Bio-wheel and meds? Remove or leave it?

[Romad]

Hi all,

Apologies in advance for the long post to follow

I set up a friend of mine with a 5 gal. hex as a Christmas gift. She put one betta in there and as yet the tank hasnt cycled. She's on top of the water changes to keep the ammonia at .25 and under. No nitrites or nitrates yet.

Overnight on Sunday, the fish has lost huge chunks of his tail. It looks more like shredded than fin rot so I had her remove all the plants but I don't think that was the culprit bc I checked for sharp leaves edges etc... I also had her give him a salt bath a few times and add a little AQ salt to the tank.

She seems to think it looks worse today (I'm 40 miles away so can't see him up close and personal).

So the question is - - - I think she should throw some JF Clear in there to stop it. I know she should remove the filter insert containing charcoal but what about the bio-wheel? I think it's more important to lose the beneficial bacteria and not the fish but does anyone know if that's the case if she leaves it in?

All insight appreciated as always :)

Thanks.