Need help -- I accidentally got Maracyn 1 and 2 Saltwater rather than Freshwater

[nekura]

Would this be bad to use for a betta?? She is getting over internal parasites and got shiny purpleish-grey blotches on her tail and fins that my LFS said was fin rot. Her fins have been clamped for 3 days, yesterday I started treating with Saltwater Maracyn 2 and today I added Maracyn 1. I cannot go back to the fish store because it is 40 miles away and my car is in desperate need of maintenance. I called the company and and they said it was not recommended but I feel like I have no other choice. Does anyone have any more info on it? Google was useless.

[nekura]

The maracyn doesn't seem to be stopping the shiny blue patches -- they are only visible in direct light, but the areas that she has them seem to be losing color too. Is this really fin rot?? Why does it seem to be spreading if I'm using both Maracyn 1 and 2??

[Seki]

I'm the furthest thing from an expert on this, but I guess if it says it's for saltwater and you're using it in freshwater, there could be some very bad consequences from this. If it was me, I probably wouldn't have used it, especially since the company even said no.

My suggestion is to get the fish out of that water with the medicine in it, it might be doing something to the fish. Put her in clean, unmedicated water (with conditioner in it, of course), make sure it's heated, and go from there. But I would imagine step 1 would be to get her OUT of the water with the medicine in it simply because that medicine might be doing more harm than good. It isn't meant for freshwater fish...

Again, I'm in no way any sort of authority on this. I'm only giving a suggestion based on what I would do in that situation, and what makes sense to me.

[teeneythebetta]

Can you post pictures?

[nekura]

I would never be able to get a shot good enough to show the shiny stuff on her, but she is losing fins though there is no black on them on typical signs of fin rot other than the shiny bluish coating blotching parts of the tail and now on the back part of her body. She's been kept in a 40 gallon with pristine conditions, but the parasite likely set off some kind of secondary infection.. It's third day of treatment, but its not going away..

As for the saltwater thing many forums said there was no difference other than an added vitamin and a higher dose, so I'm using half a dose... But I may need to take her out, but I just really wanted someone knew for sure because if it is bacterial I don't want it to get immune. Two fish store employees said it was finrot. I would just really hate to have wasted 40 dollars on meds I can't use because it was the saltwater brand. I'm completely broke after buying those and will not be able to make a trip back there for two weeks since its so far away.

The blotches are really hard to see and the light has to hit it just right to see. It isn't gold, it's a bluish tint and I have no camera that can catch a moving target much less something so dependent on being the right angle. Could it be anything but bacteria???

[nekura]

Well, I took her out.. Now what? =(

[Seki]

Tail rot or fin rot
•Symptoms: Betta’s fins and/or tail seem to be getting shorter and shorter or they seem to be falling apart and dissolving, Black or red along the edge of the betta’s fins/tail, Bloody tips, Behavior may not change
Treatment: Conservative: Treat with Aq.Salt at 1 tsp/gal. Increase water changes to 100% daily. Replace accurate amount of salt following water changes. Add Stress Coat to help repair tissue. If there is little to no improvement within the first 5 days, you can increase the salt dosage gradually to 2tsp/gal but do not continue any salt treatments past 10 days. Medication: If Conservative treatment is ineffective use API Tetracycline, API Fungus Cure, API Triple Sulfa, OR API Erythromycin. Also add Stress Coat to help regrowth. Continue until fins/tail stop receding and start showing some new growth.

This is copied directly from the sticky about betta diseases and treatments. I don't know if you have any aquarium salt, but if you do, I'd suggest putting some of that in there at the dose recommended above. If not, I think daily 100% water changes would certainly be a good thing. That seems to be one of the very best things for a great many issues with bettas... clean water really helps them thrive and get over anything that is ailing them.

I'm sorry I can't help more, I really am rather new at betta ownership as well. But going off of what people have said on here, the treatment in the sticky seems to be the best treatment. You could always try PMing OldFishLady, she is amazingly helpful and extremely knowledgable. Also, if you can fill out the form (I'm copying it for you here) that is stickied in this section of the forum, more members might be able to offer a bit more insight for you.

Housing
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

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?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?

[nekura]

Here's a link to the picture, best I could do with that camera. It has a few second delay and refused to do anything actually in focus. I drew a circle around the blotch. The light has to hit it just right and you can see her clamped finds too.

http://imgur.com/Xf8AX

[nekura]

Housing
What size is your tank? 40 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 79
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Filter
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? Sorority, cories, ottos, danios

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? brine shrimp
How often do you feed your betta fish? aim for 3 a day, but they all steal pellets from the other fish

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? 40%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Prime

Water Parameters: Everything is 0
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? Not today, but its been 0

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH: can't test
Hardness: no idea
Alkalinity: no idea

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Clamped fins, bluish coating
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? She stopped eating betta pellets and only ate brine shimp
When did you start noticing the symptoms? two days ago for this
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Maracyn 1, 2, metrodazole and prazipro but not at the same time, she had internal parasites too and I was already treating her for that before the coating appeared
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Internal parasites
How old is your fish (approximately)? I've had her for 4 months

Edit: She has no signs of finrot but fins disappearing. There is no other discoloration other than that blue shiny stuff. Also I'm not sure how to send private messages here..

[Oldfishlady]

It might be a result of fin nipping from the Danios, is this a new setup or do you have lots of fast growing or floating plants-I ask because you don't have any nitrate. What kind of testing products are you using...

How are the other fish and what S/S did the fish have that made you suspect internal parasites and was it all the fish and what are you using to treat that?

Do you have her in a small QT, if not-remove her from the tank and place in a small Qt container-if she came in one of the small temporary cups with a lid-these work great for a QT and you can float it (attached so it doesn't sink) in the heated tank to maintain temp.

Regardless- if the fin damage is from nipping or not-she may have a secondary infections-good that you removed her from the antibiotics.

Her symptoms right now-more lethargic, clamp fins, poor appetite, missing tails and discoloration in the caudal peduncle area...correct?

Just trying to get a clearer picture of what is going on.

Sometimes the best medication is-clean dechlorinated water from water changes, good nutrition, removal of stress and time...Often over treatment and/or treatment with the wrong products can cause more harm than good and make the fish toxic.