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Nami has Tail/Fin Rot

2K views 24 replies 4 participants last post by  lvandert 
#1 ·
Hi Guys,

I believe Nami has fin rot, but I'm not 100% sure how far along it is so I'm hoping you can help me determine the best route of action.

Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5 Gallons
What temperature is your tank? 75-80 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? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqueon Betta Food Pellets. Two in the morning, two at night.
How often do you feed your betta fish? Two pellets in the morning, two at night.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Once a week full water change. I used to do 50% water change halfway through the week but I've been extremely busy lately. I will be doing it daily now.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100% once a week and used to be 50% halfway through the week. Now it's 100% daily.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? I used to use Aqueon Betta Bowl Plus, now I use API Stress Coat+. I also started adding API AQ salt. 2.5 tsp because it's a 2.5 Gal tank.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? Never Done

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH: 7.8
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Tail fins are deteriorating bit by bit each day. I originally thought he was getting it caught in something so I was watching him like a hawk and then one day last week I saw a little peace just drop off and realized I need to look up here to see what's going on.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He seems to be just swimming around. He seems to be a little more skittish, but I'm not 100% sure.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? I few weeks ago, but I thought he was getting caught in the filter or something, so I didn't actually start doing anything until today.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Yes, today with 1 tsp/gal of salt (so I used 2.5 tsp). I'm not sure if I should have used more because I'm not sure how to tell how far along he is. I bought API Fungus Cure and API Tetracycline but I haven't used either because I wasn't sure if I should yet or not.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Not that I know of.
How old is your fish (approximately)? I had Nami him for about 3 months but I'm not sure how old he was when I got him.

So I guess my questions are:

1. How do I know if this is more advanced Tail/Fin Rot? How do I know when it is on his body? He still has some tail fin left but it looks like one section broke away and there's not a whole lot left.

2. Should I use more than 1 tsp/gal of AQ Salt now? Should I start using either the Fungus Cure or Tetracycline now? Can I use both the salt and one of the medicines at the same time?

3. The Stress Coat+ I bought is a little confusing. Last week I bought a little 30mL bottle and it says 2 tsp(10mL) per 10 Gal tank, which would mean that I use 1/2 tsp. Today I bought a big bottle (473 mL) and it says 5mL per 10 Gal tank, which would mean I use 1/4 tsp. Then it says on the big bottle to "double the dose to replace slime coat and to repair damaged sin and fins". I'm a little confused, how much to I use?

Thanks for your help and I'll try to take a picture of my little fella and post it.

Thanks in advance,
Sara
 
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#2 ·
I would start a salt and stress coat treatment. Follow the bottle that tells the dosage for repairing fins. I think it turns out to be like 1 ml per gallon. The bottle should have a little measuring cup with it. As for advanced fin rot or not if you started to notice the symptoms a couple weeks ago then its pretty far along. It also sounds like a very slow rot so your lucky. I would wait on the fungus cure. try this for a week and see if it doesn't help, if not then go ahead and follow the instructions in the fungal meds.
 
#3 · (Edited)
I will continue to do the 1 tsp/gal AQ salt + 1 mL/gal Stress Coat+. How quickly should I see results if this is going to work? I put it in at around 12:00 today and it's 11:00 now. I don't see any new growth yet.

Sorry I never got a picture. It is dark here and I couldn't get a good one.
 
#4 ·
I thought that I might as well and share my knowledge on this horrible disease

Fin Rot Information

Symptoms

-Ripped tails, bloodshot, black edged, or has a fuzzy white appearance in the edge
-The Betta will become unusually inactive
-Won't eat
-Looks pale, and looses lots of color

Causes
This profilic disease is caused by stressful water conditions primarily but here are a few main examples of the conditions it is most likely found in

-Poor water quality with unacceptable amounts of ammonia, along with nitrites and nitrates
-Nippy tankmates
-Incompatible tankmates
-Tailbiting
-Plastic plants ripping fins constantly
-Over feeding
-Over crowding
-Sometimes after a disease, while the bettas immune system is low it can strike unexpectedly

Treatment

This disease is most commonly treated with mainly

-daily water changes of around 25-50 so more diseases dont settle in while the Betta is vulnerable
-a high quality fin rot treatment. Use tetracycline or Ampicillin for the best possible results

Prevention
-Keep the water clean
-don't over feed
-choose the right tankmates
-make sure that the bettas fins are always in the best shape
-keep the water heated
-change the water weekly
 
#5 ·
Thanks Mo. That was very helpful!

Hmmm.. I'm not sure what is going on then:

Symptoms
-Ripped tails, bloodshot, black edged, or has a fuzzy white appearance in the edge -- The tips of Nami's tail was always a dark pink so never noticed the black edge or bloodshot. There doesn't seem to be a fuzzy white appearance either. Of course his tail is ripped or falling off though, that's why I'm so concerned.
-The Betta will become unusually inactive -- He's only acting a little differently. Still swimming around but is a little more skittish.
-Won't eat -- Is still eating.
-Looks pale, and looses lots of color -- He's not losing a lot of color, just mainly the pink tips of his tail is physically coming off.

