BettaGammaDelta

What do I do? Keun's beautiful tail is in tatters, and his dorsal fin's starting to look dodgy too.

Nitrites and ammonia are nil, with low nitrate. He's not presenting with any other symptoms, but I've been WCing and stress coating daily to avoid infection.

Also, he has a mirror now to flare at to avoid boredom, and he flares enthusiatically from the moment I put it in to the moment I take it out- that's a few hours a day, on and off. I gave him a marble, too, which he couldn't care less for, and a new betta-safe swim through ornament, as well as a broad-leafed live plant - Amazon sword or something similar, I'm not sure on the species - to rest on, both of which he uses constantly. He bubble-nests daily, with varying extravangance, and I'm still trying to find a ping-pong ball he could maybe play with.

Oh, and excuse the poor quality of the shots. He really, really, really loathes the camera, and never stays still if I have in near the tank.

...maybe I spoke too soon about other symptoms. I just noticed a white tip on one of the tattered rays, which I really really hope isn't the start of finrot.

Attached Images

	keun1.jpg (241.7 KB, 83 views)
	Keunfincloseup.jpg (174.5 KB, 79 views)
	Keunfincloseup2.jpg (261.0 KB, 79 views)

Charlize

Is he eating?Is the tank filtered and heated?What size tank is it?

BettaGammaDelta

It's a three and a half gallon, with 25 watt heater and a mini hagen elite filter. As I said, he's presenting with no other symptoms, so yes, he is eating well.

Three or four betta pellets in the morning, with one or two bloodworms in the evening, without fail. He loves bloodworms so much that he jumps for them if he sees me coming with them

Charlize

Add some Stresscoat,this may help with the fins fraying.If that does not help and his health seems to deteriorate,I would then start with meds for fin rot.You could also try some Melafix at this point.

BettaGammaDelta

... dude, I've only been at this a couple of months and even I know melafix is DEADLY to labryrinth fish.

Also, you clearly didn't read my post - "He's not presenting with any other symptoms, but I've been WCing and stress coating daily to avoid infection."

Is there no-one on who can actually help me rather than offering petstore advice?

Charlize

Only a couple months huh?
Mealfix is not deadly to bettas.Where did you get that from?

Lucy

I wouldn't recommend Melafix. The active ingrediant Melaeuca can be harmful, even deadly to labyrinth fish.
All Betta Owners Read!!!!! Melafix Alert!!!!!! Read!!!! Read!!!! Danger!!!!

PIMAFIX

Although, I agree some extra stress coat, clean water like you've been providing, vita-chem and garlic guard (or a drop or two of garlic juice)
Meds, only if he's not improving.

Charlize

Treat for fin rot.Do you need some names for the meds?

BettaGammaDelta

Charlize

WOW,is all I can say to that.That in no way is true.

Charlize

More frequent water changes along with Stresscoat are probably your best bet at this point.No need in introducing meds at this point.

Lucy

It's given as a warning, you may take the advice or not, it's purely up to you.

BettaGammaDelta

....

EDIT - w00t finally. Sorry about the snarkiness... Any advice on Keun-kun's fins, please? I'm really worried about him~

aquarist48

http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummaga...ish-finrot.htm
see if this helps you any
Maybe the mirror is causing him stress he doesn't need, leading to him nipping his own fins and turning into fin rot.

Lucy

Hi Sam, read post #7.
If Keun doesn't start to improve in a few days or starts to look worse, you might want to consider meds.

Here's a list of some good meds for bettas:
List of Betta Meds

Charlize

http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/f...?topic=12914.0

Read the 5th one down.

Martinismommy

Your fish has finrot...I would treat him with Jungle fungus clear...It is safe and effective for finrot....It is what I use on my show stock....Also, clean water will speed up the recovery...

Good luck!

Lucy

You can search the web and find pros and cons to anything.
Again, it's given as a warning to heed or not, it's up to the fish owner to decide if it's a chance they'd want to take.

Charlize

Yes you can.But this seems to be the ONLY place that says Melafix will kill a betta.It is just not true.

Lucy

Charlize, I believe we've met before.

If you'd like to debate the pros and cons of Melafix, feel free to start your own thread.

This one belongs to BettaGammaDelta looking for help, not a debates on meds.

Charlize

Lucy,we have never met.I am just responding to you quoting what I have posted.

prairielilly

The OP stated quite clearly in the first post that they are doing DAILY pwc's with StressCoat.

If they have decided to NOT use Melafix/Pimafix because it MAY be harmful, that's their right.

Not trying to be argumentative, but when people post threads asking for help I think we should take into account all the information they have provided, and I don't believe it's a good idea to take their threads and use them to debate pros/cons; the point was BettaGammaDelta asking for HELP.

BettaGammaDelta: I've used Jungle's Fungus Clear tablets on my betta with success, he didn't seem any different than ordinary while I was medicating him and since has had pristine fins. I'd say it's pretty gentle stuff. If it isn't effective he may have a bacteria issue, at that time you may want to consider gram-negative effective antibiotics such as Maracyn-Two, but I'd try the Jungle stuff (or similar) first. Check too that there are no ornaments in the tank that may have caught his fins; it's surprising how delicate they can be. Good luck

BettaGammaDelta

I've just looked at the general anti-fungus stuff I bought when I got the tank set up just in case, since I've had shubunkin die of finrot before.

Anyway, the active in ingredient is something called silver proteinate. Anyone else heard of this, since I haven't?

P.S - really sorry this thread turned into such a fight... maybe if I'd ignored Charlize and just tried again some other time...

prairielilly

I thought it was pretty civil. Just a difference of opinions is all. All good.

Never heard of silver proteinate Google it? This page I have found to be very helpful; you don't need to buy their products, but it helps to find out what you may be dealing with and find an effective treatment.

BettaGammaDelta

...so apparently Silver Proteinate is the stuff they put on to avoid infection in human wounds. No mention about aquarium safety.

I'll just put it in the 'not using unless desperate' section, shall I?

prairielilly

Is the med for human use, or for fish? If it's for fish and from a reputable brand name, I'd say you're safe. If it's for human use, I wouldn't use it.

sirdarksol

This is not the only place where members have had bettas die shortly after Melafix use (a simple google search shows that). All of these instances share similar circumstances surrounding the death (what appears to be suffocation.) Note that not all bettas who have been exposed to Melafix have died, but it's enough that many people are going to want to be cautious about the use of this med with their labyrinth fish.

BettaGammaDelta

It's for fish use, the PetsAtHome own-brand. Uh, that's kind of like petco or petsmart, only over here in the UK, I guess. I just picked it up in case, like I said.

prairielilly

I think we all keep a few meds around 'just in case'...fishies tend to get sick when the stores are closed I find.

Many medicinal ingredients are made into meds for humans, for animals, for fish...if this med has been prepared for fish, then it's safe; you could give it a try. Since you've already got it, sounds like a good place to start.

BettaGammaDelta

I live in a two-storey suburban with my parents. I haven't had a sense of smell since I was nine. Anyway, if it's not finrot, what is it?