How do I restore my Betta to his Former Glory?

[ArcticRain]

Well, Mr. Plum (avatar) has been in QT for the past 9 days. I haven't been on here much because I have just been doing everything in my power to make sure he came out of this alive.

It all started when one day when I came home and he was laying at the bottom of his tank. I did a 100% water change and hoped that he would get better. When he didn't I gave him a salt bath to see if that would help. It did! For the first five minuets. Then he went back to being lethargic. It just when down hill from there.
Long story short. In a weeks time he was pale, lethargic, not eating, constipated and clamped. I knew I had to do something so moved him into QT with AQ salt and 100% water changes. After five days of that I noticed he was getting white dots on his head and body. One word, Ick. I upped the dose of salt and the next day he was unclamped and swimming around! I saw in his fin that he had a hole as big as his eyes and black all around it. Fin rot. There wasn't much more I could do to help him so I have just been waiting, hoping that his fins would start regrowing.
Now it's day number nine and he is eating, swimming and pooping as normal. His color is almost completely back (on his body) and he is showing no signs of Ick. But, he still has a huge hole in his fin. The black is almost gone, but there is no sign of regrowth.

I know that I can't keep him in salt for more then 10 days and I am already using stress coat. It just kills me that he was so beautiful before all this happened and now I have a Betta with an abnormally large hole in his fin. But at least he is alive. I just wish I could leave him in the salt longer so I could make sure he was completely healed. But I can't.
So, what do I do? Thanks I'm advance!

[Myates]

Aww.. sorry to hear about Mr. Plum, he's a handsome little guy.

Has the hole gotten any larger since he has been in treatment? If not, then continue for an extra day- so 11 total (it is technically safe for 14 days, I'm giving you an extra day more for peace of mind for yourself, as one added day shouldn't strain him much) and if he is not showing any symptoms or signs of ick I would say you could then place him back in his home tank.

Unsure the size of the tank, or the water change routine, but I would suggest upping it a little- if you are doing just one water change per week, add in an extra 25% in the middle of the week for the next few weeks to make sure the water stays extra clean. If you already are making 2 water changes, up one of them another 10-15% per week for the next few weeks.

As long as the water is clean, the rot shouldn't spread and continue- but not always. Keep an eye on it to make sure that it isn't getting larger once he is in his home tank. Stress Coat is good for growth, as well as a diet high in protein. Even if it's freeze dried, pre soak it before feeding, and it should be a good source of protein for a bit while he is healing.

A lot of times AQ salt can hamper fin regrowth, so you may not see it for a little while after he is out of it. You will look for clear-whitish coloration where the hole is.

Keep an eye on him to make sure the original symptoms don't return, if they do then let us know and we will see if we can find out what the underlying problem is for him..

Good luck, keep us updated.

[ArcticRain]

Thank you very much for the info. Going into treatment I didn't even know that he had fin rot his fins were so clamped but, I don't think the hole has gotten bigger.... But his fins have gotten thicker around the edges. It looks kind of like a raised ring around the hole. Do you know what this could be?
I will definitely raise the water changes. His tank is a 5 gallon un-cycled and I do 1-100% and 1-50% water change a week. Do you think an extra 50% will be good?
I have some freeze dried bloodworms that I can feed him. How many times a week and how many should I give him?
Thank you again for all your help!

[Myates]

Hmm.. 1 50% and 1 100% water changes is a lot for a 5 gal, even one with no filter. So I wouldn't do any more then that.
Is there a way to get a picture of the hole? I'm wondering if he had lymphocytisis or something and it burst, causing him to get a bacteria infection? The AQ salt would of definitely helped him out then.. or it could be his way of healing.

For the FD bloodworms, I would say 3-4 times a week in place of a meal, 3 blood worms should be enough per meal- just soak in some tank water first for about a minute so they won't bloat inside him too much.

[ArcticRain]

I'm not home right now, but I will try to get a good picture when I get home. The hole is close to the end of his fins. I forgot to mention that two days after he unclamped the thin piece of fin connecting the hole broke. So now it's just kind of a U shape.

Do you think I am doing to many water changes? How many do you think I should do normally?

[ArcticRain]

Ok, so when I got home there was a Bubblenest in his QT tank! That's a good sign right? Well, I took some pictures but thy are really fuzzy because he is one of those fishys who swim away from you when you get near his tank. But you can still see the hole and some of the black on his fins if you look hard enough.
My laptop decided not to turn on so, I had no way to resize the pictures. I am really sorry that they are so big!!


His color looks weird because of the incandescent lighting and the camera angle. You can clearly see the hole in this picture.


Another picture. Sorry it's so fuzzy!!