Made all the first-timer mistakes and Betta has fin rot

Hi,
Sorry for the long backstory, but 5 weeks ago, we went into the pet store looking for the easiest fish. They recommended a Betta and we picked the 5 gallon fluval ChI tank.

Of course we knew nothing, and didn't cycle the tank. The filter broke after a few days and we had to wait about a week for the new one to come. I saved the filter media in the old filter (in the tank) to put in the new one when it came.

The pet store recommended a Chinese Algae Eater and then I got home and googled that they get waaay too big for our tank so we returned him and they recommended a peppered cory.

Then I noticed the fin rot on the Betta and learned about cycling and testing the water. I bought an API kit.

These were the first measurements I got (this was while we still had the Cory in the tank):
Ph- 8
Ammonia- .25
Nitrite- 5
Nitrate- 5

So then I did a lot of things like water changes, adding more Prime drops (bottle says removes Chlorine, Chloromine and detoxifies Ammonia and Nitrite and Nitrate. There was an improvement, but Nitrite was still at .5ppm. We gave the Cory away because I thought maybe we were overstocked and he would be happier in a school.

Then I added Tetra Safestart Bacteria 2 days ago.

Here are my current readings:

Ph- 8 (our tap water also reads an 8. I read that this is okay as long as it it stable? Hoping I don't need to mess with this.)
Nitrite- 0 (finally!)
Nitrate- 0 (I know that's not ideal)
Ammonia- .25 (I know the Safestart can raise this temporarily?).

Okay, so where do I go from here? Just wait and see? Do I need to get salt for the fin rot? I would love any advice. I do weekly water changes and we live in SoCal so I also have to add water every few days because of evaporation.

Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum! I would just see how the betta is doing. If he doesn't show healing (Web over the missing parts)in a few days, I would start using bettafix. Keep up with water changes. One 50% water change per day is what I would do. Also, wait to see what the others say just in case.

 

Don't add prime or do water changes with tss, it renders it useless. There's another product called Stability that you can do water changes but if you haven't done a water change or added prime after the tss then you're fine, just wait for it to finish working.

 

Welcome to Fishlore

It looks like you're doing all the right things to set up a healthy tank! I'm glad you questioned the store's advice on fish, researched and returned the CAE as well as the peppered cory. Neither should belong in a 5 gallon tank especially not with a betta. It's sad when the consumer starts to research and knows better than the store selling the fish. But they are a business first and it's usually in their best interest to make money with little regard to whether those fish will do well in your tank.

You added the Tetra SafeStart PLUS, right? The one that says "Start Up"? And did you wait 24 hrs after the last water change to add the full bottle? If not, and you did a water change at any time after adding TSS+, it may have failed. If you did wait the 24 hrs and assuming you've not done a water change since adding the TSS+, you're in the clear and now it's a waiting game for 2 weeks. Don't do any water changes or any testing for 14 days. If after 14 days, you have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite and some nitrates, you're cycled.

However, with your betta's fin rot it's now a bit complicated since water changes would be the best thing for your betta right now. You could get Seachem Stabillty which would allow you to do water changes while it seeds the bio filter with the bacteria needed to cycle the tank.

Good luck and let us know what you'll be doing.

 

Welcome to fishlore! Sorry you are dealing with fin rot. Everything I have heard is that clean water is the best way to heal it, if it isn't bacterial. Given that you have an uncycled tank the best way to protect your fish will probably be daily water changes using Prime. Seachem Stability can safely be paired with Prime and a popular bacterial starter choice in situations where water changes are necessary. Best wishes! Let us k i.e. How it is going.

 

Yep, water changes are the best thing for fin rot ime! No need to treat for anything. Some bettas also seem to be especially prone to it anyway and will get fin rot at the drop of a hat. Don't sweat it! You're doing the right things and well done for researching

 

Okay, I did read on the bottle to wait at least 10 days for a water change, so I wasn't planning on doing that, but what about evaporation? When the water gets too low, what should I do? I have to dechloronate the water, right?

I did do a water change a few hours before I added TSS (it does not say plus on the bottle just "healthy filler bacteria")

Thanks for being so positive, I was a little nervous posting here because I'm sure it gets super annoying when people just buy a fish and end up coming here for help instead of researching first!

 

Does the TSS bottle say "monthly" or "startup" on it? Apparently there are two kinds. The TSS Plus for new tanks says to wait 2 weeks. Given that your betta needs water changes I would say stop using it and switch to another kind like Seachem Stability OR ask a friend for a bit of cycled media from a healthy tank. There's also a place that sells and ships seeded media, I think it has "angel" in the name, hopefully someone on here knows what I'm talking about!

When you top up the tank, yes, add dechlorinator. Do you have a fairly tight-fitting top on the tank, like a glass lid to help prevent evaporation? Another thing I've seen done is to stretch a piece of plastic cling wrap over the top of the tank, does wonders

Forgot to welcome you to the forum

 

Okay, I did read on the bottle to wait at least 10 days for a water change, so I wasn't planning on doing that, but what about evaporation? When the water gets too low, what should I do? I have to dechloronate the water, right?

I did do a water change a few hours before I added TSS (it does not say plus on the bottle just "healthy filler bacteria")

Thanks for being so positive, I was a little nervous posting here because I'm sure it gets super annoying when people just buy a fish and end up coming here for help instead of researching first!

