tail rot getting worse

[smpthy4thedevil]

*sigh* i brought home a new betta about a week and a half ago. he looked alright at first, but after a few days his tail started looking frayed. i asked the fish person at my LFS what the best medication would be for tail rot, and she gave me some stuff call Triple Sulfa. the package says it works on fin & tail rot, among other things.

(ingredients are sulfathiazole, sulfamethazine, and sulfacetamide)

so i started treatment the day before yesterday. i took all the carbon out of my filter and dosed his tank according to the package. yesterday i dosed again, according to the package, and his tail looked about the same so i assumed it was working. but today when i checked on him, nearly a centimeter of his tail is just about gone, and all his fins are beginning to look frayed.

shouldnt the medication have stopped the tail rot from progressing?? i've still got 2 more days of treatment left, but if it's not helping then i need to go buy something that *will* help, before his tail disappears.

 

[iloveyou]

if he is really sick, the meds will only help him die

try adding salt.. i find it will help... but tail rot tends to be quite bad

good luck hope ur bettas strong

 

[smpthy4thedevil]

if he is really sick, the meds will only help him die

try adding salt.. i find it will help... but tail rot tends to be quite bad

good luck hope ur bettas strong

i dont have any aquarium salt at the moment... would the kitchen stuff be alright if it's non-iodized?? i'd like to add some as soon as possible, and as it's currently nearly 1 am, no fish stores are open...

he doesnt seem sick at all aside from the tail rot. he's swimming around, chasing platies, and when i took out the divider between his tank and his neighbor's tank, they both flared and put on a good show. he's eating normally and aside from the poor guy's tail, he looks healthy. but, the tail rot's gotten worse even just since this morning. and now i've noticed the tail rot a tiny bit on the platy's tails.

 

[juliethegr8t]

I have dealt with fin rot several times, and though others have had different results, I have found that the best treatment is very clean water, salt, and Tetracyline if necessary.

Change the water daily if you can - 100% with aged water works best for me. Add a pinch of salt or more, depending on the size of the tank.

Tetracycline is a 5 day treatment and worked wonders on an awful case of finrot I had one time. It seems to work best in an aerated tank. If you can't get it, I'd say try Bettamax, I have had some success with that too, and it doesn't seem to need aeration as much. (Just IME!)

Good luck, I'm battling this myself right now.

Also - add Melafix to aid healing once the fins stop fraying, that has helped my fish too.


Edit: I'd just wait to get aquarium salt, as it won't make a difference that fast probably. Also, I'd move the betta out of there if you can - that way you can keep his water extra clean. However, treat both tanks since the platy is showing signs now too.