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.

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

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.

 

[Essjay]

the API dosage guidance says to use 3 teaspoons for every 5 gal

API say the salt "promotes fish health by improving gill function, making it easier for fish to breathe. It also provides essential electrolytes that fish need to reach peak coloration and vitality." The dose they give is for that rather than treating disease.

Because people still want to use salt routinely - especially after reading what API say - they still make it even though we now know it shouldn't be used routinely in freshwater tanks, only just for treatment

 

[Lcc86]

API say the salt "promotes fish health by improving gill function, making it easier for fish to breathe. It also provides essential electrolytes that fish need to reach peak coloration and vitality." The dose they give is for that rather than treating disease.

Because people still want to use salt routinely - especially after reading what API say - they still make it even though we now know it shouldn't be used routinely in freshwater tanks, only just for treatment

I don't use routinely, I had some left from previous use in an old tank and know it's a suggested treatment for fin rot. I heaped tablespoon is probably equivalent to the 3 level teaspoons I put in so I would say the dosage is about right?

 

[Essjay]

I know you don't use it routinely but other people want it so API make it.


I misread Colin's post and saw the 2 tablespoons per 5 gallons - that's just if the first dose rate doesn't work and the fish can cope with it.
Yes, 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons (or 15 ml = 3 x 5 ml) so you did use the right dose - and it's the same as API say.


Sorry for the confusion, I must learn to read properly......

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I tend to agree with Colin on most things, but his opinion on usuing Iodized salt is not one of them. I was taught about the use of salt some 21+ years ago by Robert T. Ricketts aka RTR who was a legend in the hobby at the time. He wrote an article (one of many) on the use of salt which you san still find today onthe Aquarium Wiki and the Puffer site. There are likely more places. Here is what he wrote concerning the use of iodized salt.

Myth 1​

Sodium chloride is the familiar white crystalline material in just about every kitchen. Table salt as purchased at the local supermarket in this country also contains iodide and anti-caking compounds.

Iodine is a halogen, and is required for vertebrates in its ionic form. Iodine is the element; iodide is the ionic form. Do not confuse either of those with “tincture of iodine” which is a topical antiseptic and quite toxic. Iodide is necessary for our metabolism as an essential part of thyroid hormone, which is our metabolic pacemaker. Soils in wide areas of this country are deficient in iodine, and this lack can result in goiter (hypertrophy of the thyroid gland, effectively from insufficient iodide intake). Thus the practice arose of adding iodide to salt intended for human consumption. This was the safest (the levels of iodide are minute) and surest way of protecting the population from this deficiency as salt is ubiquitous (all but universal) in food processing and preparation. The levels of iodide added to table salt are so small that any water-living vertebrate or invertebrate would be pickled in brine well before toxic concentrations of iodide could be reached, so that particular urban myth is without foundation. In fact, a number of our tank inhabitants need iodide- most crustaceans have a significant demand for the material, and a number of fish can develop goiter in captivity from the lack of iodine - African Rift Lake fish seem especially prone to this. The often-discussed toxicity of iodide could be considered urban myth #1.

from https://www.theaquariumwiki.com/wiki/The_Salt_of_the_Earth

In the article I wrote for this site on Rescuing a fish in cycle gone wild Part II, I recommend using table salt to combat nitrite. There is almost any need to use a water change to deal with nitrite and there are reasons why it often doesn't solve the problem for the fish. The chloride in sodium chloride (salt) blocks the nitrite from getting into the bloodstream of the fish.

If you read the article on the Wiki site it says it gas been edited for us. I believe the version on the puffer sites is likely unedited. I knew RTR from my first aquarium forum, Tom's Place. Tom has long since passed on and the site is gone. But I learned a tom as a newbie from that site including from RTR who was there on occasion. Some of the people you might hear as speaker at Aquarium relted weekend events were members on Tom's Place. RTR was the mod who led the Teshwater Auariums sub-forum which I sponsored for a while. (Thanks to the Wayback machine you can see things from the site on Aug. 5 2004. (And, also a few other dates.)
http://web.archive.org/web/20040805064644/http://boards.aaquaria.com/phpBB2/

 

[Lcc86]

I know you don't use it routinely but other people want it so API make it.


I misread Colin's post and saw the 2 tablespoons per 5 gallons - that's just if the first dose rate doesn't work and the fish can cope with it.
Yes, 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons (or 15 ml = 3 x 5 ml) so you did use the right dose - and it's the same as API say.


Sorry for the confusion, I must learn to read properly......

No worries! Just hoping it makes a difference, I know it's a relatively common problem in the fish world but it's not something I've dealt with until now.

 

[MuddyWaters]

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

@Colin_T - the salt won't harm the plants? Is this because presumably it's short term? I used to add baking soda to my water to drive the KH up so that my CO2 would come on enough to get the levels I need to get the plants to grow right (my water is very soft and otherwise I have to drop the PH very low)- a guy who is a "renowned" aquascaper told me that was really bad for the plants, saying, "for one, you're basically adding salt to the water...."

My experience was that it didn't hurt anything, but I stopped doing it. I know baking soda is not sodium chloride, but I guess it was the sodium component that he was homed in on....sometimes I wonder if that guy really knew what he was talking about- being able to make a beautiful aquascape (and his were spectacular) does not make him a chemist or biologist, you know?

