Slow But Severe Fin Rot

Background:
I got my betta, Adonis, in January from Petsmart. He lived in a heated, filtered 10 gallon tank (not planted, but had a rock cave) very happily with no issues until about March, when I had to split the 10 gallon to share with a betta I had not planned on acquiring and needed to emergency-house (long story). Even with an opaque divider, this was enough to stress out Adonis and he began tail-biting. I did not piece it together at the time, but looking back on it, I am certain this is what began it all.

I wasn't concerned about it because it was not infected (white tail, so it was very easy to spot any red or black edge) and it didn't seem to get any shorter than where he nibbled it to. I just kept his water as clean as possible and no issues arose from it. His tank mate received his own housing about two months later (May), and I hoped this would diminish his stress and convince him to let his tail grow back out.

It stayed the same length, though, until June. At this point, red edges formed on his tail and turned black. I moved him into a completely empty 1-gallon hospital tank with just a heater and have since been performing 100% water changes daily. (I understand 100% water changes are highly debated, but my tap water is very consistent - we have our own well - so the pH does not change and I treat it with the same conditioners every time and always, always, always match the temperature first. Therefore, the water should be nearly identical for every change, and he is held in a separate container during the change and is floated and acclimated back to the water over 20/30 minutes as if acclimating him to a new tank.)

Parameters (tested with the API master kit):
pH - 7.0
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0

New water is treated with API tap water conditioner/dechlorinator (even though our water isn't chlorinated - it's just to be safe) and Tetra EasyBalance Plus.

What I have tried:
For at least two weeks I tried aquarium salt at one teaspoon per gallon, to no avail. I upped it to two teaspoons per gallon for an extra week, still nothing. When making salt changes, I increased/decreased it slowly over the course of a day or two to minimize stress.

I tried gently dabbing diluted Melafix on the affected portion of tail, making sure it never touched his gills, once a day. After two or three treatments I realized this made it worse and immediately stopped.

I tried dabbing 3% Hydrogen Peroxide on the tail, same procedure as Melafix and then leaving him with no treatment for a week (still doing 100% water changes daily), no change.

He is currently on his fourth day of Furan 2, dosed as suggested. To make up for the removal of antibiotics with the more frequent water changes than the package indicates, I have calculated the dose per gallon that would be in the water each day and adjusted my treatments so that I add back in what I remove. His fins don't seem any better, black edge is still there, deterioration is still occurring.

I have never overlapped treatments and there have been times where he goes for a few days or a week without treatment. Again, no matter what treatment or lack of treatment, he always gets a 100% water change daily. Since the infection started, it has very slowly just gotten worse and worse. Never any dramatic changes from day to day - just very slowly eaten down.

I do not want to put him back in the 10 gallon because I am in the process of planting it while he is in the hospital tank and I am still waiting for everything to really settle into place. It would also make it a little harder to treat and I would run through my treatments ten times faster, and there is much more in there for him to hit his fins against.

How he is now:
Not once has he lost his appetite or activity level throughout this all. He acts as if nothing is wrong. He's still playful and swims up to me when I walk in. No treatment has seemed to damper his mood in the slightest. However, his tail is now 80% gone with the black dead fin almost reaching his body and his dorsal fin is beginning to break apart, as well.

Pictures:
The first one is him during the first two months I had him. Second his what his tail looked like when he began biting it (about five months ago). Third is how it looks today.

My question:
Should I continue with another round of Furan 2? Should I leave him be? Move him back into the 10 gallon? Try something again in a different way? I really do not want to spend more money than I have to on antibiotics. If the infection unresponsive to Furan 2, I can't imagine it would be responsive to anything else, because Furan 2 is supposed to treat both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. I am also a broke college student on a budget and I have already spent quite a bit of money on his treatments. I always feel like there's just no way he's ever going to get better and that he's just going to die in the coming week, but his personality is still just so bubbly, it's like he's going to be this way until the rot completely takes over his body. I would be so upset to lose him. He's not my first fish, but he's my first betta, and I have never owned another fish with his sort of personality. I currently have two other bettas doing great (a female in my 55 gallon community and a genetically deformed double tail rescue in a 3.5 gallon) but neither of them amount to how special he is to me. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

Hi, welcome to Fishlore
He’s very pretty!
I find it a little hard to believe that the nitrates are zero if there’s no live plants. I’m sorry if you said this, but how often do you do water changes and how much?
I’d highly suggest moving him back to his own tank (the ten gallon).
Kanaplex is more aggressive and might work better.

