Flat Pat's Tank Journal

My betta, Flat Pat, has popeye and fin rot. This probably happened because during the time where I was going through severe depression, I was unable to care for him. Now that I'm better, I'm able to care for him. I am currently treating the fin rot with API Pimafix. In order to treat him with Pimafix, I also needed an airstone to keep the water oxygenated. Today, I got the airstone set up in the tank. He is mesmerized by all the bubbles. Today is day 1 of treating his fin rot.



Hello! I'm treating my betta with API Pimafix for severe fin rot. Some people on the forum have given me direction on how to go about treating my betta with the Pimafix, but someone said it's dangerous/harmful to the betta because it is an essential oil that covers its labyrinth organ. So before I continue treatment, what are your opinions on API Pimafix? Is it dangerous? I'm so confused hearing contradicting things and don't know which one is right! Thanks!

 

Hello! I'm treating my betta with API Pimafix for severe fin rot. Some people on the forum have given me direction on how to go about treating my betta with the Pimafix, but someone said it's dangerous/harmful to the betta because it is an essential oil that covers its labyrinth organ. So before I continue treatment, what are your opinions on API Pimafix? Is it dangerous? I'm so confused hearing contradicting things and don't know which one is right! Thanks!

I have heard anything with "fix" at the usually is not any good for your fish because of the ingredients in them. I know that for bettas especially it can harm their labyrinth organ and any other fish with a labyrinth organ.

 

Hello! I keep hearing that API Pimafix is really bad for betta fish. I'm wondering, what do I use to treat my betta who has severe fin rot? What medication is safe to use? It's so severe that I don't think aquarium salt will do the trick.

 

can you get a picture?

 

can you get a picture?

Sure:

 

Looks beautiful! Glad you are feeling better! I hope your fish heals quickly!

 

Hi, so sorry to hear this. I personally dont have experience with this, but I have a close friend who did, and I hope I can help. I would try bettafix or melafix. Also, findout if it is a fungal fin rot, or a bacterial fin rot, there are different medications. And, aquarium salt works miracles, I highly underestimated it. I have a 16 g. With invertibres and plants with a MASSIVE ich infestation I thought all 7 of my neons and 2 otocinclus weregoners, i was so sad. Because if the invertebrates and plants in my tank, I could not use copper based meds. So I had to use salt and was doubtful. They cleared up in 4 days. Spotless and healthy, it still hasn't returned. I would give it a chance. If that really doesn't work for you, try bettafix or melafix, just do your research because there is a difference and one or the other treats different types of fin rot. Then, as a last resort I would try Pimafix (for treating fungal fin rot) or API furan 2 (bacterial fin rot meds) and lastly, water change, water change water change. Just be sure to re dose after each change. Also, find out what the cause of the rot was, water quality is #1 issue. And tank size. Betta fish who dont have adequate tank size are destined for issues and a bad sad life. If your betta is in a betta box, you're doomed.

 

I would try 30-50% water changes daily, get a heater for the tank and try to keep it at 78 degrees, and add Indian Almond Leaf to the tank water (remove any carbon or chemical filtration from your filter).
Hope whatever you try works for you!

 

I think salt will still work try this it has worked amazing for me
option 1.one tablespoon aquarium salt per 10 gallons of water 50% water changes daily and be carefull to only put in as much salt as you take out.

option 2. (i have found this way to be working better for me) do this one as a bath. one teaspoon salt per gallon of water let fish soak for 10 to 15 minutes.
I wouldnt reccomend bettafix or melefix for bettas it can damage there labyrinth organ

clean water is the best treatment though so make sure to keep it clean

 

Hi, so sorry to hear this. I personally dont have experience with this, but I have a close friend who did, and I hope I can help. I would try bettafix or melafix. Also, findout if it is a fungal fin rot, or a bacterial fin rot, there are different medications. And, aquarium salt works miracles, I highly underestimated it. I have a 16 g. With invertibres and plants with a MASSIVE ich infestation I thought all 7 of my neons and 2 otocinclus weregoners, i was so sad. Because if the invertebrates and plants in my tank, I could not use copper based meds. So I had to use salt and was doubtful. They cleared up in 4 days. Spotless and healthy, it still hasn't returned. I would give it a chance. If that really doesn't work for you, try bettafix or melafix, just do your research because there is a difference and one or the other treats different types of fin rot. Then, as a last resort I would try Pimafix (for treating fungal fin rot) or API furan 2 (bacterial fin rot meds) and lastly, water change, water change water change. Just be sure to re dose after each change. Also, find out what the cause of the rot was, water quality is #1 issue. And tank size. Betta fish who dont have adequate tank size are destined for issues and a bad sad life. If your betta is in a betta box, you're doomed.

i suggest never to use bettafix or melafix because its basically just tea tree oil and it hurts bettas labryth organ. The best thing you can ever possible do is super clean water 50% water change every other day plus salt baths twice a day. 1 tbsp salt per gallon of water you put back in every water change or you can just pour the salt water in a bowl and do that. 45 mins tops and the longer you leave him in the better but just watch his reaction to it make sure he doesn't lay on his side o have labored breathing. and always use aquarium salt or kosher salt

 

Looks beautiful! Glad you are feeling better! I hope your fish heals quickly!

