Fins don't seem to be improving

[MissLyss1024]

I posted about 2 months ago on my boy with fin issues. All his fins are translucent and thin looking and ruffled looking at the edges. He arrived like that when I got him off of Aquabid. I thought maybe stress caused it during shipping and he'd heal once settled in his new home. He looks so horrible and I don't know why! I keep his water very clean and I tried aquarium salt and only saw little improvement. I put him in salt again a few days ago but had to switch to epsom due to some constipation issues. I will be putting him back in aq salt for a few more days and see if there is any improvement. If not should I be trying something stronger? I don't think it's fin rot. I don't see any black edges or anything. His recent constipation caused him to lose some color but that's the only issue he's had since I got him. He's usually pretty lively and always has an appetite. I'm not sure what to do :/

Housing
What size is your tank? 5gal in 1.5gal qt now
What temperature is your tank? 80 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? 1 Nerite snail

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Hakari Betta Bio Gold
How often do you feed your betta fish? 3 pellets twice daily

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25-50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Seachem Prime and API Leaf Zone

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Fins look translucent and crimped at edges
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? No
When did you start noticing the symptoms? He arrived like that. Ordered off of AquaBid
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Tried aq salt a few months ago. Trying again
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? About 10 months

[callistra]

Snails are really really dirty and require larger and more frequent water changes to keep water quality under control. Personally, I wouldn't ever keep one in a tank that small.

In your 1.5g quarantine, especially since he's sick, you need to be doing 50% water changes every other day and one 100% a week, including a thorough rinsing of gravel and all decor.

In the 5g, know the cycling can take up to 2 months and during that time you should be testing daily with an ammonia and nitrite test kit and do water changes any time you see as little as .25ppm ammonia or nitrite. In addition to these extra changes, you'll want to make your normal weekly change. You'll see an ammonia spike first, then nitrite. Eventually ammonia will drop and stay at zero, then nitrite. At this point you should only be left with nitrates which should be kept under 20ppm by a 50% weekly water changes (including a thorough vacuuming of the gravel with siphon).. however with a snail like that you may need a 2x weekly water change. Is the snail still in the 5g?

Photos would be helpful.

[MissLyss1024]

I have a snail in each of my 5 gallons and two in my 10 gallon. I will test the water and maybe up the changes to two 50% weekly or one 50% and one 25%. In the at I've been doing a full change every other day. I took him out of his salt treatment yesterday. I woke up today to find bloody spots all over his fins. In one spot there's black around the bloody area. Im assuming its fin rot and the salt didn't work. I have API liquid fungus cure. Will that work? The directions are a bit confusing regarding the dosage.

[MissLyss1024]

Also, the snails are relatively new (month or so) and he had this issue before. It didn't improve with salt treatments but it didn't get worse until today really. I can't post a picture but I am positive it's fin rot.

[callistra]

Bloody spots on fins? Well.. I hope it's not exactly like you're describing because bloody streaks in fins and body is septicemia which is an infection of the blood stream and is very serious.. You sure you can't share photos to confirm? If you really can't then click this: http://www.google.com/search?q=betta...=1920&bih=1109 (pretty disturbing, imo, so head's up) to confirm

I would definitely look very hard for Kanaplex by Seachem and combine it with Furan 2 by API. If you can't find it try Maracyn Plus. Kanaplex should be dosed every other day. I'm pretty sure Furan 2 is every 24 hours, but the package should say.

[LittleBlueFishlets]

Originally Posted by callistra

I'm pretty sure Furan 2 is every 24 hours, but the package should say.

API Furan 2 instructions:

"For best results, remove activated carbon or filter cartridge from filter and continue aeration. For each 10 gallons (38L) of water, empty one packet directly into aquarium. Repeat dose after 24 hours. Wait another 24 hours then change 25% of the aquarium water. Repeat this treatment for a second time, for a total of 4 doses. Then make a final 25% water change and add fresh activated carbon or replace filter cartridge. Treatment may be repeated, if necessary. Note: This medication will cause a slight discoloration of water which can be removed with activated carbon. This package treats up to 100 gallons. Four doses required for full course of treatment."

http://www.petguys.com/-317163160700.html

[MissLyss1024]

I don't have a camera at the moment. It looks nothing like those pictures. I thought bloody tips were common with fin rot? His fins look so much worse than they did yesterday :(

[callistra]

Brownish/reddish or gray/dissolve/thin tips but I've never seen them look or be described as bloody.

If it's moving really quick I'd still look for the meds.

[MissLyss1024]

I know I can't find Kanaplex in the stores here but I'm pretty sure I've seen Maracyn. Does it have to be Maracyn Plus?

[callistra]

Maracyn is not the same as Maracyn Plus. Two totally different meds. Maracyn is Erythromycin which is a gram positive drug while fin rot is almost always gram negative. It's not likely to help this.