Fin rot salt treatment procedure

[Lcc86]

My betta has developed a mild case of fin rot on his dorsal fin, sorry I haven't been able to get a picture yet but I would say it's minor but obviously want to get it sorted. Other fins all seem to be okay.

Normal procedure is a 70% water change weekly. I completed a water change yesterday, tested parameters beforehand and pH was 6.5, ammonia and nitrite 0ppm, nitrate 5ppm.

I did a 70% water change last night and added 3 tsp of API aquarium salt and a katappa leaf (for good luck!), how often should I do water changes while doing the salt treatment?

 

[Colin_T]

Fin rot is normally caused by poor water quality. If there is no ammonia or nitrite and less than 20ppm nitrate, then a weekly water change is usually sufficient when using salt.

Before you add salt, do a complete gravel clean and clean the filter. You should also wipe down the inside of the glass to remove any biofilm that can harbor harmful bacteria.

Did you add teaspoons or tablespoons of salt?
You need tablespoons.

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SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for 2 weeks. If there's no improvement after 1 week with salt then you should stop using it and look at a chemical based broad spectrum medication that treats bacteria and fungus.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

 

[Lcc86]

Fin rot is normally caused by poor water quality. If there is no ammonia or nitrite and less than 20ppm nitrate, then a weekly water change is usually sufficient when using salt.

Before you add salt, do a complete gravel clean and clean the filter. You should also wipe down the inside of the glass to remove any biofilm that can harbor harmful bacteria.

Did you add teaspoons or tablespoons of salt?
You need tablespoons.

------------------

SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for 2 weeks. If there's no improvement after 1 week with salt then you should stop using it and look at a chemical based broad spectrum medication that treats bacteria and fungus.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

Thanks Colin for clarifying. I wasn't sure if I needed to do daily water changes now or wait but this clears it up.

I used teaspoons, the API dosage guidance says to use 3 teaspoons for every 5 gal - my boy is in a 6 gal so I played it safe and added 3.