Hello,
Probably about 2 weeks ago my black orchid betta fish (got him about a year ago) started getting pretty bad fin rot with a white growth on part of the fin that looked like it was melting. I tried treating with API's E. M. Erthomycin. He was still swimming and eating.
Fast forward to the past week and he no longer has the white fuzz nor does his fin look like it's rotting further. However, he was just lying on the bottom of the tank no longer swimming or eating. He always had a slight curve to his spine, but for the past couple days his spine's curve became even worse - looks like the shape of the letter "C". I continued the Erthomycin for all 10 days and added aquarium salt ~1 tbsp for the 10 gallons. Also today it looks like he's starting to pinecone. Can anyone please help?
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Housing: 10 gallons with live plants
How many gallons is your tank? 10
Does it have a filter? Yes a sponge filter
Does it have a heater? Yes
What temperature is your tank? 78-80 F
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? Only snails
Food:
What food brand do you use? Aqueon's Betta Pellets
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Pellets
Freeze-dried? No
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? twice a day 2 pellets each time & ~3 days a week 2 pellets once a day to try and prevent overfeeding.
Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? Weekly
What percentage of water did you change? 25%
What is the source of your water? tap water
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? Vacuum the substrate
What additives do you use other than conditioner? Imagitarium Biological Booster for beneficial bacteria
What brand of conditioner? Seachem Prime
Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters?
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 8
Symptoms and Treatment: Initially fin rot spots, now not swimming, not eating, extremely curved spine
When did you first notice the symptoms? 2 weeks ago
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? More rounded spine, becoming more copper color
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? lethargic, won't move at all or react to anything
Is your Betta still eating? No
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? Aquarium salt added, Erthomycin 10 days of treatment
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? Fin rot a year ago
How long have you owned your Betta? a little over a year
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? No
Probably about 2 weeks ago my black orchid betta fish (got him about a year ago) started getting pretty bad fin rot with a white growth on part of the fin that looked like it was melting. I tried treating with API's E. M. Erthomycin. He was still swimming and eating.
Fast forward to the past week and he no longer has the white fuzz nor does his fin look like it's rotting further. However, he was just lying on the bottom of the tank no longer swimming or eating. He always had a slight curve to his spine, but for the past couple days his spine's curve became even worse - looks like the shape of the letter "C". I continued the Erthomycin for all 10 days and added aquarium salt ~1 tbsp for the 10 gallons. Also today it looks like he's starting to pinecone. Can anyone please help?
Housing: 10 gallons with live plants
How many gallons is your tank? 10
Does it have a filter? Yes a sponge filter
Does it have a heater? Yes
What temperature is your tank? 78-80 F
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? Only snails
Food:
What food brand do you use? Aqueon's Betta Pellets
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Pellets
Freeze-dried? No
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? twice a day 2 pellets each time & ~3 days a week 2 pellets once a day to try and prevent overfeeding.
Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? Weekly
What percentage of water did you change? 25%
What is the source of your water? tap water
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? Vacuum the substrate
What additives do you use other than conditioner? Imagitarium Biological Booster for beneficial bacteria
What brand of conditioner? Seachem Prime
Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters?
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 8
Symptoms and Treatment: Initially fin rot spots, now not swimming, not eating, extremely curved spine
When did you first notice the symptoms? 2 weeks ago
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? More rounded spine, becoming more copper color
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? lethargic, won't move at all or react to anything
Is your Betta still eating? No
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? Aquarium salt added, Erthomycin 10 days of treatment
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? Fin rot a year ago
How long have you owned your Betta? a little over a year
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? No
