Fin rot treatment

[ElenaSp]

Hello! My crown tail betta Kaiba seems to be having fin rot problems. I've been treating with the "brightwell aquatics fish recovery" for 5 days now. Directions say I can use the product for more than a week if needed. Should I keep using this or change to "bettafix" or any other treatment? I have plants and shrimp in the tank. My NH3 and NO2 readings are 0 and my NO3 are 10-20ppm. I don't own a heater but room temp is around 23 Celcius. Thank u! The 2 photos are now and the 3rd is when I got him (8 months ago)

 

[Colin_T]

Any idea what the ingredients are in the medication you are using?

Fin rot is normally caused by poor water quality that allows bad bacteria into damaged tissue where it eats away the fins. Big regular water changes and keeping the tank and water clean normally prevent it and are also used to treat it. Salt or chemical medications can be used if there is an infection. It doesn't look like the tail is infected but there could be a low grade infection.

have you noticed the fish biting the filaments on the tail?

 

[ElenaSp]

Any idea what the ingredients are in the medication you are using?

Fin rot is normally caused by poor water quality that allows bad bacteria into damaged tissue where it eats away the fins. Big regular water changes and keeping the tank and water clean normally prevent it and are also used to treat it. Salt or chemical medications can be used if there is an infection. It doesn't look like the tail is infected but there could be a low grade infection.

have you noticed the fish biting the filaments on the tail?

The ingredients are botanical (idk what exacltly) and it also contains vitamin C. I haven't noticed any fin biting but I do have lava rocks and he may have caught them there. However the changes happened within a month not one day. I'm thinking of completing the brightwell aquatics treatment and then doing a large water change and then, maybe water changes every 2 days to make sure the water is clean? And if it doesn't get better I'll search for chemical meds.
Thank you!

 

[Colin_T]

I would try salt before chemical medications.

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 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 at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

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.

 

[ElenaSp]

I would try salt before chemical medications.

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 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 at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

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.

Thank u so much!! This is actually helpfull for other diseases as well so I'll keep a screenshot of the directions!! I think I am seeing some improvement so i'll keep up with the botanical treatment for a couple of days and maybe I'll start the salt on the weekend to make sure he'll heal. This is him now..I think I see some fin growth.