capekate

My male betta, Glory has developed Fin Rot. At first I thought it may have been from him swimming in and out of a sharp plastic plant in his tank. Ive since took it out and replaced with a wide leaf silk amazon sword plant. I started treating him with Jungle Lab Fungus Cure. If I follow these directions it say to add a second dose four days later and do a 25% water change before second dose. My question is this: Is this the right med for fin rot? Is there something else that works better that I should know about? and is there anything else I should be doing? His tail has split and really looking ratty and frayed and Im hoping to catch this before its out of hand. I gave him a dose about four days ago and one today. I also did a water change.Also I wonder if this may have been caused by keeping the charcoal pack in the filter for way too long.The impurities that may have leached into the tank could have contributed to the fin rot.
Thanks for all help possible. BTW I would like to keep this posted in the Betta species section and not the disease section as this really pertains to the Betta and more folks are apt to see it here than over there. Thanks again, ~ kate

voiceless_kat

Hi Kate;

Was just checking for some new posts....well I have dealt with fin rot. At one time, with Neptune, I used Fungas Cure, when I first had Neptune because that was all I could get locally. At that time I was so betta naeive that I didn't even know fish got sick and could be treated...LOL. Wish ful thinking, that. Then I was dealing with it so much, I got brave and tried different meds on my own.

At this point, I use Maracyn Plus almost exclusively. It is liquid and easy to dose. Rose/Chickadee has tried it and like it as well. So that is what I use. And I did two rounds right after one another, with perhaps a water change in between. I also use Vita Chem every day, in every tank. About twice a week, I use Fish Protector, an all natural preventative.

Now I also have Rid Fungus by Kordon, I love all of their products. This is 100% organic as well As with Mardel products, which I also like, I have one of everything....I do have an addictive personality, I think. Anyway, I haven't had the opportunity to use Rid Fungus yet. Next fin/tail rot I have to treat, this is what I will use. As I said, living in a small town, these things aren't accessible, so I made an order from F&S with one of every Mardel prodcut and from Kordon direct for their stuff....probably overkill, but when I need it it will be here.


Dave ( FLBettacouple) has posted somewhere about how to tell if fin rot is either either fungal or bacterial. I am sure he will read this and tell you.

I don't know about the charcoal filter, I always change my filter after I am completely done medicating, along with a water change and vacuum. If that is all you have, I think I would be right in agreeing that you can go ahead and do a second course. However, wait and see what else comes up here.

Fin/tail rot is all I have had to deal with - except for Storm - so I think I have gotten pretty good at treating it. Some also take the substrate out, but I haven't don't that.

BTW -- PM enroute. Val

ricktavious

Hello, my betta had a case at fin rot as well. At first it looked really bad...but in the end, everything has turned out fine.

He got medicated with Triple-Sulfa made by Aquarium Pharmicuticals and an anti-bacterial fish food made by Jungle Tabs. He would not eat the Jungle Tab medicated food unless it was soaked in Garlic Guard made by Seachem (a combination of making the food both soft and tasty....the food itself is generally a bit big for a betta).

On top of this, I HIGHLY recommend a product called Vita-Chem made by Boyd Enterprises Inc. This has helped his fins regrow more than just about anything.

Some people will probably have better suggestions than what I have, haha, but what I have listed has worked for me so far. Unfortunately, the Vita-chem and Garlic Guard were ordered online at the drfostersmith.com but the Triple-Sulfa and Jungle Tab medicated food can be found at your local pet store (hopefully). Like I said, the combo of Jungle Tab food and Garlic Guard worked like a charm.

Another note on the Jungle Tab: If you can get it locally and treat your fish with it, here's a couple of tips:

1) saturate the food. If you saturate the food (in either Garlic Guard or water from the fish tank) it makes it much easier for the betta to eat.

2) Pick out the smallest pellets you can find. Since bettas have smaller mouths, less can fit. I fed my betta 4 of the smallest medicated pellets per day (like I said...soaked in either tank water or Garlic Guard). At first, my betta did not particularly like either the medicated pellets or the garlic guard, but he grew to love the Garlic Guard. If you do not have Garlic Guard available at the time, I do believe you can use some type of garlic extract to soak the food in as well.

Hope this helps! And, I'm sure, one of the real betta experts here will end up correcting me a time or two

ricktavious

I'll add one more thing:

If you saturate your food (for maybe 10 minutes, sorry for not mentioning that before) you might also want to find a way to cut the food in half (well rinsed off, but no soap, finger nails or another fine edge that has been rinsed off thoroughly seemed to do the trick!). This makes it easier for the betta to eat.

