Whats wrong with my fish?

Question

So, a couple years ago I got this beta fish. Last week I noticed this white spot on his head. He's turning white. And now my fish doesn't move. He has been in the same spot for about 4 days now. Does this mean he is dying or what does it mean? And if he is dying, do you know how long this will last? I feel bad that he has to suffer.

Answer 1

Sounds like your fish has Ich. Ichthyophthirius multifiliis is fatal if not treated promptly.

Excerpts from www.getridofthings.com:

"Ick (ich) or White Spot, is assuredly the most common aquarium fish disease that hobbyists come up against. Ichthyophthirius multifiliis is a parasitic protozoan. If proper attention is paid to your fish, symptoms can usually be caught early and treated with ease. The most noticeable symptom is the occurrence of small raised white spots on your fish. In severe cases it looks as though salt was sprinkled all over your fish’s body. These white spots can sometimes be accompanied by red streaks. Fish with Ick will often flick their bodies against rocks, gravel or other aquarium decorations in an attempt to scratch the itch caused by the ick. Another symptom, though a little harder to diagnose, is heavy or rapid breathing. This can be the result of ick attacking the gills. But beware, it is possible that the rapid breathing may be caused by something other than ick.

Ick Treatment

On occasion, despite all your efforts, prevention of the fish disease ick will fail. Lucky for you tropical fish ick treatment is fairly simple. There are many effective medications on the market for both tropical and gold fish ick. In most cases adding drops straight to the aquarium can easily kill Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. When looking for an effective ick medicine, I have found products containing the active ingredient Malachite Green to be quite dependable. Fish ick can also be cured with ich medications containing Chelated Copper Sulfate, which can treat your water for up to a month. Even if you do not have fish ich at this moment, there is a 99% chance that your aquarium will acquire this fish disease at some time. I recommend keeping ich medicine on hand at all times. This is due to the fact that, in my own experience, I find that ick symptoms are usually noticed on the weekends or in the evenings after work when it is not possible to get to the fish store. Knowing how to cure ick is very important for all hobbyists. Doing it properly is just as important. Make certain to read and follow the instructions on the back of your ick medication very closely.

Prevention

Maintain high water quality. Monthly water changes of 25-30% are a must. If you keep large predators you should do bimonthly water changes as these fish can produce a lot of concentrated waste.

Do not overfeed. Feed only what the fish can consume in a couple of minutes. Experiment with amounts. When fish begin to take in food and spit it out, they have had enough. Excess food can foul water and cause stress, making fish more susceptible to illness.

Provide hiding places and vegetation. This is especially important for new inhabitants, as they may be nervous for quite some time in a new tank. Other types of fish simply prefer the seclusion of a cave or the security of a plant to blend into. A happy fish is a healthy fish.

Make sure all fish are compatible. If you are uncertain about a fish, do research. Adding aggressive fish to a peaceful tank or even adding very active fish to an otherwise rather subdued tank can cause unnecessary stress and thus lower a fish’s immunity.

Quarantine your fish. When acquiring new fish or treating your current sick fish, use a small (10 or 20gal) aquarium as a quarantine tank. Allow new fish and plants to live in quarantine for about two weeks before introducing them to your show tank. This way you can make sure they are healthy and will not introduce disease to your already established fish. This can also make it easier and cheaper to treat the fish. You will not be medicating fish that don’t need it, and if your quarantine tank is smaller than your show tank, you will use less medication"



Good luck I hope you catch it in time

Answer 2

Your fish most likely have ich. I'd highly suggest staying away from the medications. They're very harsh chemicals and do more harm than good. A better treatment is to raise the temperature to 80 degrees and add aquarium salt. Do this for at least 2 weeks. You also need to find the cause. Stressed fish will be more likely to get ich. What size tank are they in? You'll need at least 60gallons for those fish. You'll also want to quarintine all new fish before adding them to your tank. Fluxuating temperature can also cause ich. Buy a heater and keep it turned on low, you want it to heat your tank enough to keep the temperature stable, but not keep the water too warm. Also make sure your tank is very heavily filtered, if your tank is 60 gallons (which it should be) you'll need a filter for a 120gallon tank.

Answer 3

It is most likely a fungus however I would suggest you treat with something made to kill a fungus not an antibiotic. At the pet store look for anything that contains Malachite green. It may be sold as Ick treatment or something similar, but it will take care of a fungus as well. Be careful with it though, Malachite green is a known carcinogen so don't get it on your skin! If it is a fungus it will respond to this treatment within 48-72 hours but don't stop treating then, treat for a full 7 days to be sure.

If it doesn't respond in that time then something else is wrong with your fish and you will need to come back with a few more details of what the spot looks like.

MM

Answer 4

The same thing happened to me with my goldfish bought it and it was orange with one white spot but it was still healthy about 2 weeks later it was all white then it started getting white scales and it turned out ok .what i would do is to see if its growing scales if its not in one day its Probaly dieing make sure you don't keep it with other beta fish because one of them will kill the other also you need to buy your bets stress balls because if your bets gets to angry it might not want to do anything and get lazy because it probably feels neglected or very angry just try the best you can and i hope this information helps.

Answer 5

It's probably a fungus brought on by poor water quality or damage to the skin from mishandling or a wound from something in the tank. He could be too far gone to save, but you have to try to save it. Get some Maracyn or Maracyn-2 and treat it according to directions. It could take a while to treat, so you need to be patient and diligent in your treatment. Also, you need to assess why your fish got this disease. Bettas shouldn't be kept in bowls, if this is what he is in. They need a minimum of 2 gallons of water. Bettas also need heat and filtration. Read up on how to improve the environment and water quality and, in addition to the treatment, if your fish is not too far gone, you should see improvement over time.

Answer 6

the lighter in color they are, the unhealthier they are. do something quick or it is going to die. make sure his water is the right tempurature, move in or out of sunlight, feed him more or less, make sure his tank is clean. also make sure there is no chlorine or salt in his tank because that will definitely kill him. he may be like that for only a few more days to a week if you don't do something quick

Answer 7

usually, when a fish has white spots..it's sick.. u can buy solutions or tablets in stores to be added in your water solution to cure the fish..bt usually, mine died when they had white spots...or fin rot.

Answer 8

It hasn't moved in 4 days???!!! Its dead.
If it isn't dead and you want to end the suffering...
http://www.petplace.com/fish/euthanasia-in-fish/page1.aspx

Answer 9

that might be some sort of fungus. try putting some drops of methelyn blue. that would help...

Answer 10

the fish is getting new sclaes..when fish get older there scale change colors.....