 

HI emmysjj,
I've been doing 100% water changes daily, as said in the post. That's the only reason nitrates are zero.
If Kanaplex is more aggressive than Furan 2, I may just have to order some online and try that. Thank you for the suggestion.
I'll also consider putting him back in the 10 gallon, perhaps once he's done with the Furan 2. I was thinking perhaps stress in an empty 1 gallon tank is dampening his immune system - but then again, he's acting like nothing is wrong even in the 1 gallon. My thought against it, though, is that the 10 gallon will probably go through at least a mini-cycle when I put him back in, and the water is still a little cloudy from recently adding dirt and sand. I'll give it a few day's thought though, thanks!

 

Hi, my best advice would be to stop the salt since it hasn't worked, and long term it really messes with the slime coat. Also, I'd try 50% water changes daily instead.
Personally I've tried kanaplex for severe finrot before, and it worked a little, I saw some regrowth for a few days, then it went bad again. I haven't tried Furan, but from my understanding that one is stronger. I'd also recommend doing a M blue dip in separate container if you are able

 

HI Rtessy,
Thank you for the advice; I can certainly try m blue. I don't know if it is any stronger than Furan 2 but I don't think it could hurt. And yes, he hasn't been in salt since I started the Furan 2.

 

HI Rtessy,
Thank you for the advice; I can certainly try m blue. I don't know if it is any stronger than Furan 2 but I don't think it could hurt. And yes, he hasn't been in salt since I started the Furan 2.

My bad, guess I missed that part. Go ahead and see how the Furan 2 does, most finrot is caused by gram negative bacteria. M Blue is more of a just in case, as it handles most external infections but isn't as strong, just has a wider range.

 

My bad, guess I missed that part. Go ahead and see how the Furan 2 does, most finrot is caused by gram negative bacteria. M Blue is more of a just in case, as it handles most external infections but isn't as strong, just has a wider range.

No problem! So far Furan 2 doesn't seem to be doing much at all, but he's only been on it for three days. I'm thinking I'll do a second round of it (for a total of about eight days) and if at that point it's still getting worse, I'll ditch the Furan 2, move him back into the 10 gallon, and start doing m blue dips.

 

No problem! So far Furan 2 doesn't seem to be doing much at all, but he's only been on it for three days. I'm thinking I'll do a second round of it (for a total of about eight days) and if at that point it's still getting worse, I'll ditch the Furan 2, move him back into the 10 gallon, and start doing m blue dips.

That sounds like a solid plan. For the M Blue dips, expect him to act rather shocked for a while after, mine normally sits in a plant and doesn't move for a few hours. I've had to use M blue on four different fish, and they all react that way but show no long term damage or anything. Give probably 3-4 days in between each dip, one may even be enough.

 

That sounds like a solid plan. For the M Blue dips, expect him to act rather shocked for a while after, mine normally sits in a plant and doesn't move for a few hours. I've had to use M blue on four different fish, and they all react that way but show no long term damage or anything. Give probably 3-4 days in between each dip, one may even be enough.

Thanks, I hope this helps him! Will have to find out sooner or later. I find it interesting that my rescue betta fully recovered from severe fin melt/laying on his side like a dead leaf in just three days with only aquarium salt (of course with some fin growing to do), meanwhile my healthy, active betta hasn't responded to anything at all in two months...

 

I would try 50% water changes everyday until he gets better. Also did you quarantine the other sick betta?

 

I was able to cure fin&tail rot on my EB ram with daily WCs and salt. It grew back fully in two weeks after her partner bit it right down. The bacteria actually degraded the caudal fin to nothing and started eating at her body. I took daily pics like you are looking for regrowth, I noticed positive growth after only two days. Is it possible he's still biting at his tail? Is it still infected? Is there some way to hinder him from biting? He's really beautiful, I hope it works out for you.

