He lives in a nice 3 gallon tank all by himself. He loves it, since I moved him from a 1 gal. tank a couple days after I've gotten him. The water temp. is usually between 78-80 degrees, and the tank has a filter and light bulb that helps keep temperature up. Last night he layed on the rocks a lot more than usual and today I checked the levels of the water, and the ammonia levels were 8.2! Very high! I did an immediate water change. he has no problems eating since I've gotten him. I did see some pics of a grayish head betta that said it had Fungi Infection, could this be my problem?
I was also wondering, would it hurt my betta to treat it for fungi infection if it didn't have it? Could I treat my betta for several illnesses at one time?
My Betta's Sick! Could it be a Fungi Infection?I don't think your ammonia levels are 8.2 ppm, as your fish would be very much dead if they were. Are you sure that wasn't nitrate, or even pH? If it was the ammonia reading at 8.2, the test was almost certainly wrong. The spot on the fish's head sounds like Columnaris, often called saddleback disease because it presents itself as a scaly patch atop the fish's head. It is a bacterial infection that will begin to grow fibrous mats if allowed to advance, looking very much like fungus. Since it does move quickly, you'll need to act quicker. Begin treatment with Triple Sulfa, Trisulfa, Furan 2, Furanase, Maracyn 2, Kanaplex, or similar medications as soon as possible. Remove any activated carbon from the filter during treatment, and if using minocycline or tetracycline, keep the tank dark (both degrade with exposure to light).
Columnaris: http://www.reefs.org/library/aquarium_ne鈥?/a>
http://network.bestfriends.org/data/news鈥?/a>
EDIT: It is inconceivable to think that somebody could confuse Ich with fungus. The only similarity is that both are white in color. Ich would appear as granules on the fish, fungus, as cottony tufts. On top of that, they are almost identical in treatment; nearly all Ich (or other parasite) medications, like Quick Cure, Rid Ich, Nox Ich, etc. are also extremely effective against fungus.My Betta's Sick! Could it be a Fungi Infection?I assure you, the ammonia level WAS 8.2! I have a chemical tester, and I even double checked it! My fish is still alive, finished a dose of Melafix and my fish now has white fuzz growing on him, surprisingly he's eating and seems to be acting as himself. Now I'm starting a dose of Quick Cure!
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My Betta's Sick! Could it be a Fungi Infection?Sounds like Ick. If you can take a picture of him to a fish tank shop and ask them if it is Ick and what they recommend to treat it. Be sure to follow the instructions on the bottle exactly.Hails,
SilenceA lot of medications work on multiple infections. However a fungal infection is not nearly the same as the parasite ich. If it looks like grains of salt it is ich. You can treat him for both at the same time by using a fungal medication for the fungus and creating a salt bath to kill the ich.
Just look for a fungal medication in your store and follow these instructions for creating a salt bath:
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/treat>
You also need to control the ammonia. Continue with 25% water changed daily and add hagen cycle or stress zyme because ammonia poisoning could kill your fish. You ammonia and nitrites should always be at 00 ppm.you might want to add real plants to help keep down the ammonia. One day you might be out and there will be an ammonia spike, but if you have the plants your tank won't spike so drastically.
Bettas do have a tendency to to fad or darken every so often not much to worry about, but if you're worried you can always add a 1/2 teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon of water.
