Chronic fin rot - nothing's working

[Mjones007]

My betta, Watson, is a rescue fish. He's got a bent spine but it hasn't effected him much at all. I moved and the stress caused him to eat a good portion of his tail. It's been growing back but he's had fin rot the entire time (almost 4 months now) and nothing I've tried has gotten rid of it, on and off different meds, water changes, a hospital tank. The water perimeters are great (he's in a 10gal) and he's been off meds for a week now to give him some time to recover but the rot is spreading super fast now and he's started acting very agitated. I feel like I've tried everything, how do I help him?

 

[FroFro]

My betta, Watson, is a rescue fish. He's got a bent spine but it hasn't effected him much at all. I moved and the stress caused him to eat a good portion of his tail. It's been growing back but he's had fin rot the entire time (almost 4 months now) and nothing I've tried has gotten rid of it, on and off different meds, water changes, a hospital tank. The water perimeters are great (he's in a 10gal) and he's been off meds for a week now to give him some time to recover but the rot is spreading super fast now and he's started acting very agitated. I feel like I've tried everything, how do I help him?

You tell us the water parameters are great but can you please give us some numbers?

The number one cause of fish illness is stress. What medicines have you used and can you tell us more about your tank? is it heated, does he have other tank mates, any sharp decor like fake pokey plants and the like that he can snag his fins on?

How strong is the current from your filter? betta don't like fast moving water as those fancy fins make it difficult for them to swim as it is. How often and at what quantity do you perfrom water changes?

Is your filter intake baffled? I have mine covered over with a sponge because if he swims too close his fins tend to get sucked into the slits otherwise.