Big problem with tail rot

Dory's tail rot has persisted for weeks but while she was isolated in the dark for what I suspected was Velvet and treated with Coppersafe, it seemed to be healing significantly. Dory has been out of the dark for about a week now and over the past few days his tail rot has suddenly gotten worse than ever.

I really really don't know what to do because I am leaving for Spring Break tomorrow. I will not be around to change his water or change around any meds for a whole week. What I think I need to do is stop the Coppersafe (which in the beginning I was co-treating with Maracyn but I ran out of that weeks ago) and try some Fungus Clear tank buddies but I won't be around to monitor the effects nor to re-dose after a few days... with the added problem of possible ammonia levels because the Coppersafe is the only thing keeping them down right now (tank uncycled).

I DO have a friend coming to feed him, but he knows nothing about fish and I don't really think I could trust him with complicated instructions.

What should I do??

Thanks,
Whitney

 

HI Whitney. I really don't know what to tell you. My Jungle Fungus Eliminator says to put it in and not until 4 days later do you have to do anything else. That is when you do a 25% water change and add another dose if it is needed. I would think that if you put the first dose in just before you left, Dory would be all right until you returned. I am no expert, but this does seem reasonable to me. I wish you well in what ever you decide to do.

CherryRose

 

Thanks Cherryrose! That's what I was thinking too... I was worried about ammonia but he never had a problem with it in the bowl.

I did a 50% water change and I'm running the carbon filter now... when I get back from dinner I'll add the tab and hopefully all should be good.

Another question about my trip... while I'm gone, should I leave the lights out in my room or keep the blinds open a little so he can see day/night? I would say to keep the room dark so he gets lots of rest, but I don't want to mess with him too much.

Thanks again,
Whitney

 

HI Whitney,

A lot of meds suggest keeping things a bit dark as too much light can lead the meds to deteriorate.

If you're going to be away for a long time, I wonder if it would be good to do as big of a water change as possible before leaving to keep the ammo levels down.

Enjoy your break.

Mike

 

I had Nate in Furan-2 this week and ended up in the hospital for a couple of days and no one to watch him or change the meds. I was worried about him and his tank mates as Loaches do not do medications well. But when I got home they were fine and happy to see their mommy. I think that fish are really more resilient than we give them credit for.

Rose

 

I just got back from my trip and Dory is fine.. except his fin rot has SEVERELY worsened. It is split right down the middle now and I'm starting to get really really worried he's going to lose the ability to swim normally or have the rot spread to his body soon. Since it looks a little shredded I removed all the plants from his tank (in case any are the culprit) and I am about to do a second dose of the Jungle tabs. I don't know if they'll be strong enough, but I've already tried Maracyn and Maracyn 2 and they seemed only to make him lethargic in combination but the Maracyn alone might have helped a little... it was hard to tell.

I don't know what I'll do if they don't work (and quickly!). I'm really nervous and I hope someone can help me out.

Thanks,
Whitney

 

I just got back from my trip and Dory is fine.. except his fin rot has SEVERELY worsened. It is split right down the middle now and I'm starting to get really really worried he's going to lose the ability to swim normally or have the rot spread to his body soon. Since it looks a little shredded I removed all the plants from his tank (in case any are the culprit) and I am about to do a second dose of the Jungle tabs. I don't know if they'll be strong enough, but I've already tried Maracyn and Maracyn 2 and they seemed only to make him lethargic in combination but the Maracyn alone might have helped a little... it was hard to tell.

I don't know what I'll do if they don't work (and quickly!). I'm really nervous and I hope someone can help me out.

Thanks,
Whitney

How close is the rot to his body? The jungle fungus clear tabs did seem to do the trick on 2 of our bettas, but they definitely needed the 2nd dose before we saw improvement. I'm not sure what other things there are to try as far as meds go but I do know of a link to the option of finrot surgery if all else fails. It's recommended for experienced Betta owners and you should definitely get the opinions of the experienced Betta owners here before deciding.


That's "Just in case" info - hopefully something that won't matter if the 2nd dose of fungus clear does the trick or there's another good med solution to try. Maybe some photos after the 2nd dose can help the experienced Betta owners here to lead you to the correct next step for Dory. Good luck with him and I pray that finrot gets knocked out.

 

Thanks, it's good to hear that the Jungle Fungus Clear tabs should work. I am slightly worried about the dosage because I had to wait a week to re-dose instead of 4 days because I was away. Hopefully it shouldn't work too differently as I did the 25% water change like the instructions called for. I guess it's just a waiting game at this point...

Here's a pic of his tail right now, too (water green from Jungle tabs, not uncleanliness!)

 

Thanks, it's good to hear that the Jungle Fungus Clear tabs should work. I am slightly worried about the dosage because I had to wait a week to re-dose instead of 4 days because I was away. Hopefully it shouldn't work too differently as I did the 25% water change like the instructions called for. I guess it's just a waiting game at this point...

Here's a pic of his tail right now, too (water green from Jungle tabs, not uncleanliness!)

