Treating stubborn fin rot

[rezicca]

Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 75F, unheated, room's just warm.
Does your tank have a filter? No.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No.
Is your tank heated? No.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? N/a

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Betta food pellets, bloodworm as a treat
How often do you feed your betta fish? 3 pellets once a day, bloodworm once a week.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Usually every day, but it's been every other day this week.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25%-50%. It varies.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? API water conditioner, API stress coat

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

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He's developing fin rot on his anal fin that just won't go away.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? It hasn't; he's still active.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? A few days ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I increased water changes and today I've started a salt treatment.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? I wouldn't know.
How old is your fish (approximately)? About four-six months.

Basically, I know he nips his fins, and I think the fin rot was brought on by that. I've started an aquarium salt treatment today, but what else should I try if that doesn't kick it?

Thanks. ^^

[teeneythebetta]

Originally Posted by rezicca

Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 75F, unheated, room's just warm.
Does your tank have a filter? No.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No.
Is your tank heated? No.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? N/a

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Betta food pellets, bloodworm as a treat
How often do you feed your betta fish? 3 pellets once a day, bloodworm once a week.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Usually every day, but it's been every other day this week.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25%-50%. It varies.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? API water conditioner, API stress coat

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

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He's developing fin rot on his anal fin that just won't go away.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? It hasn't; he's still active.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? A few days ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I increased water changes and today I've started a salt treatment.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? I wouldn't know.
How old is your fish (approximately)? About four-six months.

Basically, I know he nips his fins, and I think the fin rot was brought on by that. I've started an aquarium salt treatment today, but what else should I try if that doesn't kick it?

Thanks. ^^

Hi there :)
First I'd like to start off with resolving the cause of the fin rot.
Fin rot is caused by poor water quality and/or stress. In your case I believe it is both of those.
For a 2.5 gallon tank, you should do two water changes per week- 1 50% and 1 100%. 100% water changes are required in an uncycled tank because ammonia will build up over time if not removed via 100% changes.
Secondly, doing such frequent water changes (may) be stressing him out. I suggest in the future that you use the water change schedule I mentioned above.

Secondly, 75 degrees is a tad too cold for your betta. They are tropical fish and are known to do their best at 78-82 degrees. Keeping him at a warmer temperature will not only be healthier for him but will help him heal faster. Cold water makes bettas more prone to illness and disease.
If you are on a budget, a wonderful heater for your tank would be this one on amazon. I used these heaters and they are wonderful. The best part is that they are very affordable, theyre adjustable and have a thermostat, which means it will maintain your desired temperature constantly.
http://www.amazon.com/ViaAqua-50-Wat...ds=via+aqua+50

Lastly, here is the treatment for fin rot.
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

Good luck and feel free to ask more questions! I hope he gets better soon!

[rezicca]

Thanks so much. ^^

I won't get paid until this Friday, so can't get a heater yet, but I will as soon as I can. My desk lamp gives off a lot of heat, so it does raise the temperature about a degree or so, but I don't rely on it.

His fin rot's getting much better since the salt treatment. Would it be alright to stop treatment before ten days?

Thanks~