Fin Rot ?

[scampi]

My poor George has what I believe is fin rot?? I noticed it a bit last week but wasn't sure til I looked at an old pic of when I first had him - as per below.

Day one

How he is today

He is a beautiful boy & I love him. I'm slapping myself for not noticing anything sooner.

His waters have always been good, Ammonia & Nitrite both 0 - Nitrates 5-20, Temp 26-27 c. The tank has a gentle built in filter & there's a couple of live plants. I do a pwc each week of about 10% but never vacumed the gravel.

What causes it and how can I treat it please ??

 

[scampi]

Anyone ?? - Since my posting I have done a good gravel vac and changed about 80% of his water.

 

[Better is Betta]

Anyone ?? - Since my posting I have done a good gravel vac and changed about 80% of his water.

Hi there your fish is beautiful....Fin rot is easily treaded. You can get bacteria medication for it at any pet store. Then I would do a 50-75% water change and add 1 teaspoon of Aquarium salt to 2 1/2 UK gallons of water or 10 ltres along with the medication. Now why is he getting fin rot? Well that my be due to stress. Even with perfect conditions your fish may be stressing out. Is there something in his tank or near his tank that you think may be the cause of the trouble? Maybe a change of decor in his tank will help. More plants or rocks for him to hide near maybe. Good luck and keep us posted

 

[bettabits]

What a beautiful Betta you have! I think this could be fin rot. You can definitely treat this easily with 1 tablespoon for each 5 gallons of water to help balance the bodily fluids and keep him warm. Keep up the great work with his water changes. Pristine water conditions are what I would recommend here, as this isnt a very advanced case. Medications can sometimes do more harm than good. If you dont see improvement in a few days you can always medicate then. His fins will grow back and look just as great as before.

I did notice you have some white gravel in his tank. I would recommend a darker color substrate, in nature fish tend to swim over darker areas of sand and rocks to avoid predators. White substrates and gravels can sometimes make fish feel exposed and can be a stressor. I would also recommend a new hiding place for him as mentioned above.

Good luck! Keep us posted =)

 

[scampi]

Thank you for your kind comments & advice. I will definitely add a bit of aquarium salt.

The white gravel was when I first had him in a community tank then I moved him to his own little tank with dark blue gravel.

Its good to know that his fins will grow back eventually. He is such a friendly Betta who comes to the front of the glass when I go into the room.

Might the reason also be that I only feed him Flake food?? I try to get him to eat the Betta pellets but he totally ignores them even tho I have tried over 2-3 days with them alone & nothing else. He does get frozen bloodworm once a week & I've tried crushed pea but he ignores that too.

His fins look worse today - disappearing fast. So worried - poor little thing

 

[loraxchick]

Keep up on the waterchnges. I would recommend a very large one (around 70%) with good gravel cleaning and follow up at least every other day with about 30-40% for a week or so and see if that helps before using any med (even salt). 90% of fin issues are easily sorted by clean conditions.
you mention he was in a community. How long has he been on his own? Does he lounge on the gravel in his tank (could be from dirty substrate as you say you generally dont gravel vac). Any fish in community tank showing fin damage? Could he be biting his tail?
as for flake-its a fine staple. I racommend them more than pellets as staple for bettas as they tend not to cause bloat issues as often.
best of luck!
keep us posted
cheers

 

[bettabits]

Oh wow, I didnt even think about tail nipping. Have you noticed him swimming in circles trying to nip his tail?

Is it possible he damaged it on any decorations or maybe a filter intake? Sometimes if this is the case you'll see the tail piece on the gravel.

I agree that flake food is a fine staple. When my fish are sick, I like to give them frozen brine shrimp twice a day. I always feel like the extra protein helps them get better faster. I know they sell it at petsmart for just a few dollars and one package will last forever with just one Betta.

To feed, I grab one shrimp cube from the pack and place it in a small ziplock bag. Then I smash it with a mallet and retrieve a small piece to thaw and feed to the sick fish. Generally I put it in a small shot glass and go get ready for work. When I get back, its ready for feeding. A small eye dropper will suck up just a drop or two of shrimp and you can deposit in the tank. I like to change the water(50-60%) daily though when feeding frozen food as the particulates that come with frozen brine shrimp can yuck up the water in a small system pretty quick. Make sure you throw away any unused thawed food if you want to try this, as it isnt safe to save and feed the leftovers.

 

[scampi]

Wow thats very useful info - the tail nipping may be a possibility - since I put floating plants in he has been curling up in them going round & round, so maybe. I will watch him for a while & see. They are a very 'bendy' fish aren't they & I often think he's very reptilian looking when he just hangs motionless in the plants watching me.

He's very active, never sort of sulking on the bottom. Could I ask what sort of syphon you use for your tank? Mine is a bit big & sucks the water up so fast it doesn't give me much time to vac all the gravel. I suppose I could do just a section at a time - that might work.


I have actually dropped 1/2 a teasp. of aquarium salt in the water, I hope it's ok.

He was only in the community tank for 2 days as I bought him out of feeling sorry for him & his tank wasn't quite cycled.

 

[bettabits]

My gravel vac is about 1.5 inches across and it also sucks up the water from my small systems pretty fast. Usually I do half the tank at a time each week, but if I feel like it's super grody in there I'll refill the tank with treated water and vacuum the rest of the gravel and then replace the water again. I got the vac at Petsmart and it was the smallest one they had at the time.

 

[scampi]

My gravel vac is about 1.5 inches across and it also sucks up the water from my small systems pretty fast. Usually I do half the tank at a time each week, but if I feel like it's super grody in there I'll refill the tank with treated water and vacuum the rest of the gravel and then replace the water again. I got the vac at Petsmart and it was the smallest one they had at the time.

Lovely - I'll see if i can find one in my Pets at Home store. The only vac I have is 3 inches across.

 

[scampi]

Hi - since using my new little vac every other day in his tank I'm sure there's an improvement already in George's fins. He's very bright & alert & eating well, so hopefully I caught it in time with your help. Clean the gravel - that's the answer!! Thanks again