Does My New Betta Have Fin Rot?!

Shou


Should I make a new thread with the template or post it on here ?

Post it here.

 

It might be columnaris too, if it isn't responding to antifungals or antibacterials.

 

My betta fish is doing really bad. He is like a completely new fish . His bright blue color is gone , his top fin is turning white/transparent and now his scales are turning white as well. He doesn't swim as much and his fins are always taunt . He is eating normal and he still greets me . I can tell something is wrong .

I'm not sure if it's old age because I've had him for a year now after rescuing him from a walmart and who knows how long he's was there for

I was told that almond leaves work good for fin rot but I've been reading about Kanaplex as well. I'm not able to buy both right now so I'm needing to know which is better for its price !

 

Kanaplex is like a last resort antibiotic.

he's definitely not old.

what are your water parameters?

how often are water changes and what % do you change out?

start doing daily 30-50% water changes.

if it continues to get worse after a week of daily water changes you can try aquarium salt baths or apply Methelyne Blue directly on the fins.

 

Kanaplex is like a last resort antibiotic.

he's definitely not old.

what are your water parameters?

how often are water changes and what % do you change out?

start doing daily 30-50% water changes.

if it continues to get worse after a week of daily water changes you can try aquarium salt baths or apply Methelyne Blue directly on the fins.

I'm getting the testing tubes tomorrow for the parameters but I've been doing 30% water changes every other day . I also ordered the almond leaves . Will that help because I don't know what else to do

 

Try not to use antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. I made the mistake of using Kanaplex when my betta fish had finrot as I was afraid it would become body rot, but it did absolutely nothing and I exposed him to antibiotics for no reason.

Almond leaves are calming and are said to have antibiotic properties, but really what's most important is to do daily 30% water changes. Things will usually clear up with just that, but look for things that may be rotting and causing poor water quality. I recommend checking for dead plant matter and vacuuming the substrate, because there is often a lot of detritus.

 

Try not to use antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. I made the mistake of using Kanaplex when my betta fish had finrot as I was afraid it would become body rot, but it did absolutely nothing and I exposed him to antibiotics for no reason.

Almond leaves are calming and are said to have antibiotic properties, but really what's most important is to do daily 30% water changes. Things will usually clear up with just that, but look for things that may be rotting and causing poor water quality. I recommend checking for dead plant matter and vacuuming the substrate, because there is often a lot of detritus.

The almond leaves should be here tomorrow so will that help? I already do 30% water changes every other day but I can do it every day if I need to. I just find it hard for a league to help his fins heal and turn back to blue. I just want to make sure I'm buying the right stuff cause it is getting worse

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Sorry for the late response , I ordered the almond leaves and they should be here tomorrow. When I put them in , should I turn off the filter? and should I still continue the water changes? thanks

 

Sorry for the late response , I ordered the almond leaves and they should be here tomorrow. When I put them in , should I turn off the filter? and should I still continue the water changes? thanks

Continue your water changes, and leave your filter on. The tannins are spread by it as long as you have no activated carbon.

 

Continue your water changes, and leave your filter on. The tannins are spread by it as long as you have no activated carbon.

I do have the black carbon in my filter! I am able to shake them out . Should I do that?

 

I do have the black carbon in my filter! I am able to shake them out . Should I do that?

Yup. That's what I'd do.

 

I think it will help a little, but it's definitely not a magical solution. Definitely increase water changes and check for anything rotting/any detritus, they can cause fin problems even if there is no ammonia or nitrite.

It doesn't actually look like his fins are too bad though, are they rotting or anything? If it's only a colour change it's actually possible that it's a colour change.

EDIT: Sorry, I just read your symptoms again and realized that my colour change theory is not right.

 

I think it will help a little, but it's definitely not a magical solution. Definitely increase water changes and check for anything rotting/any detritus, they can cause fin problems even if there is no ammonia or nitrite.

It doesn't actually look like his fins are too bad though, are they rotting or anything? If it's only a colour change it's actually possible that it's a colour change.

EDIT: Sorry, I just read your symptoms again and realized that my colour change theory is not right.