So much confusing stuff out there.... anyway, sorry- went on a rant there, but wondering about the effect of the sodium chloride on the plants.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

He was correct about the sodium. To much is a bad thing and it doesn't evaporate. When using salt to treat nitrite the chloride does that job and the sodium is a side effect. Bu,t the amount of salt needed for this is much lower than other uses of salt in tank.

There are some plants one can do in brackish water and the ones that can be put into true salt water will usually not live in fresh. So, if one has to use salt in planted tank, depending on how much is needed and for how long, it may harm/kill the plants. Here are a few plants that one can tolerate being in a brackish water tank: Java Fern (Microsorium pteropus), Cryptocoryne wendtii, Anubias barteri, Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, Crinum calamistratum, Lobelia cardinali, Micranthemum callitrichoides ’Cuba’ and Sago pondweed (Stuckenia pectinata)

 

[MaloK]

What you call a mild case of rot could only be a small bruise that created an excess of mucus and...

With your current water change ongoing description. I doubt any pathogen can really buildup.

And probably doing nothing else then continuing your current schedule would be enough.

Anybody can say whatever they want... I remain firm on my position.. Salt is not good for a planted tank. Period.

If you want to salt the fish, do it in a QT tank. Personally I use Melafix as often as needed and there's a no stress fix in a week.

You could use it a week per month, a week per 3 months, without problems and without additional water changes... It's an herbal extract that is beneficial to the fish. Not a remedy. Many people use it that way. But Who reads instruction these days. It fared very well compared to conventional methods of tannin that can bring a lot of rotting stuff in.

Used correctly this product really improves long finned betta to keep show case look.

This is Big after a year.

The fish died during later months from a poisonous water change. This photo was taken 8 months after he when in.

After a short while I quickly Re-understood that. This Fish cannot live in the natural habitat they came from, I then quit adding any botanical that would end up creating any kind of fungus. I replaced it with Melafix.

It then went further, to food. (some are real fungus fertilizers) and eliminated them too, the fish was doing very well before the incident.

But it is what it is. This fish died in one night and was looking great.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I should have mentioned this in my above post. "Sodium bicarbonate, commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO₃. It is a salt composed of a sodium cation and a bicarbonate anion."

In our tanks the maind components of KH are carbonates and bicarbonates. These are responsible for holding up the pH and can also be used to raise it. Bakings soda will drive the water to an equilibrium value of pH 8.2. So baking soda will raise the pH and add sodium to the water.

But calcium carbonate is also a way to raise the pH. Calcium will work to harden the water some but it is not easily soluble in water. So using coral (or something similar) in a bag in ones filter will usually raise the KH by much more than the GH. The ammonia and nitrite oxiding bacteria need inorganic carbon which can come from carbonates, bicarbonates and CO2.

In another threasd I recently posted this:

There are some plants one can do in brackish water and the ones that can be put into true salt water will usually not live in fresh. So, if one has to use salt in planted tank, depending on how much is needed and for how long, it may harm/kill the plants. Here are a few plants that one can tolerate being in a brackish water tank: Java Fern (Microsorium pteropus), Cryptocoryne wendtii, Anubias barteri, Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, Crinum calamistratum, Lobelia cardinali, Micranthemum callitrichoides ’Cuba’ and Sago pondweed (Stuckenia pectinata)

 

[Colin_T]

I tend to agree with Colin on most things, but his opinion on usuing Iodized salt is not one of them. I was taught about the use of salt some 21+ years ago by Robert T. Ricketts aka RTR who was a legend in the hobby at the time. He wrote an article (one of many) on the use of salt which you san still find today onthe Aquarium Wiki and the Puffer site. There are likely more places. Here is what he wrote concerning the use of iodized salt.

I didn't say to use iodised salt.

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.

 

[Colin_T]

@Colin_T - the salt won't harm the plants? Is this because presumably it's short term? I used to add baking soda to my water to drive the KH up so that my CO2 would come on enough to get the levels I need to get the plants to grow right (my water is very soft and otherwise I have to drop the PH very low)- a guy who is a "renowned" aquascaper told me that was really bad for the plants, saying, "for one, you're basically adding salt to the water...."

Too much salt (sodium chloride) can cause the cells in the plant to break down and kill the plant.

Sodium bicarbonate is very different to sodium chloride and won't harm plants as long as you only add a little bit at a time. Sodium bicarbonate raises the pH a lot and if you add a lot to an aquarium, you can get a sudden rise in pH and that can affect the plants and fish (it causes alkalosis in fish). Adding a small amount won't cause sudden rises in pH but will increase the KH so the pH doesn't drop rapidly. A sudden drop in pH can harm plants and fish (it causes acidosis in fish). A sudden temperature change can also affect plants.

 

[Lcc86]

Well I hadn't expected this topic to be so controversial!

I'll keep the salt in for the next 10ish days and see how it goes. I'm not going to move him into a QT tank as he lives by himself anyway, if the plants suffer then I'll steal some from my other tank once I've diluted all the salt out. If he's no better in 10 days I'll come back and post here!