Finrot Getting Worse Despite Meds

[ilovejack]

Tank size: 2 gallon

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):
Fins are disintegrating. The ends are just stands.

Volume and Frequency of water changes:
once a week at least

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:
Start Right with Allatonin

Tank inhabitants:
one male betta

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):
2 small fake plants

Exposure to chemicals:
only conditioner

Digital photo (include if possible):
on my signature


I would include a better photo than the one in my signature, but the camera I have does not seem to be taking clear pictures of Jack. I've been treating him with BettaFix for three days, but his fins are getting worse. They have actually gotten worse in the past few hours. Please help!!!!I dont want Jack's fins to be permanently destroyed, or worse, for the finrot to hit his body

 

[bobbicus]

have you got the water stats??

i used melafix/pimafix for almost 3 weeks on my angel for finrot - did NOTHING - until i stopped all medication, feeding and concentrated on acheiving as clean as water as possible - the fins healed in 6 days!!!!

WILDER - gave me EXCELLENT advice - and this is wht worked for me - maybe wilder knows about bettas?

good luck though ;-)

 

[Naughtygirlrlw]

You can also try adding a pinch of aquarium salt (not table salt) to his water when doing water changes.

 

[ilovejack]

No I dont have water stats. The stuff to test the water is expensive, and I just dont have the money yet. I am getting things one at a time.

I think I will try the aquarium salt. I have read in multiple places that it is a must.

Thanks for your help. I will keep you all posted on how Jack is doing.

 

[nmonks]

Unfortunately, in fishkeeping, there really isn't such thing as "one step at a time". If you don't get filtration, food, and water chemistry right all at the same time, you end up with sick fish. Pet animals, even bettas, involve responsibility, and if you can't afford those, you shouldn't have a pet.

It's like driving. You can't say, well, I'm concentrating on the brakes and the steering wheel at the moment, and I'll learn about the accelerator and the gear shift later.

If you don't treat Jack, it doesn't matter how much you love him, his condition will get worse and he'll die. Rob W gave some excellent advice there: concentrate on water quality. Get a tank at least 5 gallons in size. You will need a heater and a filter suitable for such an aquarium. Bettas don't need a powerful filter, so even an airpump and a box or sponge filter will do just fine. I happen to find box filters useful and inexpensive even if they are a bit more fiddly than sponge filters.

In a tank with a filter you can forget about adding anything to the water beyond dechlorinator and, if required, medication. You don't need ammonia remover, carbon, "start right", salt, or any other potion if you get the filtration right. Even if you absolutely cannot afford the new tank just yet, still get a filter and a NITRITE test kit. You might even be able to have your local tropical fish store do a water test for you (though they may charge a $ for the service). The reason your betta has fin rot is that the water is poisonous -- it almost certainly has high levels of nitrite and ammonium, and these are burning the tissues away, as if he was swimming in an acid bath. That's why potions aren't helping -- he doesn't have a disease, he's wounded!

Please, if you love Jack, put him first, and get him a nicer tank and a filter.

Cheers,

Neale

No I dont have water stats. The stuff to test the water is expensive, and I just dont have the money yet. I am getting things one at a time.

 

[WILDER]

Bettafix and melafix is not good on bacterial finrot, you need a strong bacteria med or antibiotic.

http/petfish.net/articles/Bettas/finrot.php

 

[bobbicus]

@ ilovejack

it was WILDER who informed me that melafix/pimafix/bettafix do not actually treat what is wrong with the fish..... it DOES say on the bottles it can repair fins and treats some bacteria l infections but is after all a natural product and some kind of bacterial finrot needs an antibacterial medicine.

but i would definately concentrate on making sure the water is as clean as possible and STOP feeding is does them good once in a while a mini fast

be careful of increasing temperatures - although it increases fish metabolism in order to heal it CAN accelerate bacterial conditions

good luck - hope jack heals!

 

[ilovejack]

Thank you so much for your help. I just bought a water test kit today that tests pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Nmonks you are right. I should have gotten everything at once. The tank I have has an under gravel filtration system, but I am looking into a different filter. The reason I have this size tank is that I dont have much room. In a month I will be living in a dorm room, and there is even less space there. What is the pH I should be looking for?

Well thank you and I will keep posting on Jacks progress.

 

[ilovejack]

I just tested my water. The pH is 7.6, ammonia is about .25, nitrate is 0 and nitrite is 1. I read that aquarium salt lowers the nitrite, so I used some of that in hopes it will help. I am about to start on a 50% water change.

I keep you posted.

