Am I using the proper medicine for my Betta?

Question

My betta became sick last week. He was sitting at the bottom of the bowl rather than swimming around and we would kind of have to "wake him up" for him to greet us at the side like he does (he is a very friendly fish). I changed his water (which I do weekly anyways) and left for the weekend. When I got back yesterday he had not gotten better. I did not notice anything other than loss of color and stiff fins and tail when I went to the store to buy medicine for him so I got some general anti-bacterial drops called "Betta Fix Remedy". I changed the water again, put a new fresh plant in, and added the proper amount of drops. Later that day he started to become more active but then would sit on the bottom again. Then I noticed the symptoms of "Ick" (white dust looking stuff covering his head and fins). I'm wondering if I should continue with the med I have now or if I need to get something specifically for Ick. Will all this change in the water make him worse?

I just started the drops yesterday - they are anti bacterial and fungal -

Answer 1

Ich is a very specific parasite and always look like a sprinkling of salt on the fish. If what you see is more like dust, you have a different problem.

From the symptoms you describe, I would suggest you are dealing with a bacterial infection and the treatment you have isn't getting the job done. A bacterial infection should clear up within 5-7 days of starting a treatment, so you should change medications.

I am going to suggest you use Jungle Fungus Eliminator. It contains medications for fungus and parasites, but also antibiotics that will take care of most external infections. Just treat carefully and follow the directions on the package and you should see him improve in just a few days. Don;t stop treating though, treat for a full 7 days to be sure you kill off the problem so it's doesn't return.

Best of luck

MM

Answer 2

Ack, my bettas have been hit by the Ick epidemic before, too. Though I haven't exactly pinpointed the single medicine that works the best, I've found one website that is the ULTIMATE betta source. The lady who runs it knows pretty much everything about bettas, and this betta disease page that I'll link below has some fabulous advice.

http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm

However, if your betta is developing ick, there are a few things that could be the cause of it. A while back I cleaned my fishtank with several tropical fish--when I did it, I totally made everything spotless and cleaned the filter as well. And, I had to find out the hard way that that wasn't the most brilliant idea. It turns out, all fish need certain bacteria that grows in their tank to allow them to live healthily. If you make everything completely sterile, then Ick will spread much more easily. So, if Ick turns out after you do several water changes, then maybe you're doing it too often. It is good to do periodical water exchanges, but going overboard can be worse than not changing it at all.

Good luck to you and your betta!

Answer 3

I don't know how long you have had your Betta unfortunately when we purchase them they are very pretty and colorful. But what they don't tell us is they are adults and will only live a few years. My daughter and I went thru the same thing you are going thru now and if the meds don't work then he is just old. And it is his time to go.But I'm sure you have taken very good care of him by what you have said and I'm sure he has been very happy. If you want to you can always take him to the pet store you bought him from and let them look at him too. Good Luck

Answer 4

i would get amonia medicine but that betta stuff probaly treats amonia to i think it is not ick because if it was ick your betta would have little white specks on it