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Managing Fin Rot and Velvet

909 views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  dramaqueen 
#1 ·
Let me begin by confessing that I have been a horrible fish-parent. I bought into the hype that betta were low-maintenance fish for pretty bowls and hospital plants.

Over the last 7 months I have acquired a total of 4. 2 large males (1 Crowntail, 1 Veil tail) and 2 smaller mails (1 delta tail and one half-moon tail). Up until a few weeks ago, they were all in smaller containers. The big guys in the 1 gallon bowls and the little guys in the half gallon bowls.

Everyone was happy and healthy when they were in a high-traffic area with company and light and warmth from the kitchen. We had guests with small children so we placed their containers up and away from small hands. My crowntail is a fussy moody fella and he really liked this set up and he - for once - has been consistently pleased to be away from the action. So I decided to keep them in their new spot. Water changes happened every two weeks and everyone seemed okay until the last change. In the light of my kitchen I could see that my two little guys were developing fin rot and showing signs of darkening.

My veil tail, my favorite - I call him my "puppy" fish - his gills had metallic coloring that has has advanced all the way down his back since I began treating him 10 days ago with betta fix.

I'd dealt with Ich before and this is definately different. I visited a specialist store and got something that the owner recommended I try first. It worked great on the little guys. Their coloring (one bright solid yellow one bright solid orange) has returned and their tail tips appear to be healing (they have gone from ragged to "tipped" almost like a scab but not nasty-looking - they are playing and busy again).

Not so much for the other fellow. I go back and forth between hope and dispair with him. He'll flutter about a bit and then he will hide for hours. He is still covered in grey. So yesterday I did a half-water change and introduced a bit of aquarisol on the recommendation of a betta fancier.

So I guess what I want to know is - is there a turn-around point for velvet? Is there a point at which recovery becomes an impossibility?

At the moment - his tank is 70 degrees (I have a small heater en route) he has 2.5 gallons a filter, a thermometer, I have monitored his water with the liquid PH/Ammonia tests and that is fine. Aside from that - I don't know what more I can do.

Thoughts?? I'm so sorry that this is so long. I just want to make certain I give as much information as possible.

Thanks, Paige
 
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#2 ·
Per the sticky request:

1. Size of aquarium (# of gallons) - 2.5
2. Is your aquarium setup freshwater or brackish water? - Freshwater
3. How long the aquarium has been set up? - Present set-up is 1 week old - before that we had been using the Gallon bowls for 7 months.
4. What fish and how many are in the aquarium (species are important to know) Betta - individual bowls.
5. Are there live plants in the aquarium? I have removed live bamboo and replaced with silk.
6. What temperature is the tank water currently? 70-72
7. What make/model filter are you using? Came with tank - has bubble filter - will check.
8. Are you using a CO2 unit? I'm a goob. I don't know what that is but I will look.
9. Does your aquarium receive natural sunlight at any given part of the day? Not directly.
10. When did you perform your last water exchange, and how much water was changed? 24 hours ago, half tank change - normally do full tank changes every 14 days.
11. How often do you perform water changes? 2 weeks
12. How often and what foods do you feed your fish? every other day - pellets 4-5 for the big guys and 2-3 for the little guys
13. What type of lighting are you using and how long is it kept on? Part of tank, only used when caretaking.
14. What specific concerns bring you here at this time? See above.
15. What are your water parameters? Test your pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Acceptable on PH and excellent on ammonia. Nitrite?
16. What test kit are you using and is it liquid or test strips? Liquid - top of the line, I think. Oy!
17. When was the last time you bought a fish and how did they behave while in the pet store tank? 6 months ago. N/A
 
#4 ·
Velvet can be cured if treated promptly. If the fish looks like it has been sprinkled with gold dust, then it has velvet. Velvet is very contageous so you need to be careful not to spread it to the other fish. I hope this info helps some. Also, you should feed your fish every day. I feed mine 2 pellets twice a day. Their water temp should be 78-80 degrees.
 
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