Escalation path for stubborn fin rot?

[pdxKris]

A couple of weeks ago we received a betta from AquaBid that was pretty stressed out from shipping, in fact, he was so pale and lethargic I really didn’t expect him to make it through the first night. The next morning when he started being a little more active we noticed he had a pretty good case of fin rot going on.

We did daily salt bathes for a few days but he really didn’t seem to be getting any better. Next we started JFE treatments, changing the water 100% every 3-4 days and re-dosing the new water with JFE each time. While doing the JFE treatments we also did near-daily salt baths.

Starting about 3 days ago we added Methylene Blue to the JFE treatment but quit the salt baths because he seemed to really hate them (his body would go from solid black to pale yellow every time we moved him). Since adding the Methylene Blue, he seems to have gotten noticeably worse.

Did we move to fast with the meds, or maybe not fast enough? Is there something else we should be doing for him? I’m considering moving up to something like Ampicillin instead of the JFE/Blue combo, but wanted to check with the resident experts to make sure I’m not jumping ahead of myself….

Forgot to mention, he’s in a 2.5gal QT tank with a heater (stays 78-81 with little daily flux), no filter. He loves to flare at a couple of spots in his tank, and has a great appetite. We’ve been alternating between a number of foods (2 types of pellets, re-hydrated bloodworms, frozen bloodworms, daphnia, betta flakes), and he seems to love it all . Overall he seems really happy, but the fin rot has me worried.

Ideas?

[pdxKris]

Any more information I can give to help get an answer, or has nobody had experience with such a troublesome case of rin fot before?

[MrVampire181]

Ampicillin is good for stubborn cases. Obivously the stress from shipping caused the bacteria to grab hold. Was there methylene blue in his bag?

[pdxKris]

Nope, just between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of somewhat stinky water, though I couldn't place the smell.

Ampicillin it is I guess, is there a preferred way to use it, or just follow the directions on the bottle? Also, should it be used in addition with JFE and/or Blue, or all by itself?

Thanks!

[pdxKris]

Well, I couldn't find Ampicillin locally, so I opted for tetracycline. I'm using it all by itself (no JFE), we'll see how that goes.

The instructions imply that I re-dose at full strength every day for 5 days with no water change, am I reading that right? Would it be more beneficial for him to do a 100% water change and re-dose daily?

[Kim]

If the tank is uncycled then it probably would be best to redose daily with water changes. I don't see why it would be a problem as long as he is in the meds all the time. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong though.

[pdxKris]

Thanks for the input! I guess what I was worried about is it seems like by following the instructions the dose would actually get stronger for each day since they don't say to do a water change.

So, if I do a 100% change every day and re-dose at the initial level, I wasn't sure if he'd be getting enough medicine over the course of the treatment.

[BakaMandy]

If you don't see an improvement after two weeks or have done many multiple treatments, I recommend you try and get ampicillin asap. ): Letting aggressive fin rot like that drag on for a long time isn't the best idea.

Try ordering it online or if you can't, look for penicillin. Chances are though your fish will need special treatment for the rest of its life since you'll have to do 100% water chances every day because it'll have a lower resistance to fin rot and the chances of reinfection are high ):

[MrVampire181]

Methylene blue should've been in the bag. It helps with stress.