Thank you so much for the kind words!

My poor betta has severe fin rot near his body. I noticed it has white edges in some areas, so I can't tell if it's fungal or bacterial. Also, should I just use aquarium salt to treat this? It's been 5 days and it has done nothing. I'm thinking of using API Fungus Cure (instead of Pimafix since I heard it's bad) or API Erythromycin depending on whether it's fungal or bacterial. Do you think it's fungal or bacterial? Here are some photos:

 

Hey there,

The primary cause of fin rot is poor water quality. Often fin rot can be reversed by correcting this alone. Meds can work too, but the fin rot will return if the cause is not corrected.

It’s a 5 gallon tank, what are your water parameters and temperature? What test kit do you use? Is the tank cycled? Filter? What kind? How old is the tank? How long have you had the fish? Are your plants silk, plastic, or live?

Indian Almond leaves can also help with fin regrowth

 

I would still try salt and as baths they have higher salt concentration so i think that is why they work faster.
it is a bit hard to tell from the picture but it looks like bacterial fin rot to me. fungal fin rot useually is less jagged and has a white rim.

 

I would still try salt and as baths they have higher salt concentration so i think that is why they work faster.
it is a bit hard to tell from the picture but it looks like bacterial fin rot to me. fungal fin rot useually is less jagged and has a white rim.

Okay! Thank you for the feedback! In the light, parts of it have a white rim, but not all of it, so I wasn't sure. Sorry, the pictures are really bad I was having trouble getting any good shots.

 

Okay! Thank you for the feedback! In the light, parts of it have a white rim, but not all of it, so I wasn't sure. Sorry, the pictures are really bad I was having trouble getting any good shots.

okay it also says fungal fin rot will most likly cause tears in the upper fins too does he have any?

 

okay it also says fungal fin rot will most likly cause tears in the upper fins too does he have any?

Do you mean the pectoral fins on a betta? Because there are no tears there (unlike my old betta who ended up having tears there).

 

Do you mean the pectoral fins on a betta? Because there are no tears there (unlike my old betta who ended up having tears there).

his caudal and ventral fins

 

Can you treat a fungal infection and a bacterial infection at the same time? My betta has fin rot and popeye, I heard the popeye or cloudy eye is caused by a fungus. I also heard that both bacterial and fungal infections can be seen together in fin rot. My betta has white edging on one part of his tail that has almost reached his body. The other parts/sections of his tail are jagged and don't almost reach his body. So this makes me think that he has both a fungal and bacterial infection going on, especially since he has popeye. Can you treat both at the same time? I am thinking of using API Fungus Cure and API Erythromycin, but am not sure if I can use them both at the same time?

his caudal and ventral fins

The upper half of his caudal fin is all gone, but the lower half is still there. Where the upper half is gone, it almost reaches his body and has a white rim. The ventral fin is (surprisingly) in pretty good shape compared to the rest of the fins.

 

Hi! I would treat the popeye, and here's why: every time a betta of mine has gotten fin rot, it's been from stress. Stress can come from poor water conditions, illness, bad tankmates, over-flaring (usually at a reflection), water that's too cold, and (my personal favorite from my current betta a few months ago) getting their tail stuck in the intake on the filter (or anywhere else). So I would treat the popeye.

Before I go too far into advice, can you fill out the emergency template? Can you also attach a picture?

In the meantime, here's what I would do:
Start on 50% water changes every other day with a high quality water conditioner like Prime. Clean water is always the best place to start. Also, reduce feeding to every other day to preserve water quality.

 

To me primarily finrot is always bacterial and secundairy can show fungus (on the dead tissue.

 

To me primarily finrot is always bacterial and secundairy can show fungus (on the dead tissue.

So is that why only some of the edges are white? Because it started off as bacterial and the fungus ended up on the dead tissue?

Hi! I would treat the popeye, and here's why: every time a betta of mine has gotten fin rot, it's been from stress. Stress can come from poor water conditions, illness, bad tankmates, over-flaring (usually at a reflection), water that's too cold, and (my personal favorite from my current betta a few months ago) getting their tail stuck in the intake on the filter (or anywhere else). So I would treat the popeye.

Before I go too far into advice, can you fill out the emergency template? Can you also attach a picture?

In the meantime, here's what I would do:
Start on 50% water changes every other day with a high quality water conditioner like Prime. Clean water is always the best place to start. Also, reduce feeding to every other day to preserve water quality.

