what are the symptoms of fin rot?

[pincushion]

I'm a new betta owner, and really i would rather trust listening to people who have betta's and love them, than just google it.

i was given a CT betta last week as a gift, and so far he is doing fine. but he was bought from a some-what dodgey fish place in my town. i'm just worried about him getting sick or anything happen to him, and seeing as the closest place to get medicine for him would be a 15km walk, i can't exactly go there all the time.

is there any prevention i can use so he won't be at high risk at getting fin rot?
thankyou~

[Oldfishlady]

Best prevention IMO/E is fresh clean dechlorinated water from frequent water changes.
Depending on the size of your tank, twice weekly 50% water changes are needed in the smaller tanks with one substrate vacuum with one of the water changes regardless of filtration.
If the tank is 1g or less daily to every other day water changes need to be made and 10g or larger at least 50% weekly to keep the water healthy for the fish.
This is based on one Betta and not over feeding and/or removal of food not eaten.
Also, depending on your water, I have found that some CT fins do better in softer water and I like to use rain water with them due to my water being so hard

[Betta Fish Bob]

Hey pincushion ...
Here is an article I wrote on Fin Rot.
It is too long to reprint here ...

http://ezinearticles.com/?Betta-Dise...Rot&id=3453212

hope this helps.

[pincushion]

Thanks guys for the info
My tanks about 2.3 gallons, 9 litres the box said.
Ive had him for about three weeks, he has a filter in his tank as well, i've changed about 50% of his water twice, and just cleaned the tank out as well. He seems to be doing fine, he swims around a lot and looks happy. I haven't been able to get aquarium salts or anything to put in the water with him as the fish shop is out of town and i have no way of getting there.

[Mister Sparkle]

Originally Posted by Oldfishlady

Best prevention IMO/E is fresh clean dechlorinated water from frequent water changes.

FTW, oldfishlady!!!!!! Frequent water changes are the best betta medicine you can provide, 9 times out of 10!