My betta is sick and I don't know what to do!

[DoctorWhoLuver]

That is pretty old...
Fin melt is different from fin rot and is more aggressive. I think there is a section on fin Melt in the Disease sticky.
That's great he's doing better! :) how big is your tank? You may not need to do 100% water changes everyday.

[carbonxxkidd]

It is a 5 gallon tank.

I am going to bring him home some Daphnia magnas from work tomorrow and see if he will eat them, he has not shown interest in his pellets since being moved into the new tank.

[Sakura8]

Hi carbonxxkidd and welcome to the forum. Poor guy, he looks pretty sad. Looks like some very nasty fin rot may have crept in there. That black strip on his caudal looks suspicious and although he had it for a long time, I wonder if it wasn't fin rot brewing.

Treatment with AQ salt: always add in only the same amount of salt that you remove with each water change. So if you take out 50% of the water, that's 2.5 gallons so add back in 2.5 tsps. Never add in the whole amount of salt unless you removed it. Salt doesn't evaporate so it would just build up and become toxic.

If you'd like to treat him with meds as well, then I'd recommend API Triple Sulfa but ONLY if you are NOT allergic to sulfa meds. If you are allergic, then go with API Furan-2.

[carbonxxkidd]

Originally Posted by Sakura8

Hi carbonxxkidd and welcome to the forum. Poor guy, he looks pretty sad. Looks like some very nasty fin rot may have crept in there. That black strip on his caudal looks suspicious and although he had it for a long time, I wonder if it wasn't fin rot brewing.

Treatment with AQ salt: always add in only the same amount of salt that you remove with each water change. So if you take out 50% of the water, that's 2.5 gallons so add back in 2.5 tsps. Never add in the whole amount of salt unless you removed it. Salt doesn't evaporate so it would just build up and become toxic.

If you'd like to treat him with meds as well, then I'd recommend API Triple Sulfa but ONLY if you are NOT allergic to sulfa meds. If you are allergic, then go with API Furan-2.

Thank you! He does look sad, and I know most of it is my fault :( I'm hoping the AQ treatment will work. Just to clarify, from what you are saying, 50% water changes are okay as long as I add back in the right amount of salt? How long should I wait to see results before going the medication route? There were so many different medicines at Petsmart but I don't think I saw either that you mentioned. I might have to go to a specialty store. I hope he can pull through this, it'd be nice to have him around for a couple more years. Thank you so much again.

[Sakura8]

No, no, it's not your fault! These things happen to fish. Every one, from the most advanced fishkeeper to the newbie, goes through this.

Yes, 50% should be just fine, especially since it makes adding back in the salt easier.

Since the rot has already advanced to his body, I would try meds as soon as you can find them.

[carbonxxkidd]

Sounds good, thank you.

It is okay to do the AQ salt + water changes + meds? Or should I stop the AQ salt when I add the meds?

[LeoTheLakerBetta]

You should be okay to add everything all at once. I hope he gets better :)

[Sakura8]

Yes, the salt should be fine with the meds. Good luck!

[carbonxxkidd]

I found the Triple Sulfa at Petsmart and put in 1/2 packet (it says 1 packet for 10gal). My question now is it says to redose tomorrow and then do a water change the next day, but with the AQ salt I am supposed to do a water change tomorrow too? What should I do?

[Sakura8]

Go ahead and redose and do the water change the next day. The salt will be okay, as it doesn't evaporate. The main reason we suggest the frequent water changes is to keep the water as clean as possible to minimize chances of infection. I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but only replace as much salt as you take out.