Of course!:
Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 5 gallons
How long has the tank been running? I've had it for 2 years
Does it have a filter? yes
Does it have a heater? yes
What is the water temperature? Approx. 75 degrees F
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) 1 betta

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Haven't really been changing water due to treatment, but am switching back to just plain aquarium salt treatment and plan to do every other day.
How much of the water do you change? 25%
What do you use to treat your water? API Betta Water Conditioner
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? I use a towel and a magnetic scrubber to remove substrate

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? No (I know better now)
What do you use to test the water? Nothing, parents won't let me get test kit. Thinking of just buying it myself.
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? Every other day during treatment
How much do you feed your fish? 2 pellets
What brand of food do you feed your fish? NutriDiet Betta
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods? No

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 2 years
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? over 1 year ago
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Tattered fins, white lining on some, and cloudy eye that pops out
Have you started any treatment for the illness? Aquarium salt, started Pimafix for one day, heard it was bad and stopped and went back to aquarium salt. Hasn't done a thing.
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? Tattered fins; cloudy, bulging eye

Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)
A little over a year ago he had mild fin rot. It has progressed over time so much that the upper half of his caudal fin is gone, it almost reaches the body, and has a white rim. The rest of the tattered fins do not have a white rim. 1-2 months ago, I noticed his eye turned a different color and recently realized it was bulging out. I found out he has fin rot and popeye.

 

Ah, that was very helpful information. My previous advice stands. Definitely do increased water changes at 50% and reduce feeding. It seems like you'll need a pretty strong medicine, but I would stick to one at a time. I don't have good advice for strong meds, though. Hopefully someone else can jump in. I will say, though, once the fin rot reaches the body, it could go downhill pretty fast. You must have such a resilient betta since he's still swimming! I've had less take down some of my bettas.

 

Hi! The upper half of his caudal fin is gone and now reaches the base of him with a white rim. I heard it won't regenerate. Is this true? I've been treating with aquarium salt every other day (so he has had aquarium salt in his tank 5 times which counts for 5 days of treatment) and am switching to everyday since it has done nothing. Has it not done anything because the fin rot has reached the base? Here are some photos:

 

I had a betta that would rip up his own tail and it would always regenerate. He never had his fins that bad though. Good luck.

 

It might not, since it's really far down to that point, but there is still a possibility that his fin will grow back though. I haven't actually seen anyone's betta that got to that point and didn't grow their fins back.

 

Ah, that was very helpful information. My previous advice stands. Definitely do increased water changes at 50% and reduce feeding. It seems like you'll need a pretty strong medicine, but I would stick to one at a time. I don't have good advice for strong meds, though. Hopefully someone else can jump in. I will say, though, once the fin rot reaches the body, it could go downhill pretty fast. You must have such a resilient betta since he's still swimming! I've had less take down some of my bettas.

Thank you for your feedback and advice! It does look like he'll need medicine, everyone has told me aquarium salt, but I don't think they've seen the photos and the severity of it. I heard of API Fungus Cure and API Erythromycin depending if it's fungal or bacterial, but I can't tell which one it is. He is very resilient, I feel bad for him because he got in such bad shape because I was unable to care for him during the time I was going through severe depression. So sorry to hear that some of your bettas have gotten taken down!

 

here is my betta he got badly injured while breeding and I am seeing some new growth already! not sure if it will
ever fully heal but i am hopefull as he is alreadly looking better

 

It should regrow but i would try to figure out what is wrong. Also careful with the salt treatment - i presume you are replacing the water to keep the salt in check but if you are adding salt every other day without replacing the water eventually it will become too salty and kill him.

 

It might not, since it's really far down to that point, but there is still a possibility that his fin will grow back though. I haven't actually seen anyone's betta that got to that point and didn't grow their fins back.

Nooooo. I feel horrible. I hope they grow back! Thanks for the feedback!

here is my betta he got badly injured while breeding and I am seeing some new growth already! not sure if it will
ever fully heal but i am hopefull as he is alreadly looking better


View attachment 767856View attachment 767857

This gives me a glimmer of hope! I hope he heals quickly! I wish you the best of luck!

 

Make sure you keep the water very clean! Thats the first priority. I found this video today and it tells what kind of meds to use and how to use them. Your Betta looks like it needs meds not just salt to me. Its pretty drastic.
Use exactly the meds and how much they used in the video.

 

It should regrow but i would try to figure out what is wrong. Also careful with the salt treatment - i presume you are replacing the water to keep the salt in check but if you are adding salt every other day without replacing the water eventually it will become too salty and kill him.

I know what's wrong. I was unable to care for him for a period of time due to severe depression so that's where the fin rot came from as well as the popeye. Thanks for the feedback! I'll be careful with the salt treatment!

