Fin rot?

[AdelitaGSD]

Not my fish...yet. I pick him up tomorrow l. The person agreed to waive the rehoming fee. What is this and how do I treat it? She says she has had him for 1yr. He is currently in a 2 gallon tank with a heater no filter that gets water changes 1x/month.
I have a 2nd hand 5gal I will be putting him in.

 

[BigManAquatics]

Sure looks like fin rot to me. Which isn't a surprise if the tank isn't filtered and only changed once a month.

 

[PNWBettas]

Looks like bad fin rot, maybe even some body rot, but it’s hard to tell. Your going to need to keep the 5 gal water parameters really good. Is it cycled? Do you have a test kit on hand? Your also going to want to ensure your tank is filtered, heated, no plastic plants etc. all the normal betta tank stuff.

from there I would do more frequent water changes and use aquarium salt. I might also use an antibiotic in this case, I always go for kanaplex in cases like this.

 

[AdelitaGSD]

The 5 gal is not setup yet. I just got the message today to see if I wanted him. I was thinking of keeping him in the tank he’s going to come in while I try and medicate? Are there meds I can pickup from a pet store or off Amazon? I have prime I can add and API test kit.

 

[BlueBubba2020]

The 5 gal is not setup yet. I just got the message today to see if I wanted him. I was thinking of keeping him in the tank he’s going to come in while I try and medicate? Are there meds I can pickup from a pet store or off Amazon? I have prime I can add and API test kit.

I recommend Melafix by API for fin rot, as well as for other bacterial infections.

 

[PNWBettas]

I recommend Melafix by API for fin rot, as well as for other bacterial infections.

Noooo. Melafix causes damage to the labyrinth organ in betta and should not be used. If it’s used it should be 1/4 of the dose. But it’s really not necessary since there are so many safer more effective meds

The 5 gal is not setup yet. I just got the message today to see if I wanted him. I was thinking of keeping him in the tank he’s going to come in while I try and medicate? Are there meds I can pickup from a pet store or off Amazon? I have prime I can add and API test kit.

I would set up the 5 gal now. Fin rot comes from poor water quality and you won’t be able to correct it in a small tank. You will be fighting the cause of the disease the entire time. Also medication is not the answer, clean water is. The meds are to get rid of the initial infection but should not be used continuously while his fins re-grow. Only 1-2 doses and that’s it.

 

[AdelitaGSD]

So should I see if getting him in a larger tank with a heater and filter and keeping the water clean will help it go away without medication first?

 

[BlueBubba2020]

Noooo. Melafix causes damage to the labyrinth organ in betta and should not be used. If it’s used it should be 1/4 of the dose. But it’s really not necessary since there are so many safer more effective meds

I would set up the 5 gal now. Fin rot comes from poor water quality and you won’t be able to correct it in a small tank. You will be fighting the cause of the disease the entire time. Also medication is not the answer, clean water is. The meds are to get rid of the initial infection but should not be used continuously while his fins re-grow. Only 1-2 doses and that’s it.

Ooooops! Good to know... I'll keep that in mind. Sorry for the terrible tip ead:

 

[PNWBettas]

So should I see if getting him in a larger tank with a heater and filter and keeping the water clean will help it go away without medication first?

That’s what I always tend to do. Indian almond leaves will also promote healing. Really the key point here is getting him into a cycled tank and keeping up with water changes. Most fin rot can heal in that way, sometimes aquarium salt and tannins can help it along. Just make sure it’s not progressing, then dose those antibiotics.

 

[PNWBettas]

Ooooops! Good to know... I'll keep that in mind. Sorry for the terrible tip ead:

All good! It’s a bummer it’s still marketed twords betta

 

[AdelitaGSD]

I have Prime.
In case just moving him to a bigger cleaner tank doesn’t work... What else should I get quick before I go pick him up?
Thanks

 

[AdelitaGSD]

I ended up not getting any of the meds from the petstore. He’s settling into his new 5 gal space.

 

[Blueberrybetta]

I just want to state his fin rot has turned into body rot now. Body rot is hard to recover and ends in euthanization. You will need some strong medications from online like Kanaplex. Is his new tank cycled by chance or seeded? If not, I would be dosing prime daily as well to help neutralize any toxic levels of ammonia/nitrite/nitrate. His body rot is getting bad enough and any high levels will cause unnecessary stress and more harm. I would also tint his tank heavily with some Tannin Tea extract from rooibos tea or botanicals.

 

[BluMan1914]

Good idea on not getting anything else to heal him.
Since you have him in the 5, the best thing you can do here on out, is water changes. I suggest water changes every two days or so, of 50-75%. And yes, IAL would be great for him. The tannins will help a lot, and you may even like the color it produces.
I'm still debating whether or not I will do a Blackwater Biotope. Problem I am having, is that I have black sand, and a black background. Im not sure if it will be too dark.

 

[AdelitaGSD]

I just want to state his fin rot has turned into body rot now. Body rot is hard to recover and ends in euthanization. You will need some strong medications from online like Kanaplex. Is his new tank cycled by chance or seeded? If not, I would be dosing prime daily as well to help neutralize any toxic levels of ammonia/nitrite/nitrate. His body rot is getting bad enough and any high levels will cause unnecessary stress and more harm. I would also tint his tank heavily with some Tannin Tea extract from rooibos tea or botanicals.

I added prime and some of the polyfil from an established tank. I will look for some Kanaplex and tannin leaves.

 

[JaymeP]

I do not have Bettas so if melafix is a no-go (it's debated but I've used it successfully for minor wounds). I think they make a product called Bettafix? I have only used kanaplex for serious internal infection. As said by Blueberrybetta that seems to be the case here. I would also dose with some salt if he makes it through the kanaplex I don't know if I used those together or not but it's definitely good to encourage healing. You can buy kanaplex on Amazon you might have to buy a two pack or something for fast shipping. Just be really careful with it. I would probably start doing 50% changes a day then see if he could even handle more. I normally use prime for the cost but I also keep a bottle of stress coat especially if I have to do emergency water changes like that but I think it has aloe I don't know if it's ok for labyrinthine fish

 

[aquaticamanda]

His fin rot has turned into body rot like already stated. You can try medication but it will have to be strong expensive ones. Body rot is 90% of the time deadly from already infecting the insides. If he does not heal any soon, you may need to euthanize him to stop his from being eaten from inside out

 

[JaymeP]

How do you euthanize? I've never done it when I probably should have. (Not trying to hijack this thread, sorry)