Fin Rot

[Goose61]

I have a Betta that appears to be suffering from Fin Rot (it doesn't appear to be from biting, although that is possible). He has lost a major portion of his finnage.

Therefore, I was asking as to what treatment protocol to undertake. Some online have recommended treating with aquarium salt, while others advocate the use of pharmaceuticals.

Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

 

[BigManAquatics]

I just use clean water. Do about 3-4 25-30% water changes a week should at least stop the fin rot. I hear stress coat can help with the healing.

 

[Rose of Sharon]

Add some Indian almond leaves to the tank, too.

The tannins that are released from the leaves will tint the water, and you may not like that effect, but the bettas love it!

Drift wood can do the same thing, or roobios tea (but has to be pure tea - no added flavors, etc.). Some people like the tea, but I find that it tends to clog my small betta filters.

If it's a mild case, the water changes and Indian almond leaves will work.

If you don't see any improvement, after giving it some time, I would try dosing with aquarium salt.

 

[julifhy]

Add some Indian almond leaves to the tank, too.

The tannins that are released from the leaves will tint the water, and you may not like that effect, but the bettas love it!

Drift wood can do the same thing, or roobios tea (but has to be pure tea - no added flavors, etc.). Some people like the tea, but I find that it tends to clog my small betta filters.

If it's a mild case, the water changes and Indian almond leaves will work.

If you don't see any improvement, after giving it some time, I would try dosing with aquarium salt.

Rooibos tea can clog your filter? I've been using it for a couple months now and I was wondering why my filter has been acting strange
I rinsed my filter out and it works fine now, but I had no idea it was because of the tea!

 

[Rose of Sharon]

It happend to my filters a couple of times, and I saw that they were being clogged by this tan-ish stuff, like when you have old ice tea in a glass. So yeah, that is the culprit, at least in my small tanks with my small filters!

 

[Goose61]

Thought I'd enclose a recent picture of my Betta to show the state of his fin rot, and get everyone's input as how to continue proceeding. At the moment I'm treating him with daily water changes and an Indian Almond leaf in the tank:

.


Didn't know if I needed to add salt, or move on to the big guns (antibiotics).

 

[Rose of Sharon]

If you aren't seeing any improvement, go ahead and add a teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon. But make sure that you dissolve the salt before you add it, and keep track of how much you add. The salt only goes away with water changes, and if you don't pay attention, you can add too much. Your little guy wouldn't appreciate that too much!