gammerus

how long does it normally take for fish fins to grow back? after my betta got attacked by a red tail shark he seems to have some trouble swimming and he spends all his time resting on my tallest plant. he used to be a avid eater, and he would dive after any sinking pellots. now I have to put in 3x the amount of food just so he will eat some.

Gunnie

Keep the water very clean by doing more frequent water changes. If that doesn't help, start to medicate with Maracyn I & II or go the pimafix & melafix route. I think there's also some medicine that is supposed to be especially for bettas you might want to try.

gammerus

hmm I'll check out petsmart for that stuff later..but what would you reccomend for water changes? 25% every other day?

Gunnie

That would be a good start. If it doesn't look like it's growing back, do the water changes daily.

mistycheri

I had the same problem, except the female beta was the attacker. She took a chunk out of my black molly's tail. He looked like he was attacked by a shark! Anyway, I treated the water with Melafix for seven days as instructed. And now his tail fin has almost completely grown back!! The attack happen about 3 weeks ago. So I would guess it takes about a month for the fin to completely grow back. Remember to take the carbon filter out while medicating the fish as it will neutralize the medicine.

ncje

Someone already mentioned keeping water clean, but heres the kicker, I know he isnt eating much but adding 3 times the food wont help. In fact I would consider dropping back on the food, or not feeding for 3-4 days at all whilst you treat him with the medication.

poefox

Wait a minute...remove the carbon filter? I never heard that I was supposed to do that...

0morrokh

Carbon soaks up chemicals and discolorations in the water...unfortunately including meds.

chickadee

If you have medication in the water, you cannot use carbon as carbon removes the medication. In fact, that is one of the main uses of carbon to remove medication from your tank when treatment is complete.

Rose

0morrokh

Although, carbon wears out quickly. My finrot medication instructions say the carbon is ok as long as it is 6 days old or something.

chickadee

That is actually kind of scary. If someone did not read the instructions thoroughly and thought it was just okay to do that with all medications it may cause a problem with a lot of meds not working properly. EEK! I wonder why they would do that?

Rose

0morrokh

they don't want people to think if they buy their product they have to put in the extra work of dumping the carbon out of the filter... : :P