 

[nmonks]

Hello --

Adding salt has no effect at all on nitrite levels. It can sometimes, under certain circumstances, reduce the toxicity of nitrite, but if the nitrite is high enough to be rotting the fins, I wouldn't imagine it would help much at all. Don't bother with it. Adding salt will be just one more expense and one more complicating factor. For now, concentrate on the root cause, water quality.

Undergravel filters are fine. Provided you have one set up properly, undergravels can work fine, and there's no overwhelming reason to add another filter. So, a few questions:

How deep is the gravel? It needs to be about 5 cm to serve any purpose. If it is too thin, there won't be enough bacteria to filter the water. If the gravel bed is too shallow, add some more gravel.

How do you maintain the undergravel filter? Ideally, you should siphon off the waste from the top once a week, and maybe give the gravel a little stir as well. What you shouldn't do is remove the gravel and let it dry out or wash the gravel in anything other than aquarium water.

How much do you feed the fish? Overfeeding puts more nitrogen compounds into the aquarium system, and that ends up as ammonium and then nitrite. With a small fish like a betta, I'd add ~2-3 flakes a couple of times a day.

Your test kit sounds great and will be very useful. Is it the dip-strip type? I use those and find them convenient and inexpensive. A good tip is to slice each strip down the middle, so you get two from each single strip. Since you are reading both ammonium and nitrite in the aquarium, this basically means the fish will be fine once you have the filtration working properly.

For the time being, do a 50% water change, and don't feed for the rest of the day. Then, do a water test tomorrow morning. If the nitrites and ammonium are 0, then feed a little, otherwise, do another water change, and then add a little food.

It sounds to me like you really care and you are working to set things right. That's so nice... all too often people get cross when their pets don't fit into their lives the way they planned. But with animals, you need to be adaptable, because they depend on you for everything. Good luck!

Cheers,

Neale

 

[ilovejack]

The gravel is about 2 centemeters. When I do my 50% change I will add some more. Normally I feed Jack 3 pellets twice daily. I am soon going to start feeding him some frozen blood worms and/or brine shrimp. But for now I wont feed him. I think a fast will do him some good. I used to feed him way too much food, but I cut that down at my last water change.

I am actually heading back up to the store so I can get some stuff to lower the pH and ammonia levels. I tested my tap water and found those were the only things out of wack. The nitrate and nitrite are at 0. I may just pick up something for those incase I need to alter those as well at a later date. Our tap water's pH is at 8.5ish, and that scares me seeing that it should be around 7.

Nmonks, you are absolutely wonderful. I would have not known what to do without you. Jack thanks you too

I'll post when I get home.

 

[nmonks]

Your gravel bed is too shallow. You need to AT LEAST double the depth to 4 cm or more. Gravel costs virtually nothing, so this is a much cheaper option than buying another filter! A good undergravel filter can work as well as any of the more expensive designs, so don't feel like you have to upgrade to something fancy.

You don't need anything to add anything to lower the nitrites or ammonium. Forget about that for the time being. Waste of money. Just worry about the filter. Once you have the filter working, everything else will fall into place; trust me.

A pH of 8.5 is a little high, so rounding down to, say, 7 or 7.5 would be a good idea.

Frozen bloodworms are a great food for bettas. I'd say 4-5 for breakfast and then a couple of pellets at supper time would give Jack a nice healthy diet. A little live food once in a while would do no harm, either. I have a bucket in the garden just for that, and collect mosquito larvae for my fish tanks.

Anyway, it sounds as if you have things under control. I hope Jack says "thank you"!

Cheers,

Neale

 

[ilovejack]

Alright, got new gravel in and it's up to 4.5 cms. I am in the process of a 50% water change. Well I intended it to be 50%. I ended up taking about 60-70% out. I am adding the new conditioned water little by little as I think there is a temp difference, and I dont want too much change all at once. The constant temp of the tank is about 81F. To the new water I added some of the pH regulator that takes the pH to 7.0. While I was at the store I bought him some bloodworms for when I start to feed him again. I know the BettaFix wont help with the bacterial infection or anything, but after I take care of the water issues, will it help to regrow his fins? Or will they just grow back naturally?

Thank you!

 

[nmonks]

Yes, the fins will grow back.

Good work with the gravel. Keep us posted!

Cheers,

Neale

 

[ilovejack]

Jack seems to be liking his water change. He's acting more like his old self. The filter seems to be working differently, so I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I'm hoping for the good. It seems to be producing smaller faster bubbles than before.

Anyways, I am going to do a 50% water change again later today. Just to make sure his water is as clean as possible. I haven't fed him since yesterday morning(before I read your replys). I was wondering when I can feed him again. I know mini fasts are good for him, but how long should they last?

Thanks a bunch. You all have helped so much!!!