Betta fin rot - running out of ideas

[kfreytag]

My daughter's Betta is suffering from fin rot, and I'm struggling to help.

The Betta started in a 2 gal filtered and heated tank and was fine for ~3 months with weekly ~50% water changes. When we saw signs of rot, we prepared a new 5 gal tank and moved him. He's been in the 5 gal for two weeks, and the fin rot has expanded disturbingly.

In the 5 gal tank, Ammonia and Nitrate are non-existent. The "natural" pH is slightly high (our local water is high) at ~7.6, so we bring it down with API fluid. Temperature is at 78 F. This aquarium has been set up for two weeks and he is the only fish in the tank.

The tank has silk plants and a single decoration within which he can hide. The tank has gravel.

The new tank has three stage filtration, a heater, and LED lights that are illuminated ~66% of the day.

We initially did 20% water changes daily in the 5 gal tank, siphoning from the bottom to clean the gravel.

We feed three flakes of Fluval Bug Bites daily.

Once in the larger tank, we initially tried aquarium salts for five days with no apparent effect (fin rot got worse).

Over the past week, we've administered Bettafix, which advises no water changes, so we've paused those.

So, we've tried moving him from what we feared was a contaminated tank (nothing but the fish went from the original tank to the 5 gal), treating him with aquarium salts, and now treating him with Bettafix. We've monitored Ammonia, NItrate, and pH and adjusted the pH. We've initially kept the temperature a little low (~76 F) in the hopes of keeping anything bad at bay and now increasing the temp to 78 F.

The fish seems happy, is making bubbles, and made a bubble nest, but his fin rot is progressing, and I'm not sure where to go from here.

 

[fishorama]

Welcome to AC

Have you tested for ammonia, nitrite & nitrate? What are those numbers? We prefer to see API test results rather than strips or shops "it's ok". I don't hate test strips but many here do. But we need actual numbers or at least a "range".

He doesn't look terrible, his fins may be being shredded by the plastic plants...Did he have them in both tanks?

78F is a bit low for most bettas but that's not the cause of his issues. Tell us more please

 

[kfreytag]

Thanks for writing back, F fishorama .

We have tested for ammonia and nitrate with API kits. Both were absent (literally 0 ppm - pictures attached from tests I just did). I didn't realize that we needed to also test for nitrite, and I went looking for an API kit today (couldn't find one - I have one on order). The pH is still a little high (see pic). Could the pH be the cause of the issues?

He didn't have the silk plants in the original tank. My daughter added them to the new tank, seeking to give him some "comfort". They're _supposed_ to be Betta-friendly (soft, non-cutting), but we could easily remove them.

What's stymied me is my inability to stop the progression of the fin rot. Today, however, it appears that the fin rot may finally be stalled. Although he doesn't look bad in the picture above, he's lost _a lot_ of his tailfin. We're on day 7 of treating with Bettafix. Perhaps this has helped?

The Bettafix recommends not changing the water while treating, so we've paused water changes during the Bettafix treatment. He seems more stable today. Given that it's been a week with Bettafix, it seems it's time to return to water changes.

What's the advice on water changes? 20% daily or 50% weekly? Please do let me know what other information I can provide, and thanks for your help.

 

[fishorama]

Oh I'm sorry! I just read "plastic: plants but you clearly said silk. My only experience with fake plants are plastic 1s. I can see he's lost both tail & dorsal parts.

Did you move his filter or at least some decor from his old tank so it stayed cycled? I'd think you see ammonia at least a little if you didn't. Maybe all the water changing has helped?

Fancy bettas are not all that fussy about pH. I would skip the additive & just use tap water with dechlorinator. Have you ever tested your tap water?

Did he have white fin edges at first? Or just slowly disappearing? Is there any sign of them starting to grow again? New growth may start out whitish at first.

I'm not a big believer in Melafix, Betta fix etc. but some people are. If it seems to help, keep it up. I looked it up, it's dosed every day for a week. I would change some water & try another week. Then small daily water changes to remove it.

Why do you need to change water every day? If you need to vacuum out food, feed less at a time! He probably doesn't eat more than 1 or 2 bites at any feeding. 3 flakes doesn't seem like too much...Does he eat & poop?

Hopefully someone else will help & have better ideas. I know there are issues with some of the newer strains but I haven't kept bettas in many years.