Yea, he's going to make it. Little Mario's fins looked worse and at first he lost a lot of bad fin but beat the finrot. I could be wrong, but my thinking is that part of what the Fungus Clear does is prompt the rotted parts of fin to fall off so you'll see pieces of fin come off or some splitting but those bad parts have to be gone for the fins to heal and once that stage is done, then the meds work on the healthy parts of the fin. I believe you can add something to his water after the fin rot clears to help him rebuild his fins and avoid a finrot relapse - maybe start a new thread asking for recommendations on what product is best for that & see what the more knowlegable Betta owners have to say so you can really give your little guy a smooth road to good health.

 

The maracyn II stuff contains antibiotics that will help him fight the infection caused by damage to his tail. However what will help as much will be careful water changes and helping him take it easy. It doesn't really look as bad as some cases. I'm sorry for him but this is probably the number one betta disease.

 

Maracyn II didn't help him... actually it stressed him out a lot That's why I switched to the Jungle tabs. I'm not really sure how to do water changes with the Jungle tabs... do I compensate for the dosage lost or not? Or should I just wait a few days before doing any more water changes?

It's good to hear that he'll probably beat it... I know tail rot is common and everything but it's still scary when your fish is sick, especially with anything visibly advancing. After I start seeing regrowth I'm planning on using Bettafix to help promote fin growth... even though I have heard mixed opinions it seems like it tends to work well for most fish, and since he's at least a year old his fins won't regrow too quickly on their own.

Thanks for the help and support,
Whitney

 

Maracyn II didn't help him... actually it stressed him out a lot That's why I switched to the Jungle tabs. I'm not really sure how to do water changes with the Jungle tabs... do I compensate for the dosage lost or not? Or should I just wait a few days before doing any more water changes?

It's good to hear that he'll probably beat it... I know tail rot is common and everything but it's still scary when your fish is sick, especially with anything visibly advancing. After I start seeing regrowth I'm planning on using Bettafix to help promote fin growth... even though I have heard mixed opinions it seems like it tends to work well for most fish, and since he's at least a year old his fins won't regrow too quickly on their own.

Thanks for the help and support,
Whitney

I'm not sure if you should do water changes while dosing with Fungus Clear other than that 25% after dose 1, at least for the first 4 days. We did add a little water each day to make up for evaporation & I'm not sure if we should've but the nights were cold then & the heaters we have need the water at the water line. Start a new thread asking if/how you should change water while dosing with Fungus Clear and I bet the experienced Betta owners here will give you the right advice.

 

I would avoid doing any changes--the way I did it with Rusty was to do a water change and then I removed the filter and put in Jungle Clear and waited the required time. Meanwhile I added a little bit of clean and treated water when it went down over the couple of days or so you are required to wait.

 

He already seems to be looking better, well in a sense, since the red parts are dropping off.

It doesn't actually say how long to keep the Jungle Fungus Clear in there after the second dose. Any opinions? Should I wait until he looks healed or until there's regrowth? Should I really wait that long for a water change?

Thanks,
Whitney

 

He already seems to be looking better, well in a sense, since the red parts are dropping off.

It doesn't actually say how long to keep the Jungle Fungus Clear in there after the second dose. Any opinions? Should I wait until he looks healed or until there's regrowth? Should I really wait that long for a water change?

Thanks,
Whitney

We just guessed on 4 days. Since that was the time period between doses, we figured the meds would have done their thing by then. Have you seen any white on the end of his fins to signal regrowth in areas? I'd say go for it with a water change after the meds are done, keep the water as good as possible and maybe add something to help promote fin regrowth & protect him from a re-occurance of finrot, but I'm still a relative newbie so let's see what the longtime Betta parents have for advice to see if mine is good. I'm glad he's looking better by the way & hope he progresses real fast now on the 2nd dose.. it'll feel real good having him over the finrot.

 

hello, it sounds like you are doing all the right things for your little guy. I just wanted to pop in and give you some support. Fin rot is so scarry because you can see it advancing so clearly, then when it stops, it is hard to tell. Just keep with it, and he'll beat it. As long as he is eating well and is active, it prolly looks worse than it really is. Keep an eye out for new growth. It's light and looks like webbing between the damaged sections. Once that starts, keep the water as clean as possible. I'd go easy on the bettafix and wouldn't use it for an extended length of time. In small amounts, it is probably fine (and even helpful), but I wouldn't want it to build up in the tank or it could become toxic! Good luck!

 

Just an update: it's been 5 days since the second dose of Jungle Fungus Clear tabs and Dory's finally showing some clear regrowth areas , so I'm going to go ahead and do a water change and add a carbon filter. Let's hope all goes well

Whitney

 

Just an update: it's been 5 days since the second dose of Jungle Fungus Clear tabs and Dory's finally showing some clear regrowth areas , so I'm going to go ahead and do a water change and add a carbon filter. Let's hope all goes well

Whitney

Sounds like good news with Dory. Glad to hear that your little guy is doing better and regrowing fins now.

 

I'm glad he's doing better. Natalie