I've kept bettas for years without ever having to deal with fin rot, but it's finally struck. I came back from a three-week vacation to find that my betta's tail and one of his pectoral fins were looking ragged. I had a friend care for the betta and my 15-gal in my absence, and he was less-than-digilent about water changes. :-( Add that to the fact that the poor fish is too cold (I'd never had problems keeping bettas in unheated gallon bowls, but that was before I moved to Holland, where it is not exactly warm during the winter months), and you have a recipe for disaster. Since discovering the fin rot, I have been changing the betta's water regularly and gradually adding salt. When this failed to work, I also tried a malachite green bath. No sign of improvement-- in fact, it's just gotten worse.
I really feel like he needs to be in much warmer water before he can start to heal, but the only option I can see at this point is to add him to my 15-gal. However, if there is even the slightest chance that the fin rot can spread to my other fish, I don't want to do it-- I have a gorgeous pair of blue rams with vibrant finnage and would hate to see them infected as well. Is fin rot contagious? I'm on an *extremely* limited student budget at the moment, so setting up a hospital tank isn't an option. :-( What would you guys suggest?
I really feel like he needs to be in much warmer water before he can start to heal, but the only option I can see at this point is to add him to my 15-gal. However, if there is even the slightest chance that the fin rot can spread to my other fish, I don't want to do it-- I have a gorgeous pair of blue rams with vibrant finnage and would hate to see them infected as well. Is fin rot contagious? I'm on an *extremely* limited student budget at the moment, so setting up a hospital tank isn't an option. :-( What would you guys suggest?
