blakc moores again

Question
I looked at a picture of a fish with 'ick' but it doesnt appear like mine. my fish have a white powdery looking substancs, resembles leather boots when they get road salt on them. If this is ICK i'd like to make sure it is.

Answer
Hi Jessica,
Now it sounds like your Black moores may have "Velvet" which resembles Ick in it's general appearance but it's much powdery  looking and sometimes takes on a whitish or yellowish color. This is -really- bad. Fish usually get this parasitic infection when their immune system goes down. overcrowding, poor water quality, malnutrition, transportation or sudden temperature changes can all contribute to a lowered immune system. Unfortunately Velvet is very contagious to other fish. But fortunately it is easy to treat.

The first thing to make sure of is if your water quality is good. Make sure your water has no ammonia or nitrites present and try to keep the nitrates as low as possible. Plenty of clean water through frequent water changes is vital for helping treat any fish disease.
Increasing the temperature to 82F is often recommended for treating Velvet, along with adding a medication specifically for velvet or parasites in general. Maracide is generally a very good medication that I've used before. But there are other parasitic medications that will also treat velvet available. Make sure to continue treatment throughout the full recommended treatment period and it may be best to extend it to three days after the last signs of velvet at gone just to be sure the parasite is completely cleared out.
Always insure excellent water quality through plenty of water changes at least everyday to every other day.

Here's a link to great pictures of velvet on a betta:
http://www.flippersandfins.net/Velvet.htm

Like the website mentions, be sure not to spread the infection by avoiding sharing fish nets between tanks if you have other aquariums and to wash and rinse your hands well between aquariums.

I really hope this helps!
Best of luck,
Karen~