[Megan Conville]

My betta has fin rot and it has gotten progressively worse just in the last day even after a large water change. I checked my levels just now and the only difference from normal is the nitrate level, which still is technically reading as safe but is definitely much higher than normal (now 20-40ish, normally under 5). As it is 1 am here i can’t do much but i just ordered aquarium salt, stress coat, and a storage tub to use as a quarantine tank which i will be setting up as soon as i pick up these items tomorrow. I plan to put 2 gal of water in there with a heater but no filter. I will dose the aquarium salt and stress coat as directed on the packaging. I will do daily 100% water changes for 7 days and monitor any progress. If any of what I plan to do sounds incorrect or if there is anything else I can do to help him please let me know. I just celebrated one year with my betta and i’m not ready to lose him yet

 

[Imp]

First recommendation: please fill in the form at PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Fill out this form so we can... and copy-paste the answers here.

As for your treatment plan: hopefully someone more knowledgeable on salt treatments can chime in, but daily 100% changes sounds to me to be awfully stressful for the betta for no benefit to water quality that can't be reached by doing smaller water changes.

 

[Megan Conville]

First recommendation: please fill in the form at PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Fill out this form so we can... and copy-paste the answers here.

As for your treatment plan: hopefully someone more knowledgeable on salt treatments can chime in, but daily 100% changes sounds to me to be awfully stressful for the betta for no benefit to water quality that can't be reached by doing smaller water changes.

I do agree that 100% water changes sound stressful but in my research i found that when using salt you have to replace the water each day. But if anyone else can say different i would love more input.

 

[Megan Conville]

Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 3.5
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What temperature is your tank? 80 F
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? no

Food:
What food brand do you use? fluval bug flakes
Do you feed flakes or pellets? flakes
Freeze-dried? no
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? small pinches every 12 hours

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? once a week
What percentage of water did you change? 50%
What is the source of your water? tap
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? vacuum
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner? just tetra conditioner

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water before the regular water change; not after one.

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20-40ish
pH: unknown
Hardness (GH): unknown
Alkalinity (KH): unknown

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? 2 weeks ago
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? white spots on body, torn fins, holes in fins
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? Slowly becoming more lethargic, i noticed some slight hesitancy in swimming
Is your Betta still eating? yes
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? no
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? no
How long have you owned your Betta? one year
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? no

 

[betta4ever!]

When usigg salt, you sould do 50% water changes every day. And are there any other fish in the tank he is now, because you can do the treatment in his tank, it will be stressful for him to be without filter....

 

[Megan Conville]

When usigg salt, you sould do 50% water changes every day. And are there any other fish in the tank he is now, because you can do the treatment in his tank, it will be stressful for him to be without filter....

no other tankmates, but the filter is carbon and i was worried about the carbon filter counteracting the treatments in putting in the water. is this something i should be worried about or no?

 

[Megan Conville]

Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 3.5
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What temperature is your tank? 80 F
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? no

Food:
What food brand do you use? fluval bug flakes
Do you feed flakes or pellets? flakes
Freeze-dried? no
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? small pinches every 12 hours

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? once a week
What percentage of water did you change? 50%
What is the source of your water? tap
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? vacuum
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner? just tetra conditioner

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water before the regular water change; not after one.

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20-40ish
pH: unknown
Hardness (GH): unknown
Alkalinity (KH): unknown

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? 2 weeks ago
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? white spots on body, torn fins, holes in fins
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? Slowly becoming more lethargic, i noticed some slight hesitancy in swimming
Is your Betta still eating? yes
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? no
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? no
How long have you owned your Betta? one year
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? no

i am now leaning more towards keeping him in his tank, doing 50% change daily, half dose of salt, normal dose of stress coat, and removing his decor besides his leaf hammock to minimize chance of injury. if i keep him in his tank, should i leave the carbon filter on or turn it off? i don’t want to counteract the treatment i’m putting in the water.

 

[betta4ever!]

I tink you shouldn't have carbon to your filter anyway. Wait for someone elses opinion too.

 

[BettaloverSara]

Can you post a picture please?

 

[Megan Conville]

Can you post a picture please?

in this image you can see the gray spot on his body as well as the tearing on his top fin and the others around him. he is much more jagged than he used to be. today i am starting treatment of 50% daily water change, aquarium salt, and i am now using seachem prime instead of stress coat. i will also be turning his filter off for the week while i medicate.

 

[betta4ever!]

Why are you turnig the ffilter off?

 

[Megan Conville]

Can you post a picture please?

here is a picture without flash where you can really see the tears and the holes in his top fin. and on the bottom it looks like white spots in the photo but it’s not, they are more tears

 

[Megan Conville]

Why are you turnig the ffilter off?

Because it is carbon and instructions on my filter say to remove it if i am medicating because the filter will remove the medication from the water

 

[betta4ever!]

Remove the carbon, don't turn off the filter.

 

[Megan Conville]

Remove the carbon, don't turn off the filter.

Got it will do!! Thank you

 

[betta4ever!]

You're welcome!