Ezra has fin rot!

[Synirr]

As a side effect of buying fish from Walmart, I've struggled with fin rot ever since I've been keeping bettas. I'm probably going to lose Gabriel to a case that I can't seem to cure, and for a while I thought Afriel had it, but I think he had just ripped his tail fin somehow, since it wasn't progressive... just a big chunk was gone one day. Now poor ol' Ezra has it. It has progressed quicker than any case I have ever seen, probably due to his age. I have a feeling he's not going to make it, but I'm medicating him anyway. Half of his anal fin is already gone and his caudal is looking shabby now... his ventrals are just little nubs

I always keep his bowl clean and take extra care not to expose him or the others to anything that has touched Gabriel or Afriel...
I think he may have been exposed to a fish net that my mom had used on her poor neglected betta and then not cleaned afterward... that's the only possibility I can think of. Mom's betta has horrible fin rot because she never cleans the poor guy's bowl. He's in a half gallon bowl and is lucky if he gets a full water change once a month. Sometimes I want to slap some sense into that woman.

She wants to set up a saltwater tank which I'll have to take care of, since she doesn't know #### about it. I don't see how she thinks she'll be able to handle a saltwater aquarium if she can't even manage one little betta.

 

[iloveyou]

dont medicate him too much... i had a sicky that was pretty bad and i slowly medicated him for awhile and he seemed to slowly get better but i made the mistake of putting meds in too quickly over the period of 1 day and he ended up dying... mine had tail rot and ick .... tail rot was cured but he couldnt survive the ick also...

steal ur moms betta and make him better lol

good luck hope ur fish come out alright

 

[jams.alaskan]

I'm glad you mentioned that you don't use the same tools, etc with infected and non infected fish. I often wonder what people are doing when they have bettas and they are treating one or two and soon all or most. Gotta steralize those nets and hoses in between bowls otherwise YOU are the carrier of trouble from bowl to bowl. I'm hoping that you can beat this - seems like you are giving it your best shot!

ALASKA

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Synirr

Fin rot is a bacterial infection that strikes fish that have had their immune systems weakened from overcrowding, high nitrites, low oxygen content, sudden increases in water temperature and dirty water. New fish are often exposed to these conditions while being shipped and sometimes while at the lfs, so are more likely to become sick than fish who have lived in established tanks.

The bacteria that cause these problems are present in your tank, in low numbers, if the tank is kept clean with frequent water changes. It is only when they become stressed that they contract the disease.

You did not mention what medication you are using, but I suggest Maracyn AND Maracyn2 used together, or Kanacyn. These medications will treat both primary and secondary infections.

Do be sure that your water is kept clean and fresh and lower the temperature to no more than 75 -76 degrees to slow the reproduction of the bacteria. If possible, adding an airstone to increase the oxygen content of the water is a good idea too.

 

[Synirr]

I am using Maracyn and Maracyn 2 on him at the moment. The rot seems to have stopped, but since he's nearly four years old, I'm not sure how quickly his fins will grow back, if at all

I feel bad for not noticing it sooner... He has always had a little notch in his anal fin, so I didn't notice for a couple of days that the notch was getting wider...