Guy at Petsmart said...

[bluebettafish]

I went back to Petsmart today because my betta has fin rot. It was ok for a few days and now it's gotten worse. He still has most of his tail fin left but it's split about halfway into his tail (and frayed). I was giving him salt baths (not every day) and using bettafix but it didn't seem to be working well enough. So I went back to get medication.

An employee walked by and asked me if I needed help. I told him what's happening and asked him what I should do. These are the things he told me:

1. I shouldn't feed him pellets because they're harder to digest. Stick to bloodworms while he's sick. - Really???

2. I was going to buy Jungle fungus clear(?) but he talked me out of it because he was concerned that I will cause an overdose. I guess he's not entirely wrong because the dose is for 10 gallons and a beginner like myself could easily screw it up.

3. it's better to stick to salt baths. Didn't tell me exactly how, but he said to go ahead and put a teaspoon of salt into the small bowl I'm using while he's sick (holds about 1 1/2 pint of water) and told me to change the water every day. Sounds about right, but a teaspoon?

How does this sound to you guys??

Also, I'm having trouble keeping the small bowl warm. This might be why he's not getting much better. How do I go about keeping the water warm for him?

[SaylorKennedy]

1. Bloodworms should only be fed as a treat once a week, maybe twice, and pellets should be a staple diet.

2. I've used Jungle Fungus clear and salt baths in addition to 100% water changes everyday with success. As far as dosing, you can take 10 teaspoons of water and put the tablet into that, then for measurments it's 1 teaspoon for each gallon.

3. For salt baths it should be 1 teaspoon per gallon. And yes, change his water everyday. What is his normal tank size, because a small space like that could stress him out more which isn't good. You could just keep him in his normal tank and do the salt baths in the 1 1/2 pint.

[iheartmyfishies]

Bloodworms are okay... but the freeze-dried ones are tricky. Freeze-drying results in loss of almost all nutritional value and is known for causing constipation. I would stick to the pellets. Hikari, Top Fin, and Aqueon all sell decent betta pellets. (I recommend the Aqueon brand, VERY good quality) Jungle fungus clear is great for fin rot, but yes it's easy to overdose. Just be very conscientious and you should be fine.
Here are directions for a salt bath (WHICH WORK AWESOME!!!):
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread....ight=salt+bath

Hope this helps.

[bluebettafish]

Thank you both of you! That's so smart...dissolving it in 10 teaspoons of water first. Thank you iheartmyfishies for salt bath link...someone had already given it to me so I've been following it.

I'm such a dummy...I just added salt to my other tank to prevent him from getting sick, only to realize that I have live plants in it. I'm taking out the plants now...Ugh.

[bluebettafish]

Oops I didn't answer one of your questions. he normally stays in a 3 gallon tank but I'm afraid it's infested with fungus. It has a slight odor to it. I cleaned it the other day so it should be ok now. Just scared to put him back there. I'm going away for a few days starting Friday so I'm trying to keep things simple for a friend who's going to be taking care of him. Thank you for the help...I wish I knew as much as you folks cuz he might have been healed by now :(

[kelly528]

True fungus in aquaria is rarer than you think. Even if your fish has white fuzz, it turns out to be a bacterial infection called columnaris most of the time. Don't treat for it unless you are certain.

[dramaqueen]

Columnaris symptoms: white mouth with tiny filaments, white area near edges of scales, clamped fins, fins start to rot at later stage of the disease. Fish struggles and sways near the surface. Treatment: broad spectrum antibiotics like Maracyn 1 and Maracyn 2. Gradually lower water temperature to keep bacteria from spreading.

[JamieTron]

if you are concerned with fungus in your tank I would sterilize it with really hot water before you put him back in it :) Washing with hot salt water could be even better :)

[bluebettafish]

Hmm, there were no symptoms other than slightly getting pale and his fins rotting. I washed everything the best I could...the guy at petsmart told me to use a little bit of bleach and wash everything well so there is no bleach left. I wasn't comfortable with that so i used hot water and scrubbed with a piece of cloth. didn't think to use salt with it! I'll keep that in mind.

The fin rot didn't get any worse today and he was not as pale when I moved him to a bigger container. I'm getting the 3 gallon ready. I could tell he's not happy with me because I keep moving him. For the first time he swam away from me when I looked in :( I think he somewhat forgave me when I fed him. I'm glad he's still eating like a little pig.

Thank you everyone!

[SaylorKennedy]

Glad to hear your little guy is doing better! :)