His fins are the same length and shape from when I first got him . His top fin just started to lose color out if no where and moved to his bottom fins . And now there's a small white patch moving onto his scale from the top fin

 

The almond leaves won't hurt, they may be beneficial, but as mentioned, it's the fresh water and good nutrition that will be the most helpful. Be very careful not to overfeed though, as that would foul water.

If you can't get methylene blue, hydrogen Peroxide can be used as a swab treatment as well.

Info on using h2o2
Peroxide How To

 

The almond leaves won't hurt, they may be beneficial, but as mentioned, it's the fresh water and good nutrition that will be the most helpful. Be very careful not to overfeed though, as that would foul water.

If you can't get methylene blue, hydrogen Peroxide can be used as a swab treatment as well.

Info on using h2o2
Peroxide How To

Thanks! I'll read about that

 

Shou


Should I make a new thread with the template or post it on here ?

Copy and paste it on here.

 

Just as a warning, the peroxide can be pretty stresful but I've heard many success cases. Has his behaviour changed further?

Also, do you know how long he was at Walmart? I know it's unlikely as mentioned, but fish can be stuck at places like that for quite a while.

 

Just as a warning, the peroxide can be pretty stresful but I've heard many success cases. Has his behaviour changed further?

Also, do you know how long he was at Walmart? I know it's unlikely as mentioned, but fish can be stuck at places like that for quite a while.

I didn't put any peroxide one him and I'm not going too. He was at Walmart for a long time . I go there frequently and I would see him every time. food waste at the bottom and the water was not even 1/2 full.

my bettas bottom part of his face is turning white. when I rescued him, his colors got really bright and he was so happy. He currently has fin rot I believe, so his color started to fade. I bought some almond leaves for him. so Is his face white from the fin rot or is it normal with aging or is it fungus ?

I posted a picture below. its the only one I got, don't want to stress him out. its hard to see the bottom of his face but its all white , just the bottom and its spreading to his stomach a little. is it a fungus or something? will the almond leaves work? I don't want him to die

thanks

 

It looks normal to me. Many bettas will have a light underbelly that looks metallic. Fin rot shouldn't be causing a fish to change colours unless it's close to the body.

 

It looks normal to me. Many bettas will have a light underbelly that looks metallic. Fin rot shouldn't be causing a fish to change colours unless it's close to the body.

Okay thank you ! Maybe its old age

 

I think there is a systemic bacterial infection. Look up healthy crowntail pictures. Their fins are nice firm and the curves look clean not looking crumpled like yours.

( sorry! I sound so mean. I just want to share what I think because if it is systemic then it is serious and have to be addressed pretty immediately)

The only reason he might look like that is if he is an old crown tail , as in maybe rescued from some place other than pet store. Pet store bettas can be older broodstock whose breeding days are over, but generally they are not so old they look totally beaten up.

Discoloration on body or face is generally a sign of systemic infection ( unless you are absolutely sure he is old )

How long ago did you rescue him? Recently or a couple months or a year ago? If he goes downhill fast , then well he can't get old and start to fade that fast.

I would say antibiotics. Start with maracyn plus (active ingredient sulfamethoxazole- trimethoprim) probably. Add 1/2 tsp per gallon salt to help with osmoregulation. Great you got almond leaves, all my bettas seem more relax when I give them those.

Also make sure you correct any problem with water parameters/ husbandry. Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate at 0. Appropriate KH qnd GH. Try to do your best to make sure there is no toxic substance in your water.

He also looks emaciated. May need some fattening up.

 

I actually wouldn't rule out him being pretty old then, betta fish can live for 3+ years but if he spent a long time in harsh conditions who knows how that affected him. Just see how the water changes affect his behaviour and colouring.

 

I think there is a systemic bacterial infection. Look up healthy crowntail pictures. Their fins are nice firm and the curves look clean not looking crumpled like yours.

( sorry! I sound so mean. I just want to share what I think because if it is systemic then it is serious and have to be addressed pretty immediately)

The only reason he might look like that is if he is an old crown tail , as in maybe rescued from some place other than pet store. Pet store bettas can be older broodstock whose breeding days are over, but generally they are not so old they look totally beaten up.

