Fin Rot?

[KassiaScarlett]

How does fin rot start and what does it look like? I'm afraid my precious Gibs has it. There are 2 big chunks of his tail that are missing. I thought maybe he nicked himself on something, but I don't really have anything in his tank that could do that to him. Secondly, he is usually the king of bubble nests and now, not one tiny litttle bubble in sight. If it is fin rot how can I know for sure and what can I do to fix it?

[dramaqueen]

Do you have any plastic plants or decorations that he could have caught his tail on?

[KassiaScarlett]

No, nothing plastic at all. Just silk plants and a little cave that is rounded out and devoid of sharp sides. But he is a champion of finding ways to get into trouble. lol. I think the more I look at it, the more it looks like fin rot. At least when I compare it to some of the pics that came up when I searched it...I just started school here recently and that has thrown off his cleaning schedule and even (I am ashamed to admit) his feeding schedule. How many days into fin rot can it become fatal? I'm worried about him. He's looked like this for 4 or 5 days now and I just put it off as him having gotten himself caught up in something again, but it just looked unusual.

[dramaqueen]

A lot of people use Jungle Fungus Clear or Jungle Fungus Eliminator to treat fin rot. You can also use Maracyn or Betta Fix.