New and First bettas. Finrot and possible Hole In The Head.

[wallywestisthebest333]

Ok so I've got 2 new bettas.

Both were bought at Petsmart last Thursday and both are veiltails.

Pics will come later if at all. My camera takes awful fish pictures. =/

One was already unhealthy and suffering from (what I thought was minor) finrot. His name is Genie (Like from Aladin! XD) and he's missing a big chunk of his right pectoral fin and a whole ventral fin. =[ I didn't notice until I got him out of his cup.

The other was pretty musch perfectly healthy. His fins were starting to rot at the edges but I think I've stopped that now. His tail fin is still black at the ends but I think that's actually a little bit of lace. =] His name is NoFace.

Genie is currently in my mom's 1 gallon Hurricane (or Tornado... I forget) Vase with a heater, while NoFace is in a 5 gallon kit from Walmart with panty-hosed filter intake, a heater, a fake plant, gravel, a cave, and a baffeled filter. (thoush he doesn't like his plant or cave at all since at first he had a pretty much bare tank. =/ just gravel and marbles)

At first I was treating them both with Jungle Fungus tablets (which apparently cause cancer, now I definitely know I'm gonna die of cancer. >=/ Oh well. =/) and aquarium salt but I stopped treating NoFace with the Jungle Fungus stuff and I'm just using aquarium salt with him. Genie was on Jungel Fungus for a few days, just aquarium salt and water for one, and he's back on the fungal medicine now that I figured out a better way to dose him. (didn't think of crushing the stuff while it's in the packet then pouring it in! That's MUCH easier! =])

I'm using water conditioner. (Yes I know that's usually a duh but thought I'd mention it anyway.)

So I know how to heal Genie's finrot and all because I wouldn't be using meds, keeping the temp at around 78 with my heater and changing his water daily if I didn't. I'm just wondering, how can I speed the process up? I heard talk of garlic juice but my sister LucyLoofa says that she was looking for garlic juice at the store and couldn't find it. So where in the heck do you get the stuff? If I need to make it, can I make it with a food processor and does anyone know any good recipes with it for the extra I'm bound to have if I do make it myself?

Also, the first two or three days I had NoFace he was fine; but now either he lost a couple scales on his head or he's got hole in the head. =/ I'm not sure which and I can't really get any good pictures of him to show you. I saw some medicines for it but how do I diagnose it? What do I do if it is hole in the head? The only place I have for him is the 5 gal. =/

I'm thinking of getting a 10 gal but I just got a text from my sis saying I shouldn't so I think I'll hold off on that till I get an answer as to why. I think her phone's off now.

So what do you guys recommend? =]

Also I'm gonna have a party for my fish. XD

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I did a test of my water and apparently it's got the highest General Hardness and highest Carbonate Hardness possible. Will that effect anything? If it's really bad for my bettas what can I do about it? Can I use our Britta filter?

I'm asking because It's apparently so bad it gave one of our dogs Abby a kidney stone that's really big. She might need surgery. S I'm thinking it might not be stellar for the fish. <=/

[wallywestisthebest333]

Ok I just tested my brita pitcher filter's water and it's testing very low water hardness so I think I'm just gonna buy a brita pitcher filter to use for my aquarium and my vase. I think my water's clean enough not to worry about other things. I'm gonna try to get ahold of a faucet filter too though. It scares me how much a pitcher filter doesn't filter out. <8( http://www.waterfiltercomparisons.co...comparison.php

[wallywestisthebest333]

Also forgot to mention that I'm getting a 1 gallon pitcher or vase of some sort on Wednesday for NoFace/NoName until I can get Tetra's SafeStart. Then when he's back in and my tank is cycled I'll keep healing Genie get better.

When Genie's better I'll divide the 5 gal tank in two because I learned that I'll be living in a 2 bedroom apartment with 3 other people come August. =/ So needless to say I think I'm gonna have a lot less room than I counted on having. =/ Oh Well.

BTW I saw a vid on Youtube where someone turned a 1 or 2 gallon Kool-Aid type pitcher into a planted betta tank. Here's the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AgZParCmfw . I'm thinking that's what I'll do for NoFace/NoName and I'll start calling him Noface/NoName/Kool-Aid Kid. =P He's certainly red enough! XD What do you guys think?

Keep in mind this will only be a hospital/quarantine/temporary for various purposes tank. not a permanent home unless I REALLY find myself strapped for space when I get to my new diggs. If so then I'll make sure to sell my 5 gallon to someone on here. =]

[mfskarphedin]

Garlic juice is a mild antimicrobial. Apparently you need to crush it fresh for the benefits, so forget the pre-minced stuff (that's where you would get the juice.)

Yeah, softer water a little on the acidic side is more ideal than liquid rock. :p Make sure they don't get pH shock when you start using different water.

[wallywestisthebest333]

Thank you for posting on this! <=] I was afraid my thread would never see the light of day because of the other more popular threads on this particular section of the forum lately. =[

So I just get a jar of minced garlic and pour the liquid into the "tank"?

How do I prevent PH Shock? =[ That sounds AWFUL.

[LucyLoofa]

Hey, crush the garlic with a knife and spoon into a paste and then rub blood worms and pellets in it. then feed that to your fish. Patriot liked it so much he made a humongous bubblenest in his little dip cup. lol
And buy a gallon of spring water at the store then put the recommended amount of salt and conditioner in it and leave it outside for an hour or so. (it's been in the 75/80 range outside. so it keeps the water warmed to the right temperature so you don't have to wait like 20 minutes for the heater to get it warm.)
This way you always know you're giving them the right amount of salt they need and there won't be any temp shock. This helps the healing process go waaaay faster.
Oldfishlady gave me this advice. :)
Also can you pm me about the jar etc?
And I found a way to make a net that won't hurt bettas so you should ask me about that too so I don't spam this thread.
ttyl.
-Lucy

[mfskarphedin]

You can prevent pH shock by doing small changes at first. Like, only change out 10% one day. Then change out 20% then next. Then 30, etc. I'd get to where I'm changing 50% a couple days in a row, then go back to a regular water-changing schedule.

Don't use spring water, since its water-parameters can vary wildly. I think your idea of the faucet filter is a good one. Get the PUR, since it's reported to remove the most crap.

Also, you need to use fresh-crushed garlic. To treat the outside of the fish, add
it to the water, not the food (though it's still good if they eat it.) I'm not sure which size tank you're talking about, but don't go too crazy with it. Only part of a clove, anyway. You're better off with a real garlic crusher than the spoon thing; I didn't have much luck getting juice using spoons.

[LucyLoofa]

Originally Posted by mfskarphedin

You can prevent pH shock by doing small changes at first. Like, only change out 10% one day. Then change out 20% then next. Then 30, etc. I'd get to where I'm changing 50% a couple days in a row, then go back to a regular water-changing schedule.

Don't use spring water, since its water-parameters can vary wildly. I think your idea of the faucet filter is a good one. Get the PUR, since it's reported to remove the most crap.

Also, you need to use fresh-crushed garlic. To treat the outside of the fish, add
it to the water, not the food (though it's still good if they eat it.) I'm not sure which size tank you're talking about, but don't go too crazy with it. Only part of a clove, anyway. You're better off with a real garlic crusher than the spoon thing; I didn't have much luck getting juice using spoons.

Yeah, I'm having lots of trouble with the spoons and knives too. And I typoed on my past post Lianne, (wally?). I meant to say get the gallon jug just for the sake of measuring stuff.
Empty it out first because the Kroger spring water back home isn't too safe for them. (thanks for spotting that mfskarphedin)