure.

my betta, Piggly Winks, is in a 5 gallon filtered hex by himself. About a week ago i noticed ich-looking spots on his pectoral fins. On thursday of last week I added Ich-medicinal dose of salt (3tbsp to 5 gallons) to the tank and raised the temp to 86 degrees. On saturday I noticed the ich spots on one fin were gone...upon looking closer i realized that his pectoral fin was all eaten away where the ich spots were!! The other spots on his other fin are still there. They really do look like ich (salt specks) and not fuzzy like fungus. Has anyone else had the fin disintegrate from ich? I've never had this happen before, and now I'm worried its not ich, but i have no idea what it is.

 

[Lotus]

I may be wrong on this, but I am thinking that when the ich cysts burst they may have damaged his tail. Bettas do have fairly fragile tails.

I would probably add Melafix/Betta fix and keep a close eye on his fins.

Maybe someone else has had this problem before.

 

[twoluvcats]

Lotus,

Thanks! I'm back to thinking it IS ich. The spots on his other pectoral fin fell off last night just like I had been waiting for, and those did NOT blow apart that fin. There were a lot more spots on the fin that shredded...so i guess it just got eaten away.

Poor guy now has a pectoral fin split in 2 After I finish the salt treatment, I will get some BettaFix going for fin regrowth. I'm thinking the high salt content in his water will stave off fin rot till staturday when the ich treatment is done...sound theory?

 

[Purple]

looks like you have it under control

for future reference.........very few outbreaks of fungus actualy look like fuzzy text book growths until they've been there for a while

but ich looks like ich - every time

 

[Lotus]

Splits in fins don't always get infected. Of course, if he has just been through an ich outbreak, I guess it's more likely.

I would add a little Melafix or Bettafix afterwards, just to help regenerate fins anyway. I think holes in the fins will have to grow out, I'm not sure that they are repaired.

 

[twoluvcats]

ACK...ok I guess I was actually dealing with 2 things...Looks like he had a fungus, and then got ich from the stress of dealing with the fungus...and the ich manifested first. By the time all the ich spots fell off, there were white fuzzy patches on his fins. So now he's in a fungal bath for a few days. Then I'll fowllow up with BettaMax. Poor guy. At least his attitude and appetite have remained.

 

[Lotus]

Good to hear that he's still in good spirits I hope he recovers soon.