Ah Mia, but so many people are here because they started just like you! That is why there is so much advice about how to handle your situation. Re-reading your post looks like your last test results are from a couple of days ago. Could you retest and post the current results now that you just have the betta in the tank? With 0.25 ammonia I revise my previous opinion that you should be okay to allow the cycle to continue if the ammonia is not rising much and the fin rot is not bad. You sort of have to choose... wait the cycle out (how many more days until the magic 10-14?) or treat the fin rot with super clean water... So re-test, re-post and we will help you figure it out from there! And feel free to share a photo of your new friend!

 

Thanks for being so positive, I was a little nervous posting here because I'm sure it gets super annoying when people just buy a fish and end up coming here for help instead of researching first!

No need to be nervous around here. This is a very helpful and polite forum. No one will get annoyed at you for asking questions (even if you have a lot of questions). And don't worry about thinking your question may be stupid, because I can guarantee you that the only person who would think the question is stupid would be you, not any of the members.

 

Thanks for the support and positive vibes everyone! I tested again today and it is the same:
PH- 8
Ammonia- .25
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 0


I'm just going to wait and see. He missed a couple of food pellets so I'm a little worried that the tank is going to get dirty before the 10 days has passed. We will see!

I have a pic of our little guy "Skinny Pete". Unfortunately, I don't have a pic from before the rot to compare! Oh and I don't think the color around his fins is from rot, I think that's just his coloring. He's very pretty, he looks cream colored at some angles and blue at others.

 

When I feed my betta, I only do one pellet at a time. If he doesn't find it immediately, I tap the water where the pellet is and he notices it. How many pellets are you feeding? I feed four, but they're only 0.5 mm instead of the more common 1 mm. He's very pretty, btw!

 

I can also recommend keeping a turkey baster on hand for spot cleans. If you notice he's missed a pellet you can remove it right away without breaking out the gravel vac

 

Great help on here... My family is going through this same thing right now. Went into Petco for dog food last week and came out with a male betta and the same aquarium as Mia (the filter on ours broke as well). I thought the stuff we were told at the store seemed wrong so the research started, and I've been reading everything on this site I can to "catch up". We're also trying to now cycle a tank and treat fin rot on our poor fish. Thanks so much for all of you who give advice. "Skinny Pete" and "Sparky" (our little guy) are lucky you're all here.
And thanks to Mia for posting the question - she's helped us by doing so!

 

Rad! Thanks for this suggestion! Yeah the filter sucks the pellets to the front of the tank and then down so I try to feed him at the back of the tank to give him time. The only problem is lately, he has been coming to the front of the tank to greet me and then I can't get him to notice the pellet behind him!

When I feed my betta, I only do one pellet at a time. If he doesn't find it immediately, I tap the water where the pellet is and he notices it. How many pellets are you feeding? I feed four, but they're only 0.5 mm instead of the more common 1 mm. He's very pretty, btw!

I feed him 3 pellets. I will try tapping the water next time!

 

While cycling you are supposed to feed very lightly... so I would consider feeding less. But I don't know how big the pellets are. Flowingfins might be able to help. Or Aquaphobia

 

Kris isn't this so frustrating? The guy at PetSmart was telling us all about the tanks he has at home too... I don't know how he didn't mention any of this. Everything he told us was wrong!

At least the tank is pretty! Of course the filter sucks. Did you call Fluval and get a replacement? They were very nice on the phone and sent us one right away. There is a 1 year warranty, but after that I'm assuming we will have to get another filter. I don't know that will work with the shape of the tank and lid though. Such a shame.

Good luck on your situation too. Hopefully we can both straighten it out and our Bettas stay healthy.

 

Isn't the filter on the ChI simply a stock AquaClear? Or maybe it was something else, but I'm sure I read that it wasn't all that difficult to replace. Or maybe I'm thinking of the Fluval Edge.

 

When my betas were alone, I used to turn off the filter during feedings so the pellets wouldn't move around as much. My pellets float. Can't do anymore because my tetras' flakes sink when I turn off the filter my oldest Betta is having a tough time with her food though cuz she's old.

 

Mia - Yes, it has been frustrating! We even told the guy we were willing to get/do whatever we needed to do to take care the fish. But he still gave us the "Betta fish don't really need any of that" speech....go figure?!
And, no we didn't call about the filter. The tank was beautiful, but we were concerned about the top design making it very hard to replace the filter. After one particularly frustrating night trying to get the filter restarted, we decided to take the whole thing back. We replaced it with a simple, old-school, rectangular one. Not as pretty, I'd say, but less aggravating! Hope Skinny Pete is doing well. I'm following all the advice given here, and will keep learning....Thanks again for posting the question!

 

Welcome to the forum
You've been given great advice so far.
I've found that bettas do best when they have a varied diet. I feed mine 2 omega one betta pellets every other day, in between those days they are fasted once, fed frozen brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms, or flightless fruit flies.
I have a fluval chI as well, I wouldn't buy another. My filter stopped working so I just use the light now. I recommend a sponge filter, you can find them for around $4 on eBay.
Here's a care sheet I wrote up on bettas- https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/betta-care-guide.226842/ . It's still pretty rough, but it covers the basics
Your boy is beautiful!