fin rot getting worse??

[BlueBlazeSilverHeart]

Hi. i feel like i have questions every other day >>. but anyways i went on a 3 day vacation and left my fishies in my parents care but when i cam back both of my boys seem to have fin rot. so i treated with water changes and aq salt. they are both in 1g tanks to try and fix this. the tank are heated to 80 and they can see each other. it's been 2 days now and my blue boy seems to be getting better but this morning my red dt top fin seems to be glued together, and he's having trouble turning when he swims. any suggestion as to what else i can do to fix the problem?

[LittleBlueFishlets]

1) How often do you change their water?
2) Exactly how much Aquarium salt did you add?
3) What brand of water conditioner are you using?

The best way to treat fin rot is to keep them in clean, warm water. With a one gallon tank, this means doing 100% water changes every other day.

If you want to keep using the Aquarium salt, I would recommend using 1 teaspoon of Aquarium salt. Make sure it's completely dissolved. Do not use Aquarium salt for more than 10 days! Using it more than that can harm their internal organs.

Also, a lot of people recommend API Stress Coat water conditioner. It contains aloe, which can help promote healing. If you get the Stress Coat, use it in place of your regular water conditioner. (You don't need two types of conditioner.)

Always acclimate slowly, whenever you do a water change, or add something new (such as salt, etc), so they aren't shocked.

[BlueBlazeSilverHeart]

i do 1sp/g aq salt and i'll go get some stress coat tonight while i'm out. i have also been doing 75% water changes every day when i add the salt.

this is my red... the bottom one is today. the top one is the day i got back. could that may be tail biting?

the bottom is my vt. he won't flare hardly at all but the rips in his fins seem to be getting better.

[callistra]

Your double tail is biting.

Otherwise they both look very healthy..

[BlueBlazeSilverHeart]

ok so treatment for biting? i've had him for a few months now and never noticed it before... any suggestions???

[callistra]

Stress coat at 1 ml per 1 gallon, fresh water vitachem at 2 drops per gallon, and IAL all help with fish stress which may help with his biting.

[BlueBlazeSilverHeart]

vitachem?? indian almond leaf? any way i could get that in my w/o ordering it and whats vitachem?? sorry not the most experienced fish keeper>.<

[Azurelove]

Another thing to consider is, you say they can see each other?

Male bettas flaring at each other is normal behavior to show aggression and territoriality, but in the wild they can simply fight and kill each other. Putting them where they can see each other in captivity can cause some minor health issues like long-term stress.

I've heard of males that injured themselves charging at the tank walls to try to get at their competitor. Others who had them in divided tanks saw one jump into the other's tank and they tore each other apart.

Not to mention just flaring in general for long periods of time, which I assume they do if they spend all day in each other's company, causes stress and thus some other minor health problems that can escalate if not tended to.

My advice? Separate them or put something between them to block their view of each other and continue treating for stress and fin rot.

[callistra]

Vitachem is a multivitamin for fish. It helps with stress and also is really exceptional at regrowing fins.

Only you know if you can get it locally.. you'll have to call around and see.

[LittleBlueFishlets]

Tail biting..... I've had some success with this:
- keep his water VERY clean
- figure out what temp he likes best
- figure out which decorations he likes (or doesn't like)
- feed him a nutritional food that he likes, and feed on a regular schedule
- figure out how much light he likes
- figure out how much noise/social activity he likes (or doesn't like)

It's taken me about a month to figure out my tail biter's preferences, but I think he's finally stopped biting his tail. (At least, he has right now. Who knows what tomorrow will bring... LOL)