A year later, the same EB ram developed pop eye after her partner injured her eye. I tried the same treatment in a hospital tank, but this time left out the sodium chloride (because of the fluid buildup) and did MB bath 2x a day. I didn't like how the MB seemed to stress her out. She did the same as described above, she sulked in her tank for hours after the bath. I also feel catching/netting the fish twice a day is stressful and can cause more mechanical damage. I don't know your procedure for baths or how to treat a betta in particular, but the next time I'm faced with something similar, I will keep the fish in MB for a week or so instead of doing the baths. I've seen positive results keeping fish (cichlids) in MB while I ended up losing my beloved EB ram.

Also, when I noticed fungus on the pectoral fin of one of my angels, I netted the fish and dabbed MB on the exposed fin, released her immediately after. I did this ONCE. The fungus turned blue and healed right up nicely. FYI though, it looks bacterial, not fungal, so as to not confuse.

Also, Furan2 and kanamycin can be used simultaneously. Not sure about bettas though! It is the combo of choice for columnaris.

 

I would try 50% water changes everyday until he gets better. Also did you quarantine the other sick betta?

Yes, I put in the divider to try to minimize visual confrontation, but the rescue betta was in his own 1 gallon tank that was floating on the opposite side of the divider (attached to the lip of the tank so that it wouldn't tumble around). This was just so that I could keep the rescue betta warm (didn't have his own tank, heater, etc at the time) without putting him into the same water as Adonis.

 

How long did you quarantine

 

I was able to cure fin&tail rot on my EB ram with daily WCs and salt. It grew back fully in two weeks after her partner bit it right down. The bacteria actually degraded the caudal fin to nothing and started eating at her body. I took daily pics like you are looking for regrowth, I noticed positive growth after only two days. Is it possible he's still biting at his tail? Is it still infected? Is there some way to hinder him from biting? He's really beautiful, I hope it works out for you.

A year later, the same EB ram developed pop eye after her partner injured her eye. I tried the same treatment in a hospital tank, but this time left out the sodium chloride (because of the fluid buildup) and did MB bath 2x a day. I didn't like how the MB seemed to stress her out. She did the same as described above, she sulked in her tank for hours after the bath. I also feel catching/netting the fish twice a day is stressful and can cause more mechanical damage. I don't know your procedure for baths or how to treat a betta in particular, but the next time I'm faced with something similar, I will keep the fish in MB for a week or so instead of doing the baths. I've seen positive results keeping fish (cichlids) in MB while I ended up losing my beloved EB ram.

Also, when I noticed fungus on the pectoral fin of one of my angels, I netted the fish and dabbed MB on the exposed fin, released her immediately after. I did this ONCE. The fungus turned blue and healed right up nicely. FYI though, it looks bacterial, not fungal, so as to not confuse.

Also, Furan2 and kanamycin can be used simultaneously. Not sure about bettas though! It is the combo of choice for columnaris.

I initially treated him only with water changes and salt to no avail. I do not believe he's biting at his tail anymore, considering there are no chunks being taken out anymore - just a solid line of black that very, very slowly eats away at the fin. It is definitely still infected, though, nothing has taken away that black edge.

I'm considering dabbing it directly on the fin instead of baths, as well. I don't have any experience with methylene blue personally - I've never had a fish this bad that I needed to use it - I've only used other things so far, so I don't yet have a set procedure for doing MB dips. I can also consider him staying in diluted MB for a while, maybe with an airstone to keep oxygen levels up?

 

How long did you quarantine

The rescue was in his own one-gallon floatation tank for two months. He never once came into contact with the water that Adonis was in, he went straight to a new tank once I got it set up. Even if Adonis got the bacteria the rescue had (unlikely, considering rescue got his own tank well before Adonis got his infection), it should be much, much easier to treat - the rescue betta's infection cleared up in days with just salt.

 

I don't think salt does much for fin rot salt is used for ich or velvet mostly. in my opinion clean water is the best way to medication and he doesn't look as bad as some other bettas I've seen. There is also the possibility that he might catching it on something in the tank

 

I started with salt and then switched to kanaplex with mine. I also only did 50% WC, but that was in a 10 gallon. The kanaplex finally stopped it but I didn't see regrowth for a very very long time.

