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Fin Rot becoming chronic

2K views 7 replies 2 participants last post by  gino6678 
#1 ·
Hello everyone, first time on this forum. I have recently been posting on a different forum seeking help but have not been successful so far so here it goes...

I'm a college student, went on spring break, one of my roommates watched my tank, probably overfed them which lead to pretty high nitrates when i returned (around 100). Didn't notice anything particularly wrong at the time, but my betta did acquire what appears to be mild fin rot during my absence. The rotting portion appears blackish, something that may not be fin rot??(according to what i've been told) but i believe it to be fin rot. I would also like to note that he is behaving normally and is not at all sluggish

I immediately took action and performed water changes multiple times that week of my return, I managed to get nitrates down to about 10-20 ppm, fin rot stayed the same.

After a week of 0 improvement with very good water parameters I went for the maracyn 1 and 2 combo. I treated with both medications for 5 days, after the first round of treatment, the fin rot was unchanged, but in addition my betta's fins were now much thinner all around, even on parts that were not damaged by rot. I proceeded to extend the maracyn 2 for 5 more days and I saw no improvement, but no significant worsening.

Stopped medicating for 1 week and tried mild aquarium salt, no improvement.

Next attempt was the melafix/pimafix combo, although I have read many conflicting sources of information about these medicines, I made an educated decision to try them. Well, it didn't really matter because they didn't hurt or help my betta, he remained the same after the 1 week treatment.

And finally, I tried jungle fungus clear, which is me throwing S**t at the wall and hoping it sticks at this point, I just started the 4 day treatment yesterday and can't really say I'm expecting it to work, but I have to try.

After all of this, the fin rot has maybe gotten a TAD worse, but all of his fins have remained thin since the maracyn treatment.

I come here in desperation, here are the question answers:
Housing
What size is your tank? 9 gal
What temperature is your tank? 78 degrees
Does your tank have a filter?yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? yes
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? 1 guppy, they get along well, 2 african dwarf frogs, cherry shrimp

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? frozen blood worms, freeze dried brine shrimp, betta pelets,
How often do you feed your betta fish? 1-2 times per day (usually 2)

Maintenance

How often do you perform a water change? twice a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? roughly 20-25%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? prime

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

Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:5-10
pH: about 7.6
Hardness: dont know
Alkalinity: dont know

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? part of caudal fin has rotted, caudal, dorsal and anal fin have thinned considerably
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? no, he acts as though there is nothing wrong with him
When did you start noticing the symptoms? about 1 month ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? yes, described above
Does your fish have any history of being ill? other than this, no
How old is your fish (approximately)? a little less than 1 year
 

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#2 · (Edited)
Well one possible reason why no meds are working is because he is bitting his fins. The good part is, he isn't actually sick. The bad part - something upset him while you were away that caused him to bite. Stress, anger, boredom or just because he could. Im guessing you being away and lack of proper care during that time is the cause but it may be something else. The fin rot may of developed as a result of the bitten fin - its still an open wound.

I would either just keep his water super clean or do another 10 days of aquarium salt to fight off any infections and maybe some stress coat. If he stops, his fins will grow back

He may or may not stop bitting depending on what the original cause was.
 
#3 ·
I was told by one other person that he could be biting his own fins. I observe quite a bit and have not seen him attempt to bite himself but it is possible that he did it when i was away.

The only thing I am concerned about is that i have been back almost 1 month and have not seen any biting and the fins have not improved.

thank you for the imput though.
 
#4 ·
Very few people actually see them biting. I have 2 that shredded their tails but never seen either bite.

If its not getting worse, it should be getting better...Odd. Normally new fin growth is transparent at the tips of the damaged area and it should start to heal unless he is still nibbling on it.

Maybe try adding a new decoration or moving things around?
you have already tried everything I can think of...

he lives with another fish, right? Is it possible he is nipping at him?
 
#5 ·
I had a female guppy a few months ago that was nipping him but this was well before any damage had occured, i returned her to the store. the male i've had for a while has never nipped my betta's fin they actually get along great.

after this jungle fungus clear treatment do you suggest I go back to salt or simply regular clean water?
 
#7 ·
It's up to you if you want to use the salt. Many people say daily water changes are enough to heal the fins. I would give him a break and then maybe do 10 days of aquarium salt.

lso, does anyone know what the black edges of the damaged fin indicate?
As far as I know, the black is a sign of fin rot. However some bettas have a natural black outline around their fins.



I can't find any good, clear pics of bettas with fin rot on the net >.<
other then this
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the reply

Judging by that picture i would say this is standard bacterial fin rot, really a shame the maracyn 1 and 2 combo did not work.

I just did a 50% water change and will be doing smaller water changes daily without any medicine, hopefully it clears up.
 
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