betta fin rot/fungus

I’m freaking out, it started as a little fuzz on his fin yesterday and today his dorsal fin is practically falling apart!!! What should I do I have a few meds on hand, I have a 3gal tank I could probably set up as a quarantine? But I’m not sure what to treat him with???

Water parameters. Ammonia: 0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate: 10ppm




Tank size: 10g
tank age: 3months
pH: 7.8
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0
kH: 12
gH: 9
tank temp: 78


Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):
Fins clamped, dorsal fin falling apart and covered in fungus

Volume and Frequency of water changes: 10% weekly

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: none

Tank inhabitants: 2 nerites, some ramshorns

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): the ramshorns are new and I didn’t quarantine them, fungus might’ve came from them?

Exposure to chemicals: no

Try aquarium salt or rock salt - 2 heaped tablespoons per 5 gallons - leave it in the tank for two weeks. When you do a water change, add back the salt that has been removed (10% is a little less than half a tablespoon). After the two weeks do 10% water change a day with fresh water for a week to gradually reduce the salinity, then 20% a day for a week.
Going forward start to increase the amount of water you change each week to 50%.
No need to quarantine as he is the only fish.

It could be a columnaris type infection. I'm in a no antibiotics zone. I would net him out and over a thick paper towel, quickly paint the dorsal with betadine, an iodine based liquid that used to be used in surgical prep and is in pharmacies, usually if you ask.

Would it work? Maybe not. It has a couple of times. You work fast, keep the liquid out of the eyes and gills, and dump him back in. My daughter bought a very long finned Betta years ago, and it developed something similar straight from the store, on day one. The betadine did the job, though the fin never grew back. The fish lived.

I don't know how salt will help if it is bacterial, but we're guessing at what it is, so that may also work.

Naughts said:

Try aquarium salt or rock salt - 2 heaped tablespoons per 5 gallons - leave it in the tank for two weeks. When you do a water change, add back the salt that has been removed (10% is a little less than half a tablespoon). After the two weeks do 10% water change a day with fresh water for a week to gradually reduce the salinity, then 20% a day for a week.
Going forward start to increase the amount of water you change each week to 50%.
No need to quarantine as he is the only fish.

Click to expand...

I’m trying the salt, unfortunately didn’t see your comment yesterday and ended up moving him to a quarantine 3gal.

unfortunately I think the temp dropped overnight and stressed him out even more. I have a heater in there set to 78, but heavy aeration plus no lid dropped it to like 72, I didn’t notice until morning… dumb. Turned it to 85 instead.

His chin and eyes lost LOTS of color, and he’s more sluggish, but he’s still eating. I’m most worried about his inflamed gills, they have fungus in them.

I added 1 teaspoons salt per gallon, plus some antibacterial/antifungal meds (jungle fungus cure tab)

Should I dump out used tank water in the yard? Flushing antibiotics seems like a bad idea.

I feel horrible. This would make the third betta I’ve lost since I started fishkeeping a year ago… one got dropsy, another had a tumor. Now this little guy gets fungus… I don’t even know if I should keep aquariums anymore

katienewbettakeeper said:

Should I dump out used tank water in the yard? Flushing antibiotics seems like a bad idea.

Click to expand...

Yes

katienewbettakeeper said:

I added 1 teaspoons salt per gallon, plus some antibacterial/antifungal meds (jungle fungus cure tab)

Click to expand...

You could be reducing the oxygen significantly with this combination. Add more aeration eg. an extra bubbler.

katienewbettakeeper said:

I feel horrible. This would make the third betta I’ve lost since I started fishkeeping a year ago… one got dropsy, another had a tumor. Now this little guy gets fungus…

Click to expand...

They are not easy fish, especially when their fins are big. Probably overbred.
Don't give up. Try females or plakats for healthier fish. And up the water changes

GaryE said:

I don't know how salt will help if it is bacterial, but we're guessing at what it is, so that may also work.

Click to expand...

Salt is nature's disinfectant.