tiny white dot on betta eye etc

[HelplessNewbie]

Hi, this is the family's first fish. Is that ich on her eye and body? What about the cloudy whitish film on her lip?

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Hi @HelplessNewbie! I'm having a little bit of a hard time seeing the issue in the picture. I can see the white on the eye and white near the mouth but from my chair its hard to say. Is any of the white protruding from the body? Does it look raised or fuzzy? Is the fish acting different? And if so how...

Can you tell us if you test water all your water parameters and temp, and give us an overal view of the tank and any changes you've made recently? This can help diagnose. 

Tagging helpful members @Colu and @Odd Duck

Edited June 8, 2023 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[HelplessNewbie]

I am new to the hobby. Family decided to try fish-in cycling in a 2.5 gal clear tub (quarantine tank). PH is 6.8, buffer 40 kh, hardness 25, 0 chlorine, nitrite and nitrate only slightly pinkish on test stri but not registering enough to be 10 ppm for both.  Test tube ammonia measured at 0.5ppm. After this, I did 30% water change.

The tub had a bunch of plants for 6 days (fyi, applied api quick start), then I moved all but one piece (in photo) to its future home, a 10g tank. I have no seed bio-filtering material from an existing tank. Betta has been in this tub for 4 days. So, tub is 10 days old.  Nano sponge filter with airstone has been in there since day 1. Water kept at 77 F. Her cup water from petco was 75 F. Light from a basic household led bar on for only 5 hours at a time and angled away from tub.

She seems okay, has good appetite (just fed her 2 eyeballs worth for first time yesterday). She is exploring, follows your finger, sometimes goes up and down along front of tub. I think she sees her reflection  so I will be covering the tub with a blanket or something. Other than her appearance, she seems ok so far but I wouldn't know since I am new.

White stuff on mouth is not protruding. I initially thought the white on her eye was the "white" of her eyeball, like a human. LOL, but I don't think it is supposed to be white. The rest of her cornea(?) is red, like her scales.

The white dots are sprinkled on her body and a few on the base of her tail and on the fin on the bottom close to the tail (can't remember what it is called). Also one dot on the part covering (but not the actual) gills.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Edited June 9, 2023 by HelplessNewbie
removed video link

[Colu]

What I would do is test daily and do daily 50% water change's and add a double dose of prime to help detoxify any ammonia till your ammonia constantly stays at zero I can see some white spots on the body and near the tail fin it could be Ich what I would do is treat with ick X as it requires daily water changes it will help keep your ammonia in check as well I would treat for 3 days after you see the last spots I would add a Small amount of aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 5 gallons as Ich causes massive electrolyte loss and the salt will add back in essential electrolytes @HelplessNewbie

[Odd Duck]

The spot on the eye looks like it has some bluish, metallic tint in the picture - this is completely normal for a betta.  If there is an actual white spot on the eye, I can’t make it from the pic.  Almost all the spots I see are normal scale coloration centered on each scale, except the one at the base of the tail and near the edge of the anal fin.  These do look like Ich (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis - I always have to check that spelling, 😝).  @Colu’s recommendation of frequent water changes and adding salt to the water is right on track.  You can also gradually increase the water temperature to 82 degrees F, bump it up by about 2 degrees per day.  Bettas like warmer temps and Ich doesn’t.  Treat at least 2 full days past any sign of spots and I usually treat (with salt and heat) for a full 10 days past any spots.  You should be able to slow down water changes by then but keep testing and doing water changes as needed plus using Prime as needed until there’s no ammonia appearing.

If the spots start to get worse, especially if they start to get raised and show more variability in size, then you could be dealing with Epistylus which likes the heat.  You would have to take the temp back down IF that happens.  If any spots stay only the tiny dots and not raised or only barely raised, that’s Ich.

[HelplessNewbie]

Here is a photo of Polly, the betta. Looks like the dots cleared up! Btw, is Ich-x safe for mystery snails? Should I perform a repeat treatment on week 4, or only if dots reappear?

Have noticed bloating, so have been fasting her for 3 days now. A follow-up question: is it normal to have some discoloration under the chin? I cannot tell if scales are gone. Also, the scales around her belly seem yellowish.