Chronic fin rot in betta

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lime_smash

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May 22, 2009
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Missouri
I have a lovely little white delta tail betta in a 2.5 gallon tank with a small running filter and a heater. He recently contracted fin rot so I started doing a partial daily water change and treating him with melafix. He has only gotten worse. I went through a 5 day treatment of marycn which seemed to have no effect. Then a 5 day treatment of marycn2 with still no luck. I've delt with fin rot before, but never with such difficulty. Any suggestions? He has very normal active behavior now, but I'm afraid he will contract a secondary infection soon if I don't get this under control.
 

BettaFishMommy

finkids make me happy :-)
Mar 17, 2008
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Sherry N.
melafix is not a good med to be used with bettas as the melacula (spelling?) oil in it is not good for labyrinth fish, which a betta is. it has something to do with the blocking of oxygen uptake into the fish's lung organ, from what i have read. there is a product out there called Betta Fix and it too has melacula oil in it (albeit a lower concentration), even though it is marketed to be used for bettas. i once used Betta Fix and i believe this ingredient is what caused the demise of my betta.

you may have better luck with a product called "betta revive" by Hikari. i used this exclusively when i had bettas for fin rot when it did happen to occur. worked very well. it does have methylyne blue and malachite green in it, so it will stain silicone and any softer plastic and fabric plants. suctions cups in the tank will forever be blue afterwards, lol.

white bettas, i have read, are not as easy to keep as other colours. don't know why this is but it might have something to do with the lack of pigmentation?

the fin rot bacteria may have taken such a hold that it will be very very difficult to cure no matter what you do. it has been noted that if the rot extends to the body there is a very slight chance for recovery.

i would do daily 100% water changes on his tank, remove any substrate (could be harbouring the fin rot bacteria), clean the filter well in tank water that you have taken out during a water change, not under running tapwater, as to preserve the good bacteria that is present in filter media. might be a good idea to sterlize everything if these steps do not help. you can sterilize plastic and fabric plants by boiling them, and this will eradicate most yucky organisms and such. mind you, sterilizing everything, including the filter, will cause you to have a brand new tank after, so ammonia and nitrite levels will need to be monitored until the tank cycles again. large volume water changes will be required on pretty much a daily basis to keep both the ammonia and nitrites at zero, to keep the fish from getting ill or ultimately passing away due to ammonia or nitrite poisoning.

hope that helped! good luck with your lil finkid and keep us posted on his progress!
 

Reframer

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Feb 22, 2009
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In this case, IMO, I would use some salt and make sure to do daily water changes around 50%. Hope he pulls through.
 

BettaFishMommy

finkids make me happy :-)
Mar 17, 2008
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Sherry N.
if the fin rot is anywhere near bad or advanced, i would not use salt. it is a good treatment for some ailments, but not in this instance. i have dealt with fin rot on many of my bettas when i first got them, as the lfs didn't change their water frequently enough, grrrr. extra water changes and a super clean tank or bowl at first and if that is not sufficient, then you move on to a med if necessary.

this betta has been through rounds of marycyn, marycyn2, and melafix. i think he needs to be given some time to recover from being pickled by so many meds. a week of clean water, daily changes, and a good but not too plentiful diet. then if no improvement after a week, i'd reconsider treatment.
 

dixienut

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Jun 15, 2006
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i have read a while ago about betta breeders/showers if cronic tail rot
they cut the dead part off and mend it,..
I WOULD NOT ADVISE YOU TO DO IT
but have a vet try or some one else that has experience with these matters,..
 

BettaFishMommy

finkids make me happy :-)
Mar 17, 2008
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Sherry N.
this is true, an advanced fish/betta keeper will remove the section of fin that has the rot, making sure to take away all the affected fin to ensure none of the bacteria is left to continue the deterioration.

i also agree that this method should not be attempted by the average fishkeeper.

my first betta had issues with fin rot quite often in the beginning when i was still learning how to properly care for him. water changes were what i used to cure it as i was too paranoid as a newbie fish lady to use any meds.


lime_smash, could you please post a photo so that i could see just how advanced this rot is?
 

Reframer

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Feb 22, 2009
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if the fin rot is anywhere near bad or advanced, i would not use salt. it is a good treatment for some ailments, but not in this instance. i have dealt with fin rot on many of my bettas when i first got them, as the lfs didn't change their water frequently enough, grrrr. extra water changes and a super clean tank or bowl at first and if that is not sufficient, then you move on to a med if necessary.
treatment.
Are you saying that for bad fin rot, salt would hurt the fish? This is a hard problem that I struggled with awhile back too. I don't consider using melafix, and if clean water and marcryn has already been tried, I don't know what else to do honestly.
 

BettaFishMommy

finkids make me happy :-)
Mar 17, 2008
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Deadmonton, lol, Canada
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Sherry N.
IMO, salt is a good course of action for ailments like ich, but not fin rot. fin rot is caused by bacteria. what needs to be done is to make as sterile an environment as possible so that the bacteria cannot proliferate. a super clean tank or bowl and water is what is necessary for the fin rot to be remedied, and if that is not sufficient, a med that will 'kill' the bacteria is what is needed.

being that this fish has been subjected to so many meds recently, it needs a period of rest from meds. daily water changes of 100% for a week and observation, as long as the rot has not extended to the body.
 

lime_smash

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May 22, 2009
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Missouri
Yeah I will see if I can post a picture of Cerberus soon. I quit the meds. I did 100% water change, rising the gravel, and decorations. He has a new filter (azoo mignon 60) and I have been changing 50% of the water every day. He still seems happy and active as ever, and his tail doesn't seem to be getting any worse, but then I can still see some tiny red dots on the very tip of the injured tail and I can't see any new tissure growth. I'll post a pic of him here soon.

It is odd that you mention white bettas. I also have noticed this trend, since I have an extreme fondness for the white bettas. My first betta, who was also white, developed fin rot very late in life and eventually it killed him after a long struggle. I have kept many bettas but my whites always seem to develop fin issues.
 

lime_smash

AC Members
May 22, 2009
129
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Missouri
Here's the little guy. sorry about the picture quality but I think it gives you a general idea. It's not terrible and mainly isolated to his tail



 
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