rescue betta: filter for tail/body rot treatment requirement

[dbrooke1]

hello, this betta has i think tail and body rot from the reading i've done online...... in tank he's in water temps range between 74-76 right now. occasionally if outside temp goes up it gets to 78 degrees. no filter (although i have one on hand), no airstone, it's heated.
this betta is by himself of coarse. i am feeding him pellets--new life spectrum and hikari bio gold. between 4-5 pelleets per day split up in two meals. i will change the water 100% every day for treatment. using api stress coat (and have alil bit of prime on hand). water paramters are unknown right now.
his symptoms: bits of a few ends of his tail and anal fin looks broken off or shorter. there are some tiny holes too. one end of tail looks to be bright red and on this part there is a small white fuzz appearance. there is also a fuzzy appearance on his body. i could only see the fuzzyness on his body when i looked up really close at him under lights. he swims around with occasionally laying near the bottom.

i was wondering about a requirement to maintain oxygen in the water during this fish's treatment. i bought a package of maracyn 1. although, i realized after doing a little reading that maracyn medicine takes some of the oxygen from water i believe. so, i have a filter on hand and have never used a filter before. i'm uncertain if its required for the fish to have enough oxygen. please help asap. i'm changing his water 100% with aqsalt, i'd like to start to treat him with medicine tonight, haha! :( :(
thanksss

[sainthogan]

clean, warm water is the best for fin rot. Medications may help if it's infected or progressing to body rot. You will need to keep his tank closer to 78 or higher though. And temperature fluctuations can extremely stressful. So he is going to need a heater that doesn't fluctuate (adjustable heaters are best) to keep the water warmer and consistent. 74 is too cold for optimum healing.
It also sounds like he has a fungus in addition to the fin rot, the medication will help with that, although I'm not sure if the one you are using is for external illnesses or not, so double check that.
You don't need to worry about the filter, Bettas breathe air from the surface, so make sure he has access to the surface of the tank so he can breathe.

[dbrooke1]

Originally Posted by sainthogan

clean, warm water is the best for fin rot. Medications may help if it's infected or progressing to body rot. You will need to keep his tank closer to 78 or higher though. And temperature fluctuations can extremely stressful. So he is going to need a heater that doesn't fluctuate (adjustable heaters are best) to keep the water warmer and consistent. 74 is too cold for optimum healing.
It also sounds like he has a fungus in addition to the fin rot, the medication will help with that, although I'm not sure if the one you are using is for external illnesses or not, so double check that.
You don't need to worry about the filter, Bettas breathe air from the surface, so make sure he has access to the surface of the tank so he can breathe.

thank you, sainthogan! it's good to know all of this. from what i've read, from appearance, fin rot progressing to body is when almost all the tail/fin is gone. i forgot to say there's parts of his tail where it looks "ripped" or split. one of the split parts of th tail is sort of close to the body. i did the water change with aqsalt and, lo and behold, the white fuzz appearance on his tail dissapeared as well as the fuzzyness on his body. could the fuzz on his body be the fungus instead? i'm afraid the fungus may also still be present. he body looks thin so i'm hoping there's nothing internal. i'm just trying to feed him well.
i'll raise the temp to 78. i read in a different forum from someone that 80 is too warm because it encourages bacteria to spread. they adviced 76- 78, so i'll just try putting it at 78.
the heater is adjustable. i'll monitor the temp. i live in california and where i live the outside temp changes from coldish to warmish during morning to later in the day... and later temps drop again at night. so, i'll try and monitor the temp as night approaches.
maracyn 1 pack says it treats columnaris, fin/tail rot, and other diseases. popeye was one of them. idk, haha. :( i read maracyn 2 treats any secondary conditions that can result from the bacterial rot, but i'd have to use both maracyn 2 with 1. i wish i had more knowledge, lol!!
if the fuzzy appearance is gone, could the fungus still be there even if i don't see it? i'm guessing i'd need maracyn 2 with 1 to treat fungus from fin rot? i'm uncertain if maracyn 1 alone is good for external fungus. or if he's still at the stage to need tobe treated with medicine or not. so maybe just keep doing water changes for 2 weeks with the right conditions. maybe i won't use the medicine...... ? could clean water take care of fungus alone? if not maybe i'll treat with maracyn 1 and 2? hahaha
wow, i probably am driving you crazy with all of this. this is long. am thankful

[Freyja]

Give this a read as well: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=73332

[dbrooke1]

thanks freyja for the link. i could have read this first before writing a thread. the info is all there. i forgot.

update, some of the split part of his tail is just beginning to grow in.

[dbrooke1]

thanks freyja!! i could have read this first before writing a thread. the info is all there. apologize, appreciate it

[dbrooke1]

...

[ANHEL123]

Hey dbrooke sorry you having problem with your betta:(
Continue with aq salt. I would really recommend higher dose 3tsp/gall. Are you able to post a picture ? I would just continue with salt for now and see how he doing. If you think that he is getting worse then start Marasin's medications. Use combination of both medications. One is for gram positive and another for gram negative. Fuzzy white cottony like patches on body or head,bloody tips, fins getting shourter and shourter,falling apart, ragged edges,black edging would indicate a really serious rot and need to be treated. Or large parts of the tail just drop off...
Keep him in 76* it fine. Both bacteria and fungus thrive and multiply in warmer water.

[inveritas]

I've used Myxazin to treat finrot on my betta in an empty small 1G hospital tank/jar - no filters or pumps, just conditioned tap water and the chemical. Just remember to do a water change every 3 days or so, and you'd be able to see improvements in a week!

[dbrooke1]

anhel123,
got it. i up'ed the aqsalt from 1 tsp to 3tsp/gal. question, is it harmful to up the dosage of aqsalt? would it be best to do it gradually? maybe it's ok if he already had 1tsp of aqsalt in water to up the dosage to 3tsp. just wondering.
i'll post a pic of him. i apologize i do not have a good camera, so the pic i'll post soon is not good quality.
his temp is 86. i agree, less warm may be good.

inverita, thank you good to know!! sounds good.