I Think It Is Fin Rot?

HI everyone,
So my kids are getting into haveing fish, while they were picking out their fish I saw a Betta I just felt bad for and it’s water had some filmy stuff floating in it, so I got him and he seemed to be doing better in the 1.5 gallon bowl, so I got a 10 gallon tank for him. He is tan and looking at things online I think it might be fin rot.

I have noticed some color starting to comeback on his tail but with the water changes I was hoping to see better improvement in a week and a half.

He swims a lot more in the 10 gallon tank but still lays on his side a lot. I have attached a picture of him.

I have added a tsp. Of aquarium salt per gallon of water to his tank tonight. How long should I try salt before moving on to something else?

If it looks like something else I do have other things on hand, Kanaplex and jungle fungus clear on hand, but didn’t jump straight to meds.

Let me know any suggestions to help him get better sooner. I have the apI master test kit ordered, and have been using ammonia test strips and doing 50% change every other day in the fishbowl, he has been in the tank for 2 days and I used an instant cycle bacteria, and will be doing a 50% change tomorrow.

 

I think that might not be fin rot, it looks like a fin variation from genetics and stuff.

 

If that’s the case I can deal with a lazy fish , the lack of color and laying on its side had me worried

 

It still could be fin rot, I'm no expert

 

I’ll wait and see if anyone else has any input as well. Thanks!

 

Yeah, sorry I'm not an expert, I am new to fishkeeping and I only own a 10 gallon tank

 

Same here it’s my first fish and 10 gallon tank

 

it looks to me to be fin rot a lot of the tail fin is missing if it is its a bad case of it u can treat with metchet green

 

Thanks Johnbetta

 

Wait until you get the test kit to medicate. For now, lots of fresh water everyday, and a tonic dose of aquarium salt won't hurt.

First thing is clean water and good parameters and conditions. If those are good and fins are not regrowing or getting worse, you could try methylene blue (in a hospital bin because meth blue destroys the nitrogen cycle and stains silicone blue) or the kanamycin, but personally I haven't had to medicate for fin & tail rot.

 

looks fine to me. pretty crowntail betta.

 

Is the bottom pic a newer pic? The tail (caudal) fin looks shorter in the second pic, but I still don't see any signs of infection.

I was going to add, I take pics of the fish's fins to see if they are growing back. Of you notice any regrowth, they are on their way to healing.

 

correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure it just looks like that because he’s laying down.

 

Seeing as there still isn't a definite solution, I'll add my opinion as well even though I'm still a new Betta owner myself.

It seems like as you have a Crowntail Betta, so the long flowing fins are natural for him, if that's what you were worrying about.

If you recently got him, he may still be slightly stressed from the change. Make sure he has places to hide in his tank and that there aren't any sharp decorations that may cut his fins and tails. He should warm up after a while!

It's definitely good he now has a bigger tank to swim in though I hope he starts feeling better soon.

 

both of the pictures are from just before I posted last night. It was the first time I had taken any so I will have something to compare to going forward

 

Maybe, I can't really tell. If the fish had been trailing his fins along the bottom, they could have corroded a bit, but not infected IMO at this point.

both of the pictures are from just before I posted last night. It was the first time I had taken any so I will have something to compare to going forward

Ok tx. Why do you suspect it's fin rot?

 

the black on the ends of the strands, he seems to have a hard time swimming around, lays on his side most the time. He spends most of his day laying on the bottom of the tank. I just took the pic attached,

 

Oh ok, well it looks like normal coloring to me, but I'm not a betta pro. I would suspect another reason for him lying on his side. Not sure what tho, he looks ok to me.....

Maybe post your test results here. You want 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite and a bit of nitrates. A fish will not be feeling well if ammonia or nitrites register. The tonic dose of aquarium salt also protects against nitrite poisoning. But salt is not needed long term and it doesn't evaporate which means it has to be removed with water changes.

 

your welcome mate

 

So I did treat with the Kanaplex ever other day for 3 treatments as per the directions. The little guy doesn’t just lay on his side at the bottom of the tank any longer and his light tan got darker. He swims a lot more and finds places to hide in the plants instead of on the bottom gravel by the plants.

Thank you all for your input!

It doesn’t look like it was fin rot, something defiantly had him lethargic and loss of color. Chance is a happy swimming Betta now! I took a few pics Which is harder to do when he won’t stop swimming around now , that’s a good problem to have though

 

Oh and I did a 20% water change and put in the charcoal filter cartridge to start reducing the salt in the water (water change) and removing meds from the water (charcoal filter cartridge)

 

I'm so happy he is feeling better, that's great news! He looks good too Kanamycin works well for internal issues, he must have had something bacterial afterall, but not finrot. Keep up the water changes for the next few days to flush out the salt and monitor conditions closely. Thanks for the happy update

 

that's good news