 

I don't think salt does much for fin rot salt is used for ich or velvet mostly. in my opinion clean water is the best way to medication and he doesn't look as bad as some other bettas I've seen. There is also the possibility that he might catching it on something in the tank

I appreciate the reply - but please read my post. Salt is just one thing that I have used in the past on another betta that worked very very well, and I tried it on him but with no response so he has not been on salt for a while. He had clean water for months with his torn fins with no regrowth before the infection. He has been in a completely empty 1 gallon for two months, so there is nothing he could be currently catching his fins on. All of these were mentioned in my original post.

 

I started with salt and then switched to kanaplex with mine. I also only did 50% WC, but that was in a 10 gallon. The kanaplex finally stopped it but I didn't see regrowth for a very very long time.

I've heard mixed reviews about kanaplex, but all seem to say that even when it works, it works very slowly... Hopefully, if the Furan 2 doesn't touch it, the m blue will. I'm only nervous about bringing him down to a 50% WC daily because it's an un-filtered one gallon tank, and I feel like ammonia will build up quickly without a 100% WC daily. Any opinions on this?

 

I've heard mixed reviews about kanaplex, but all seem to say that even when it works, it works very slowly... Hopefully, if the Furan 2 doesn't touch it, the m blue will. I'm only nervous about bringing him down to a 50% WC daily because it's an un-filtered one gallon tank, and I feel like ammonia will build up quickly without a 100% WC daily. Any opinions on this?

Personally I think a 50% should definitely take care of any ammonia, but if you're concerned, a 75% should be fine.

 

Personally I think a 50% should definitely take care of any ammonia, but if you're concerned, a 75% should be fine.

Thank you, this makes me feel better!

 

I'm considering dabbing it directly on the fin instead of baths, as well. I don't have any experience with methylene blue personally - I've never had a fish this bad that I needed to use it - I've only used other things so far, so I don't yet have a set procedure for doing MB dips. I can also consider him staying in diluted MB for a while, maybe with an airstone to keep oxygen levels up?

I used a Q-tip to dab it. As for him staying in MB, the MB facilitates oxygen absorption thru the gills, so no worry about him staying in there. It also will destroy your cycle and stain the tank silicone though. I use a tote instead of a tank to treat fish with MB. MB serves as a mild antiseptic to get any bacteria off the skin. It also increases the oxygen in their blood, facilitating oxygen absorption and helps the fish heal. It also boosts their immune system.

The dosage for a prolonged bath is 1ml per 10 gallons every other day for 10 days with WCs before each treatment. If it's a 30 minute bath, the dosage is doubled at 1ml per 5 gallons.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck!

 

I used a Q-tip to dab it. As for him staying in MB, the MB facilitates oxygen absorption thru the gills, so no worry about him staying in there. It also will destroy your cycle and stain the tank silicone though. I use a tote instead of a tank to treat fish with MB. MB serves as a mild antiseptic to get any bacteria off the skin. It also increases the oxygen in their blood, facilitating oxygen absorption and helps the fish heal. It also boosts their immune system.

The dosage for a prolonged bath is 1ml per 10 gallons every other day for 10 days with WCs before each treatment. If it's a 30 minute bath, the dosage is doubled at 1ml per 5 gallons.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck!

Thank you, this is extremely helpful!

No worries about the cycle or silicone - I'll keep him in the 10 gallon after the Furan 2 is over and do baths in the 1 gallon hospital tank (acrylic tank with no filter - no silicone or cycle anyway! If it stains the acrylic I don't care, it's just a hospital tank). I'll try out the 30 minute bath so I can make sure he gets as much exposure to the MB as possible with as little hospital tank time as possible. Hopefully in the 10 gallon he will be less stressed, maybe boost his immune system a bit and it will make it easier on him with fewer water changes.

 

Also, it will stain your fingers. It wears off after a while, but if you don't want blue fingers, best to wear gloves when handling!

 

Also, it will stain your fingers. It wears off after a while, but if you don't want blue fingers, best to wear gloves when handling!

Thanks for a heads up, not a problem! My hands are constantly stained from paint and wood finish from my work, so it's no worry to me, haha.