I wish the photos came out clearer. I will try again first thing in the morning. Perhaps I have caught it early or could it be something different? I was originally thinking he was biting his tail or getting it caught in something but I've been watching him like crazy and haven't seen either occurring.
 
#6 ·
Fin Biting
•Symptoms: Not to be confused with Fin/Tail Rot, Fin or Tail biting is when a betta bites his own tail, tearing off pieces. Fins will be ragged, they will look like there are chunks missing, Fin loss can occur overnight, The tips of the fins are clean, no black or red edging, You may spot him swimming in circles, chasing his tail, There may be no other behavioral change
Treatment:
Bettas bite their own tails out of boredom or misplaced aggression. To cure his boredom, try getting him a larger tank, move things around in the tank to spark his interest, put a mirror up to the tank a few times per day to let him exercise, offer a variety of foods, get him some tank mates (research into this first though), or put his tank next to another betta’s tank ect… Owners of fin biters often have to deal with their tendency for a lifetime but do what you can to draw his attention from his fins. When your betta does have a fin biting episode, it is important to keep his water extra clean to prevent infection. You can treat him for a few days with Aquarium Salt until you see regrowth but you do not want to overuse it. Using Stress Coat as the water conditioner will help fin regrowth.
Could It be this or him getting snagged on a plastic plant?
 
#7 ·
It'll take a few days to start clearing up generally. Mine stopped rotting after 2 days and then started growing back by the 4th
 
#8 ·
I believe he has tail rot. His body looks more pale today then it did yesterday. I'm not sure if the AQ salts have anything to do with that. I managed to get a few pictures but he was being skittish, so it was hard to get a good one. He still ate his breakfast though. I will be changing his water and adding new AQ salt this afternoon, unless you think I should be adding medicine too.






The two parts that I'm really concerns about on his fins are:

1. The top fin, as you can see in the first photo, is far apart from the tail fin. They used to be so full and close together, so I'm not sure if it's gone to his body there.

2. The bottom of the tail fin, again you can see it in the photo, is slightly apart from the bottom fin. This was also very full when I first got him. So I'm wondering if it has gone to his body and if I should be treating him with the medicine now, rather then going the conservative route.
 
#10 ·
Really Mo? Is it the pink plant on the right? I will take the plant out right now! I checked it over before I bought it and thought it was fine. It didn't hurt my hand when I squeezed it, but my hand isn't as fragile as Nami's fins either. I will continue using the AQ salt and Stress Coat+ with 100% water changes daily. Thank you! I'm really hoping it is not fin rot.
 
#12 ·
The reason why I suggested this treatment is because if it's fin rot, your not actually doing the fish a ton of harm (as long as you dont treat them for a couple months). I always try this method first, most of the time it works just in growing back fins. My girl Velvet had her fins repaired in 3 days, and Patrick's fin rot was gone in a week and started growing back the next.
 
#15 ·
what'll happen is the super dark spots that is the fin rot should start to go away now and you should start seeing new growth over the next couple days
 
#16 ·
So I have a new update. I came home from work today to find a new chunk taken out of his tail. He only has one silk plant and his house in his tank so I don't think he's getting caught or torn on anything. I thought I was starting to see new growth yesterday but today it's gone. Does this mean he is biting his tail and that it's not fin rot? If that's the case, what can I do to get him to stop? It's the 5th day of the AQ treatment so I'm not sure if I should put in more then 1 tsp/gal or just continue with this. What can I give him to keep him occupied when I'm not home?
 
#18 ·
I guess I'm still not 100% sure what is going on. He has some new growth but there's still a chunk of his tail missing. I believe he might be biting it because there's no black or white spots on him. I just bought 5 new silk plants so hopefully I can keep changing them so he's not bored. I guess my question now is: do I keep going with the salt treatments and if I do, do I keep using 1 tsp/gal or use more?

Thanks again, you are all so helpful!
 
#19 ·
it'll help grow back fins, which do start clear and then color up. Once he starts to look 100% again then I would stop.
 
#20 ·
Here are some pictures I took a few minutes ago.





I'm not sure if it's any better at all. After comparing the photos some parts look better and others look worse. I can't figure out if he's biting his fins (I've never seen him do it) or if he's getting caught on something. I have all new silk plants in his tank now so I'm hoping he's not bored. I'm still not sure if he has fin rot. I'm assuming he doesn't because he doesn't look or act sick and the fins look like chunks are gone rather than a fungus.

I also bought him a ping pong ball to float in the tank but he doesn't seem interested in it.

I will continues the 1tsp/gal every day but I'm not sure when I should stop doing that. I've been using it a week today.
 
#21 ·
I keep that stuff in the tank most of the time. He does look like there are patches of new growth. Some parts will take longer to grow than others. Overall he looks good, its just that darn tail. I'd give him another week before you make any drastic changes.
 
#22 ·
I'm still doing the daily 100% water changes and adding the salt. I thought that the salt shouldn't be used for more then 10 days. Is that incorrect? Today will be the 9th day. There are still some short parts of his tail but some of it has grown back.

Thanks for all your help Ivandert! I really do appreciate it.
 
#25 ·
It's probably not fin rot then. He's probably ripping them on a plant or decoration. You can quite the aq salt but still treat with stress coat
 
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