Discoloration on body or face is generally a sign of systemic infection ( unless you are absolutely sure he is old )

How long ago did you rescue him? Recently or a couple months or a year ago? If he goes downhill fast , then well he can't get old and start to fade that fast.

I would say antibiotics. Start with maracyn plus (active ingredient sulfamethoxazole- trimethoprim) probably. Add 1/2 tsp per gallon salt to help with osmoregulation. Great you got almond leaves, all my bettas seem more relax when I give them those.

Also make sure you correct any problem with water parameters/ husbandry. Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate at 0. Appropriate KH qnd GH. Try to do your best to make sure there is no toxic substance in your water.

He also looks emaciated. May need some fattening up.

His body is straight , just looked bent from the angle . I've had him In the same tank (5 gal) for an year now , but I got him from a walmart and every time I went up there he was still there . Water was yellow and orange , food waste covering the bottom . He was a totally different fish being all happy when I gave him plants and an hammock but just up to now the past week he's been off , his fine are sorta transparent but it hasn't spread, just on 2 fins. The patch on his body is healing I can see that . He is swimming more now.

He did get bloated a little about a week or 2 ago so I did the fasting/pea diet but he is on his regular diet now .

I've been doing %30 water changes with spring water trying to make the water clean and not full of ammonia and such.

I actually wouldn't rule out him being pretty old then, betta fish can live for 3+ years but if he spent a long time in harsh conditions who knows how that affected him. Just see how the water changes affect his behaviour and colouring.

When I first got him and gave him a 5gal and everything he would need he got so happy, vibrant, and swimming a lot ! But now its a year later and somehow he is turning white a little. I have a filter & heater . Before he was sick I would change the water %30 every couple days whereas now I do it every other day . I'm really hoping the almond leaves work . Do you think it with help of it's a fungus or infection ? Thanks

 

sorry ive been posting this a lot but my betta fish has had fin rot for the past week and half and now his belly/ bottom face is turning white. I'm not sure if that's normal , fungus, or old age. I added almond leaves to the tank and a small patch on his body started to get smaller so hopefully that's a good sign but his top and bottom fins are still transparent. not sure if that's rin rot because the end of his fins are not small/rotted off or turned black. All of this started out of no where and I feel like I do a good job keeping up with the parameters and maintenance so I don't know what is going on. its only been 2 days with the almond leaves, can someone confirm if it will 100% heal my betta , if not, what meds should I buy? thanks

Tank

What is the water volume of the tank? 5gal
How long has the tank been running? 1 year
Does it have a filter? yes
Does it have a heater? yes
What is the water temperature? 78*
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)
moss ball, almond leaves, 2 amazon swords, 2 snails

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? recently every other day to treat fin rot
How much of the water do you change? 30%
What do you use to treat your water? spring water with water conditioner
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? both when I need to

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? yes a while back
What do you use to test the water? test strip , soon apI testing kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.

Ammonia: will test when I get the kit, but I do frequent water changes
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm
pH: 7.5

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? 5 days a week, 2 fasting days
How much do you feed your fish? 2 pellets or 2 bloodworms
What brand of food do you feed your fish? "BettaMin pellets", "Omega One bloodworms"
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods? freeze dried bloodworms , looking into frozen

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 1 year
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? week & half ago
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? top & bottom fins losing color/transparent, not swimming , clapped fins, still eating though but not as active and happy as before, went from dark blue to light teal color.

Have you started any treatment for the illness? used Bettafix once, switched to almond leaves and water changes
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? I don't think he was , but I did rescue him from walmart in a dirty cup
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? I took some decor out to open the tank and he seems to love it, it made him swim more but he's not flaunting his fins anymore like males usually do, they stay clamped. His bottom face/belly is turning white, green horizontal stripe on body.

 

The white line is called a stress stripe, it shows up in bettas when theyre unhappy, stressed, or unwell. With him undergoing medical treatments as of late, its understandable that he would show a stress stripe

 

The white line is called a stress stripe, it shows up in bettas when theyre unhappy, stressed, or unwell. With him undergoing medical treatments as of late, its understandable that he would show a stress stripe

yeah heard if them , it just popped up since ive been doing treatments for fin rot. do you think that's what it could be? also will it go away over time?