Betta is eating his tail - Help!

No, the combination won't be overkill. I would go ahead and start him on the combo. Fin rot is very stubborn and the sooner you can get it under control, the better off you are.

I am getting very frustrated as I have two bettas with finrot at this time. I have been using Maracyn 2 to treat them. I am going to get Maracyn and more Maracyn 2 and use them together. I hope that Cujo recovers quickly. Good luck with the treatments.

CherryRose

 

Sounds good, just be careful on the aquarium salt with bettas. We have used it but at 1/2 the recommended dose. Good luck with Cujo and hope he's in his cycled tank soon.

 

Sounds good, just be careful on the aquarium salt with bettas. We have used it but at 1/2 the recommended dose. Good luck with Cujo and hope he's in his cycled tank soon.

What is the issue with bettas and the aquarium salt? Seems there is always something lol

Getting ready to move him into the new tank, the temp is up to 80... I will do the combo dose of Maracyn/Maracyn-2 and hope hope hope

 

What is the issue with bettas and the aquarium salt? Seems there is always something lol

It can build up and sometimes sort of dry out a betta. When used like you are though for treating him, it shouldn't be a problem but when he's healed up & in his tank, it's not really needed.

 

I just put aquarium salt in my Q tanks. I am using it at half dosage as I hope to get a handle on the fin rot, but don't want to add too much salt. I agree with FLBettaCouple. I think that putting a little salt in when medicating is a good idea, but other wise is not needed.

CherryRose

 

Well Cujo has been in his hospital tank for close to 24 hours. He looked a little pale to me when I let him out of the bag after he was finished acclimating, but today he is back to his normal self. I hadn't seen him poo yet so I gave him about a third of a pea this afternoon. It was the first time I gave him anything but his pellets, and he scarfed it off the toothpick like he has always been eating them. He had to flare at it first before attacking, to show that pea who was boss

Here he is today, and a shot of his hospital tank:



It looks so empty in there without gravel and his little cave, but I think it will be much easier to keep clean while he heals. It was hard to get a good shot of him because he is so busy. He is a fish with places to go and people to see! But so far no more fin fraying and I think he is looking good.

Going to take some of his other tank water to the pet store tomorrow to see if they think it is ready for some of their filter gunk to get my cycle going. The ammonia in there is at 1, maybe more, but nitrites are absolute zero, so nothings happening on its own.

 

LOL. I love when they flare at food. he's a funny little guy and hope he'll be all healed up soon.

 

who ever said fish are an easy pet is def someone who's never had one! they are hard work, but very rewarding too!
good luck with the maracyn's.
tan

 

I also added 1/8 tsp, into the 3 gallon hospital tank.  Pkg says 1 tbsp for 5  gallons, so I think the tiny dose I used will be just enough to maybe make a difference.

He looks good, and has such beautiful fins......best of luck with his treatments!

 

Thank you so much everyone, you are all so encouraging. Today is day 4 on the maracyn/maracyn2 treatment, and I have to hope that we have it beat this time. He has new growth on his tail and I am so excited about it. He gets one more treatment tomorrow, and then on Friday I will change his water and start him on a low dose of Bettafix. I think moving him to a hospital tank was the right thing to do until his Hex5 is cycled.

And speaking of his Hex5... I have been feeding the tank a little bit of flake food every day since Cujo moved out to keep the ammonia going, and I got my first Nitrite reading last night, woohoo!   So I took some water into the pet store today, and came home with a bag of filter sludge... Yuck! lol I think it might be only a matter of another week before his tank cycles, and that is good news

 

Filter sludge - the breakfast of champions! yum! glad to hear your cycle is progressing.

 

Yay & 3 cheers for your cycling tank!!! Funny how these tiny steps make us all go crazy. I wish you continued good luck in bringing Cujo's fins back to perfection. He is so handsome!.

 

horay!! good news at last! keep up the good work!

 

I also added 1/8 tsp, into the 3 gallon hospital tank. Pkg says 1 tbsp for 5 gallons, so I think the tiny dose I used will be just enough to maybe make a difference.

how's your fish doing? hope he's doing well!

I don't know if you're still dosing, but I thought i'd point out that if it's one tbsp for 5 gal, then you probably want between 1-1.5 tsp for a 3 gal. wasn't sure if it was a typo or not. but just thought i'd point it out.

hope he does well!

 

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I don't know if you're still dosing, but I thought i'd point out that if it's one tbsp for 5 gal, then you probably want between 1-1.5 tsp for a 3 gal. wasn't sure if it was a typo or not. but just thought i'd point it out.

hope he does well!

Thanks Griffin...I only put 1.8 tsp in the 3 gallon once...there is so much contraversy regarding aquarium salt, so I thought Just a dab can't hurt and might help!

 

Today I changed Cujo's hospital tank water to get rid of the Maracyn treatment, and boy is it nice to have clear water again lol

His hospital tank water is treated with Prime for conditioning, a small amount of aquarium salt and Bettafix. He looks really good after his Maracyn treatment. So now it is time to keep my fingers crossed and see if he goes without a relapse.

I snapped some pics while he was hanging out in his cup waiting for new water:



I can't wait until his Hex5 cycles and he can get back into a bigger tank, but he doesn't seem too put out by the hospital tank. He has been a bubble nesting fool these past few days. Even when I mess one up when I use the turkey baster to clean up he just goes back and rebuilds.

 

he's looking much better.

 

I see a definite improvement. Good job!

CherryRose

 

Thanks Griffin...I only put 1.8 tsp in the 3 gallon once...there is so much contraversy regarding aquarium salt, so I thought Just a dab can't hurt and might help!

oops - I thought you were talking about maracyn.

actually, going back, i'm just confused :x - I think I didn't read part of the thread and then was talking about something different! I should be paying morea ttention!

hope your bettas do better. I know it's a pain going through all these treatments. not just for the fish, but for us too!

 

Could he be playing so close to the Whisper filter that it is tearing the fins? The suction of the filter is at the bottom and his fins are fragile now. It would not take much to upset the growth of them. I know he loves it but it may not be the best thing for the little guy right now. Perhaps a small air stone would give him some bubbles to play in and be safer to play in.

Rose

 

Could he be playing so close to the Whisper filter that it is tearing the fins? The suction of the filter is at the bottom and his fins are fragile now. It would not take much to upset the growth of them. I know he loves it but it may not be the best thing for the little guy right now. Perhaps a small air stone would give him some bubbles to play in and be safer to play in.
Rose

Rose is right.. our little Sora tore his tail fin pretty good on the filter intake tube (my mistake for not having it back on snugly after some tank cleaning).