How do you distinguish between Fungal and Baterial Fin Rot?

[BakaMandy]

So my male betta Shota is developing holes in his fins and it can only be a sign of fin rot.

While reading about fin rot, I read about two kinds; Fungal and Bacterial, and they both require different treatments.

Originally Posted by http://bettysplendens.com/

Fungal Fin & Tail Rot - Fish has holes, tears, or lesions in the fins, and the disease will eat the fins completely away in a matter of days if left untreated! Fungal finrot is extremely fast-acting, so treat immediately with any of the fungal medications available at your local pet store.

Bacterial Fin Rot - Usually starts with a hole or tear in the betta's fins (often as a result of a spawning injury), and then bacteria sets in. This can be a stubborn form of fin rot, and the betta will be prone to relapses, even after treatment. If I have a fish that contracts bacterial fin rot, I know he is going to need special treatment for the rest of his life. First he's put on an antibiotic regimen (I use Maracyn-2 or Tetracycline) for five days, changing the water every day. Then I give him 2 more days, and if he isn't improving, the antiobiotic treatment is repeated, ONCE. After that, if he hasn't improved, we move on to Penicillin. If I do finally manage to stop this horrible affliction, the betta gets a 100% water change, every single day; his resistence to the disease is now low, and chances of reinfection are high.

How would I distinguish between the two? Since they sound basically the same.

[dr2b]

The bacterial infection results in a more ragged rotting while the fungal infection will rot the tail evenly and create a white edge.

Also, fungal will produce a whiteness on the fin...

[BakaMandy]

Parts of his fins are white but a translucent white of healing fins.

He has two holes in his fins right now, one is all the way through but it doesn't have a white edge. The other one which looks like it's starting to develop is slightly transparent.

If it were fungal, would the whiteness be more solid if it were fungal?

[neenjar]

I'd give him a salt bath, water change and keep an eye on it. Salt baths work on both bacterial and fungal fin rot. Since you caught it very early it should be a non issue.

I noticed a hole in Zeus' anal fin friday when I got home from work, and saw the piece of torn fin caught under the drift wood. Silly betta squeezed himself between the driftwood and the substrate. I gave him a salt bath immediately, and one on Saturday. The hole was closed this morning :)

[BakaMandy]

So I've narrowed it down to bacterial fin rot after doing some more research.

Thank you for the suggestion neenjar! I was just reading your thread on salt baths.

Although I went out and bought something called Maracyn-Two to cure both my betta fish (since my female also has internal parasites) and the medicine was suggested on a breeder's website and said to be able to treat both conditions.

Should I still use salt baths with the medicine or would that be too much stress for the fish? D:

Also, should I completely clean my tank? Like do a full water change and sterilize/cleanse all parts of the tank? I think what cause the fin rot is the fact that his tank has an under gravel filter and I've only been doing half water changes.... Any nasty stuff would only get sucked under the rocks but not disappear and probably with time some bad bacteria came around...

[neenjar]

Salt baths will be just fine wit the medicine.

When was the last time you broke the tank down? undergravel filters need to be cleaned periodically, in 20 gallons or more, once a year is good, in under 20 gallons every 6 months.

Do not wash your gravel as you do not want the tank to have to cycle again. You can rinse it in some tank water though. I would wash the tank out with hot water and same for the decorations as if you are just setting it up new.

What size is your tank and ho often do you do water changes?

[BakaMandy]

It's only a 3 gallon, and I usually do a half water change every two weeks, since I was told full water changes would be bad for their health.

But I think I'll have to do a full water change even more frequently then that since I've only had it for 2 months now, and he got sick. Maybe once a month :S

On a side note, he's healing up nicely already :) So I'm glad. Still worried about the female since it looks like she still hasn't eatten anything...