Betta with white patches fungus or bacterial?

Question
Hi Jaymie. I sent you a question last week regarding my betta fish. We had him in a small tank but moved him to a large ten gallon and he had stopped eating and had changed colors. Thank you for your excellent advice of adding the aquarium salt and monitoring him. I believe he was very stressed out. He is doing much better now and is very happy! Now, my problem is with a second betta. We are planning to divide the ten gallon and move this new little boy in on the other side. We purchased him over the weekend and put in a small quarantine tank that is heated to 80 degrees (I have a floating thermometer in there and a mini heater - not a preset one). I was careful to gradually mix the water we purchased him in with his new tank water and I very, very slowly and gradually increased his temperature. We purchased him at a local aquarium shop which had a fish room with dim lighting. All of the fish looked healthy but once we got him home and situated we discovered that he has a white mark under his chin and small white patches on the sides of his face. This does not appear to be ick and when I shine a flashlight on him no gold, etc... I am wondering if this is some sort of columnaris or a bad fungus? I thought it was fungus and began treating him with Jungle's Lifeguard but he is getting worse rather than better. The white on the sides of his face do not appear to be dug down as if into holes but are indented as if I scratched the side of his face with my fingernails. Last night he started rubbing up against the gravel and the plastic plants. This morning I spotted a white spot near the end of his tail. Tonight will be the fourth night of treatment with the Lifeguard. Should I discontinue this medication course and go to something else? Is this columnaris? I am afraid that if something isn't done fast I will lose him. He has gone from eating one or two pellets a day to nothing and has begun to grow lethargic.

Answer
Natalie,
It sounds like he has a bit of fungus growing. I would continue the medication. Sometimes it take a bit for the medication to work. I would give him a salt water bath along with the meds. This is done by dissolving 1 teaspoon of aquarium salt into 1 gallon of water. Once dissolved, let him swim around for about 5 minutes. Make sure you stay with him in case there is a problem and he needs to be removed since this is a stronger salt solution. Do this twice a day for a few days and see if this helps him out. Make sure you make fresh salt water every time. Do not use the same solution twice. Make sure his water is 80 degrees and make sure the salt water is the same temperature as the tank water. DO NOT put him into the other tank until he is back to being healthy. I would also add some stress coat to the water to help reduce stress. Let me know how he is in a few days.