I didn't medicate

[Andie]

Well, Nessarose has really done it this time. When I got back from class today I took a minute to check up on Elphaba, who is of course scheduled to become a Mummy in early October. I was shocked and horrified when she came swimming proudly over to meet me with holes in her tail and a raggedy anal fin. My first thought was she had somehow torn it up on the plants, but when I checked to see if any of the other girls had the same problem I found Nessarose to be conspicuously absent from her section of the tank.

A more careful scrutiny of Elphie's section revealed a panting, terrified Nessa hiding under a leaf of a plant, peeking every now and then to see if Elphie had perchance forgiven her for somehow worming her way in where she wasn't welcome. Nessa's in far worse condition than Elphie- her tail isn't just tattered, she's virtually a crowntail now, and her anal fin is all but a faint memory.

I immediately separated them both into ice cream tubs of clean water - poor Nessa still panting away - but I hesitated when it came to medication. I hate to overload already stressed fish with strong meds as well, and I was just wondering if it might be okay to not medicate them, but just keep the water clean and see if they'll heal on their own. If not, and if damage this extensive (when I get back to the dorm I'll take some pics to post) should warrant medicating, then so be it, but while Elphie seems relatively normal (if pretty proud of herself) and should probably recover in plenty of time to spawn, poor Nessa is going to need plenty of TLC to get her back to even quasi-normal, and I'd hate to overload her with something she really can't handle right now.

Thoughts? (I'd especially like to hear from people who have been in a similar situation and made a conscious decision either to use meds or refrain from using them, as well as the results of your decision.)

 

[RandomWiktor]

If the fins are just damaged from combat and not for fin rot, there shouldn't be a bacterial infection yet, so medicating would probably be gratuitous and potentially harmful. My suggesting would be warm, salted wated and a low stress environment. If you do not quickly see signs of re-growth, then you could add something like betta fix to help speed the process along.
Remember, antibiotic resistance is becoming quite a problem in aquarium fish, since many people medicate instead of exersizing good husbandry, or using more moderate measures. (I'm not saying 'you,' I mean this in general).
Sorry to hear about the tiff; I hope they both recover.

 

[OohFeeshy]

If its just fin damage, I'd go for clean water, maybe a bit of salt and something natural like IAL or BW extract

 

[Andie]

Thank you both very much; as luck would have it, I do have bw extract on hand, although I'm currently out of salt. There's no fin rot right now; both of them were in excellent shape before Nessa wormed her way into Elphie's territory, so the damage is entirely a result of the battle. I have, however, just noticed that both of them have painfully damaged lips, which are hurting me to look at, so I definitely want to do something for them; just not stress them out with medication.

On the up side, although both of them are pretty pale they do seem alert and calm now, and Nessa is no longer panting, so I'll just try to keep them warm and go ahead with the blackwater extract.

Just a couple pics of the damage; it's hard to get a clear picture because these were taken from above, but you still get the general idea.

Elphie; along with the fins, you can see her damaged upper lip. Nessa's looks much the same, but fortunately it doesn't seem to interfere with their chewing abilities(!)

Nessa, who clearly got the worst of it in the caudal area, but has relaxed now that she's alone in her ice cream tub

ETA: the white thingies on Nessa are bubbles, not parasites or anything

 

[RandomWiktor]

Just a thought - perhaps since thier mouths are pretty banged up, you could give them mostly frozen foods, as they tend to be softer and nutrient rich; that'll help in recovery, and not hurt like those rock-hard pellets.

 

[Andie]

If I had a freezer, believe me, I would Don't worry, though, they're not getting pellets. I gave them each a freeze-dried bloodworm, and they were very appreciative.

 

[OrkyBetta]

Freeze dried can be uber harsh ont he digestive tract if fed too often, pellets are quite beneficial actually. I would just soak all pellets/crumpled flakes in water for a while before feeding, should be just fine.

 

[Andie]

Eek, hard on them how?

And yeah, I soak the bloodworms so they won't expand once they eat them, so I could definitely soak the pellets, too . . . frankly, I think they're just glad they're getting fed again! I dropped too much egg in one night and they all got pretty rotund, but thankfully all of them (except tubby Galinda) are now back to normal after a two-day fast. )

 

[Andie]

Just an update to say both girls are now coloured up beautifully in their new jars, flaring at each other as if they'd never had the chance to do any real damage. They still look tattered when they flare, but there's no sign of rot yet, so I'm doing frequent changes and keeping my fingers crossed. The lips are still pretty gruesome looking, but they both devoured the smidgen of pea they got today (everybody is off their fast and tomorrow they all go back to normal food so I used up the last of the pea) so nothing terribly wrong there, either.

Thanks very much to everybody for the advice; it was much appreciated

ETA: I set Elphie's jar beside Fiyero's tank when I was cleaning out the sorority tank, and they both went beserk, flaring and colouring up for each other. Her bars were amazing- I've never seen them so vivid. She doesn't even realise she's an invalid right now!