Is this a sickness/disease?

[bubbaboy]

Attached is a pic of my female betta fish.
I apologize for the darn lighting but it came out surprisingly better than I had hoped.

As you notice, there are black streaks near her gills.
Can anyone identify those?

Thanks in advance.

 

[BlackMollyJenny]

That looks like Ich, it is really common and can be fatal for some fish. You can get rid of it by getting some Ich Meds from a local pet store and raising the temperature to about 81F.
You may want to check these facts before you try this, I may not have supported very good ideas.

 

[jpchin]

i don't think this is ich since ich is white and looks like sand on the fish. this could just be a change in color possibly from poor breeding. i wouldn't add any medicine to the tank until you are sure what it is you are treating. since at this time there doesn't seem to be any definite diagnosis, i would continue to observe the betta. make sure to do water changes on a regular basis, even daily, as fresh water can heal a lot of different problems and help to strengthen the fish's immune system so it can help to heal itself. also are you doing water testing? there is a possibility that your water parameters are off. please test ammonia, ph, nitrates and post the results. how long has your tank be set up? is it fully cycled? that could help to determine if your water is the cause of the problem. good luck.