Salt bath/dip for fin rot? (Or, favorite fin rot med?)

[alli13zeal]

Has anyone ever done a salt bath for fin rot? Does it work? My betta has fairly advanced fin rot (came on quickly) and I'm currently treating w/ tetracycline (3rd day) but I can't tell if it is working or not. His tail fin is about 1/2 gone and I'm getting a little anxious..


Anyway, I've just been researching different treatments and I wanted to know if anyone here has had a good experience w/ a salt bath/dip and if so what salt concentration was used and for what amount of time. If not, what is the best med you have found for fin rot?

P.S. water params were ammon 0 nitrite 0 nitrate ~5 and I know tetracyline will kill biofilter, so i'll be keeping an eye on that

 

[jm1212]

the best way to cure fin rot is clean water.

melafix also helps, but you will probably need to get betafix, the beta-specialized form.

 

[alli13zeal]

I appreciate that clean water is a necessity for curing fin rot, but this unfortunately seems to be an aggressive case and I'm looking for a more aggressive treatment. I have used melafix before (bettamax is the same thing, just more diluted), but I don't think it'll do the trick here.

I'm just trying to figure out a possible next step if the tetracycline doesn't appear to help after the 5th day or so. I have maracyn, maracyn 2, and triple sulfa on hand, as well as Jungle's anti-bacterial medicated food. It just seems like every single antibiotic on the market is recommended for fin rot, when in actuality a lot of them probably don't affect the bacteria in question. Fortunately the betta is still acting very healthy (just attacked & dined on an innocent pond snail), his fins just look like all ****!

Still wondering if anyone has tried, successfully or unsuccessfully, the salt bath? Have read recommendations for it, but I don't know if I believe them or not...

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Salt is good for fungal problems and certain parasites. Sounds like yours is bacterial. I have always had good results with Maracyn or generic Erythromycin.

 

[excuzzzeme]

For fin rot I have used 1 tbs (tablespoon) per 5 gallons and increase heat to 80º BUT, I have never tried this on a Betta. Took about 3 days to stop it. After 5 days I went with 1 tsp (teaspoon) per 10 gallon and of course a 25% or greater water change. I maintain an approximate 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons on all my tanks except the ones with Tetras. A small amount of salt is beneficial to fish. 1 tablespoon per 10 gallon for regular use is safe enough although I only use 1 teaspoon.