Is it contagious?

I put my two boys in a divided 10 gallon today. One of them, Livius, has had a white mass under his lip for a few weeks now.. and I see another growing on his cheek below his left eye, and he's starting to get white patches on his head, and starting to move down his body.

So far, I have no idea what it is.. but is it contagious? If it is, I need to know so that I can figure out if I should remove him from the tank or not, and if Felix is at risk.

He still eats, poops, and plays normally.

Here are pictures.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...s/100_7161.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...s/100_7171.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...s/100_7172.jpg

I own Betta's myself,I'm not sure if it is ,or it is just a growth.

Maybe try looking into a betta forum.They would most likely know what it is.

My koi has growths simular to that,And it has had them for nearly 4 years,and is in with the other koi's,But it could be 2 different cases.

something they call Ich, sometimes spelled Ick. There are additives for their tank water that treats it if this is what it is. Various formulas are available at a good pet store. If I recall correctly, it's a type of skin fungus and the best way to treat it is to treat the entire pond or tank and then to do preventive doses, after it's cleared, on an occasional basis. Most formulas will have good suggestions for follow through on the label or inserted packaging.

Yes, it's contagious and will infect all the fish in the tank eventually. Catch it early and be consistent in treating it and you shoulld see some dramatic improvement.

No, you didn't necessarily do anything wrong, assuming you check the ph in the tank and keep it within proper limits. Ich just seems to happen and is often brought home with new additions to the tank. Best argument for isolating new additions temporarily.

Hope this helps.

Callie

Yup was just gonna say, the one on his lip may not be ich, but the other spots popping up over his body may very well be. It is very contagious and all fish in the tank will eventually contract it, as stated already. Medicine is relatively inexpensive so I wouldn't worry about that, just make sure not to introduce any more fish, isolate him if possible, and treat all tanks he has been in :)

Alright, I moved him back to his 1 gallon tank (& bought a female.. xD)

What can I buy to treat the tank that he was sharing with Felix?

I was going to say the same thing. Also, ick is caused by stress. Overfeeding, a crowded tank, a sick fish, addition of a new fish or an aggerssive fish and too high of PH, Ammonia, nitrites or nitrates levels all cause stress. If you find one of these to be true, that is probably your problem. To test for thoes described levels, you need to buy a Msster Freshwater Test kit, avalible at Petsmart, Petco, or any pet retailer that sells fish stuff.

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Originally Posted by BC_MoM

Alright, I moved him back to his 1 gallon tank (& bought a female.. xD)

What can I buy to treat the tank that he was sharing with Felix?

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They have stuff at stores like PetCo, Petsmart, and most other pet stores that will treat it, just talk with an associate. It's a rather common occurance, in fact it happened a lot while I was working at PetCo, just the stress of transporting fish and all that jazz, or they would be shipped to us and already have it, etc.

It's hard to tell from the pics.. but I was thinking it might also be fungus. Google it and see if it sounds/looks like what your boy has. :)

That is definately NOT ich. Ich is little salt like crystals that show up usually on the fins and tail first. Ich is a parasite.

That, on the other hand, looks like a combo of flexibactor and a seperate growth that occurs on the lip. Flexibactor is treated with a strong antibacterial such as maracyn plus. Antibiotics will kill the tank cycle, but since you keep them in a 1 gallon or less, you don't have a cycle to maintain anyway. Unfortunately since a lot of bettas are kept like yours, bacterial and fungal problems plague them.