capekate

Hi Val, thank you for getting back to me on this with some advice. You have given me a list of other meds to try and I appreciate that. I looked through my supplies and see that I do in fact have some maracyn, tho not maracyn Plus.. as well as the jungle lab tank buddies: fungus clear and parasite clear. I also have the jungle lab anti bacteria medicated food on hand as well. I had stocked up on them awhile ago.
I'm wondering if anyone has had any real success with the jungle lab products, such as this fungus clear or is it just too weak to see good results with? Because both boxes state that its used for and including Fin Rot but one is a Fungus clear and the other a parasite clear.The medicated pellets are an anti-bacteria fish food. So I wonder... is it a parasite? a bacteria? a fungus?
I remember now using the maracyn one time and hated that the white dissolving powder form left a very cloudy mess in the water that took days to clear up. I didnt want to use that again and ended up buying the Jungle Lab Parasite Clear on advice from Dave. I liked its fizzing action and it didnt cloud up the water. I used it in the 29g community tank. It wasnt for fin rot tho, I thought my fish had a parasite.
But now with Glory.. just last sunday I did a complete water change, took out gravel and rinsed it out, cleanned all his decorations before moving him to another room. And now he develops the finrot... Based on your success with maracyn Plus I think that I will pick some up tomorrow and try that. Wish me luck.. I dont want to lose Glory..
~ kate

capekate

Hi Ricktavious..
thank you for your help. I will try the jungle lab anti bacteria food as well. I do have some on hand, and taking your advice on softening it up first. I hear Vita-chem used a lot here. What exactly is it? Is it a vitimin? And you put it in your tank every day? If my betta doesnt eat the jungle lab food, can I soak it in some garlic juice from my jar of minced garlic that I have for cooking? do Betta's really like garlic?
thanks again for your help! ~ kate

ricktavious

Kate, Vita-chem is a vitamin that somehow manages to absorb into a betta's system. Other than that, I don't know how it does it but it seems to work very well! Yes, garlic juice works well from what I have read other members here say. The pungent scent of the garlic attracts bettas. My betta rejected it the first time or two, but seems to love it now! As you may know, bettas are picky eaters and it takes a bit of time for them to get used to certain flavors.

I used it every day, 4 times a day, when I knew my fish Ricktavious had a case of fin rot. The food is an anti-bacterial food and will kill off the bacteria that feeds on the bettas fins.

capekate

..ok... sounds good to me! And if it will help.. then I will get some vita-chem for my favorite lil guys and gal!! thanks for your help! ~ kate

Phloxface

I've had a lot of success treating finrot with Triple Sulfa from API and using Jungle Labs medicated anti-bacterial food together with the Triple Sulfa.
As for carbon, I have researched it and many experts believe that overuse of carbon is not good for fish. Leaving it in longer than a week will leach the toxins back into your tank and using it too much, even if fresh, just removes too many things that the fish need. I never use the filter manufacturer's prepared filter cartridges either. Not only are they expensive but they usually have carbon built right in. I buy filter floss (very cheap) and bonded filter pad and cut those to fit into my filters. I have separate filter media bags that are reusuable and can be filled with any loose media. I have a jar of carbon pellets and use carbon only for a few days to remove meds and then take it out. I use Fluval's Clearmax granules to remove phosphates, nitrites and nitrates. Clearmax can be left in for up to 2 months and never leaches anything back into the tank. Because it comes in packs of 3 big bags (made for large tanks) I just cut open the bags and scoop out a couple tablespoons into my filter media bags to use. One box lasts a long time because the granules keep working for a long time.
I run carbon through the tank for a few days each month to clear any odors and so on but I never use carbon all the time.

COBettaCouple

we use triple sulfa or rid fungus for fin rot and we add vitachem regularly.

capekate

Hi Phloxface
thanks so much... you have varied what I had been thinking that I was doing wrong with the ac bag. I have an aquaclear HOB filter and since all the media comes in seperatly it is easy to take away the carbin filters which I did about three days ago. I went through every tank and just threw them out. I am not going to use carbon at all.
~ kate

capekate

It looks like the triple sulfa by API seems to be working for everyone. So that is what I will get today plus some vita-chem and I will add that to all the tanks. Or is it a good idea to add to all the tanks including the Discus and community tanks? Thanks so much everyone for your help.. I hope that Glory gets better soon with all your suggestions on meds.
~ kate

COBettaCouple

yea, we give every tank the vitachem. best of luck!

Phloxface

I have one Aquaclear filter on one of my tanks too. I love that the media is all separate. Don't give up on carbon altogether. It is still useful for removing meds and odors from the tank. The trick is, not to use it all the time and not to use for more than a few days. Just get a jar of loose carbon and a filter media bag and use it once in a while when you need it.

capekate

thanks phloxface
I have seen the containers of ac to use with bags and its a good idea to have on hand, rather than using a full pre packed netted bag of the stuff. This way I can use what I need for as short a time as needed. Thanks again.. I won't give up on the ac, just will use it correctly from now on!
~ kate

Phloxface

Yeah, the packets they sell for the Aquaclear filter are expensive! I only use a couple tablespoons of carbon and the jar lasts a long time.

capekate

.. your right about that! I was very surprised myself at the price! Then comparing it to the jar... I knew what the better price was. Its just those little netted bags that are also expensive!