Clamped fins/red tips...fin rot or something else?

[BubzWigz]

Hi everyone. I'm hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction.

A little over 2 months ago I acquired 2 bettas (Bubbles and Wiggy) I have them both in separate 1 gallon bowls and I change their water every few days (I use water conditioner) The both of them seem to be doing great and are pretty active and very responsive. Bubbles in particular is a very "social" and friendly betta. However about 2 days ago I noticed a slight change in his personality. Although he has his appetite and still swims up to greet me and follows my finger around, most of the time I see him lying on the bottom on his bowl. I just noticed a few moments ago, the very end tips of his tail are bright red. He's never had the full flared fins that Wiggy has, but now they look very thin and clamped together at the ends. His fins don't have the same movement they usually do. I tried to get a decent picture of what I'm talking about but it's difficult to capture.

Does that sound like fin rot or possibly something else? I'm going away in 2 days and won't be home until Sunday. I'd like to start some kind of treatment and have my neighbor continue while I'm away. Thanks everyone!

[fishyMcDoodle]

I'm not an expert but maybe doing a full water change and cleaning all the gravel / decorations may help? Any rotting food pieces / fish poop that have gone unnoticed may contribute to health problems. I've heard that full water changes plus a bit of aquarium salt is usually enough to get rid of problems, if not maybe look into getting some medication? And do you know if your betta fish is biting its own tail?

[BubzWigz]

I just did another thorough cleaning with water conditioner for Bubbles and Wiggy and I added some Kosher salt to Bubbles bowl (I read it was a fine substitute for aquarium salt) Poor little guy. I hate seeing him so blah. He only swims when I come up to his bowl. Other than that, he just lies at the bottom. I'm glad he still has a ravenous appetite though. I don't know what could have happened to the tips of his fins. I've never seen him biting them. What would cause a fish to do that? I don't remember them looking like that yesterday and I've never heard of fin rot being blood red. Could be a I fungus though I suppose? If he isn't looking any better after I get home from work tomorrow, off to Petco I go for some betta meds!

[BubzWigz]

When I got out of work today I stopped by Petco and picked up a bottle of Bettafix. I read reviews online last night and it seemed to get nothing but glowing positive reviews and over 30 customers called it a "miracle med" It's hours later since I put the recommended drops in his water and Bubbles is still hanging in there. I don't see a great improvement, but he doesnt' seem to be any worse either.

My question is, what are the opinions on this treatment? I just read a couple of replies in another thread where people were telling the OP to remove the betta from the tank which was treated with Melafix. Now I'm worried about his water again. Is Bettafix any better/safer than Melafix? It's made by the same company and the bottles look the same.

[BubzWigz]

Sorry just updating again. I did a keyword search for "bettafix" in these forums and I see that treatment is supposed to be almost as dangerous as melamix I immediately cleaned out Bubbles entire bowl/gravel/decor and went back to clean/conditioned water. I put about 1/4 tsp of kosher salt in his bowl as well. Just out of curiosity, could someone tell me the difference between salts? From what I've read as long as you aren't using iodized salts with anti-caking agents either Kosher or sea salts are fine substitutes for AQ salt.

I do hope to see an improvement in Bubbles by the morning or at least by the time I leave for the long weekend. I'll be so sad if hear from my neighbor that he passed on