 

So is that why only some of the edges are white? Because it started off as bacterial and the fungus ended up on the dead tissue?

The white edges are dead / infected tissue. Fungus is a cottonlike stuff that can grow on that.

 

Found out API Pimafix is bad for bettas and their labyrinth organ. I stopped using it after day 1. I've been treating with aquarium salt and it has done nothing. Found out from others that Flat Pat likely had a bacterial infection that caused the fin rot and had a secondary fungal infection. The plan is to treat with antibiotics. Erythromycin first for the bacterial infection and then Methylene Blue for the fungal infection. The Erythromycin should be coming tomorrow. I'm going to be away visiting my brother in Oklahoma for a few days (leaving tomorrow), so the timing is not that great. My mom is going to have to take care of Flat Pat while I'm gone. I have directions for her as to how to treat with Erythromycin. I'm a little nervous!

 

Before I left, we all thought Flat Pat was going to die. He kept lying at the corner in the bottom of the tank one night. I couldn't sleep that night and was tearing up. I woke up the next morning and asked my mom to check on him because I was too nervous to see, and she told me she thought he was dead. I went in another room, and all of a sudden she came running exclaiming he was alive and moving! Throughout the day, before I left, he would occasionally get up and swim, and go back to the corner of the tank and lie down. I was very worried. I think the Pimafix did this. He was doing fine before. Plus I heard bad things about Pimafix the day after I used it, on how it coats the Labyrinth organ and makes it hard to breathe. No wonder he was at the bottom of the tank! I did a 50% water change, so hopefully I got some of it out. I laid out the directions for my mom on how to treat with Erythromycin while I was gone. I've been getting updates from her while I've been in Oklahoma. Apparently, he's swimming some more, but still goes to the bottom of the tank on occasion. I hope he's okay! I don't know if his fins have gotten any better because I haven't seen him. I check in with my mom daily to make sure she's able to follow the Erythromycin directions I laid out for her and to see how Flat Pat is doing.

 

I got back from Oklahoma yesterday, checked on Flat Pat, and did a 25% water change. That is day 6 of his Erythromycin treatment and I'll be repeating the treatment a second time because I checked on his fins... Sadly the upper half of the caudal fin does not look like it will be growing back, but the white dead tissue is no longer white which I think is a good thing? The weird light blue spots on his fins seem to be mostly gone, so that's improvement. The ragged edges are still there, which is why I am repeating treatment, but I don't see any dark edging which I also think is a good thing? I think it's getting better. He seems to be tolerating it fine. On occasion, ever since the Pimafix, he's been lying at the bottom of the tank, but at least it's not for a long time like before. He's getting up there. By this summer, he'll be 3 years old! I wonder if he would have lived longer if I had been able to take care of him and hadn't had such severe depression... Makes me sad. But for now, he's 2 years old about to go on 3! His nickname is Flat Pat because his real name is Patriot, Pat for short, and Flat Pat because my mom noted that he looks flat or 2D. So we call him, "Flat Pat."

 

Flat Pat looks the same. He hasn't gotten worse, so that's good, but he hasn't gotten better. Erythromycin treats gram-positive bacteria... I'm wondering if he's got gram-negative going on since it hasn't gotten any better. Today I started aquarium salt baths to treat his popeye. Hopefully, it brings some of the swelling down. I'm just not sure what to use for the fin rot...

 

I'm in tears. Flat Pat is in rough shape. I gave him his second salt bath (today is day 2). He did not tolerate it well. As soon as he went back in the tank, he went to the very bottom and was motionless. My face turned pale thinking I killed him. When I touched him with the net, he thankfully swam away, but sank to the bottom again. I'm really scared he's going to pass. People I talked to said that the salt bath likely stressed him since he was in such bad shape. I'm in tears right now. I can't handle the guilt if I killed him.

 

Hi there, I'm so sorry for your betta and I hope he feels better. Unfortunately, while I cannot help you out, I will tag a few members for you that may be able to help. Betta'sAnonymous A201 Dewclaw83 Fanatic Good luck! ♥️

 

Hi there, I'm so sorry for your betta and I hope he feels better. Unfortunately, while I cannot help you out, I will tag a few members for you that may be able to help. Betta'sAnonymous A201 Dewclaw83 Fanatic Good luck! ♥

Thank you so much for the kind words and for tagging some others who may be able to help. I really appreciate this!

 

I looked a bit about this just now. is it possible he passed out? I read that the sudden change in salinity may cause this.

also when this happend where you doing a aquarium salt bath? if you do this again in a week or so when he is feeling better do 2 and a half teaspoons of salt per gallon and for only 6 minutes you can increase the time from there but we dont want this happing again. can you get a picture of him?

also dont feel bad you are doing your best to save him!

good luck!