Betta And Finrot/damage

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I noticed my betta has the slightest bit of damage to his perfect little tail; it's only about 2-3mm so I've caught it early but I am not sure if it is fin rot or if it's just damaged (there are no black bits around it). Anyway I've put some melafix in for him; do I need to increase the temperature as well; or is there anything else I can do, apart from melafix? His tank is kept at 25oC.


Thanks

 

[roadmaster]

I noticed my betta has the slightest bit of damage to his perfect little tail; it's only about 2-3mm so I've caught it early but I am not sure if it is fin rot or if it's just damaged (there are no black bits around it). Anyway I've put some melafix in for him; do I need to increase the temperature as well; or is there anything else I can do, apart from melafix? His tank is kept at 25oC.


Thanks

Bettas are perhaps the most over medicated fish in the hobby and much of it is due to the small enviorments that they are kept in. In small bowls,vases,or tanks of less than five gallons,the waste created by the fish and decaying food often result in deteriorating water conditions which in turn,create all kinds of health issues for the fish up to and including fin rot, and then folks begin dumping all manner of medications,salt,etc, into the tank in an effort to cure the fish and they want immediate results. Heated, cycled aquariums of five gals per betta with healthy biological filter can greatly reduce the health problems these fish expierience. There simply isn't enough dilution capability in small body of water and fish is forced to swim in it's own waste between water changes which may not be frequent enough .
I would consider doing what it took to provide the fish with a heated,cycled,aquarium and in the meantime,,perform twice weekly water changes and consider reducing the food offered to two or three times a week as opposed to once or twice a day . Many fish can recover without medications given good water quality.
Finrot is symptom of poor water conditions and many fish in cycled aquariums with proper maint,live out their lives without ever displaying symptoms or suffering from same.
If Bettas were not cpable of breathing air, many would not last as long as they do given some of the enviornments they are kept in. IMHO

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I do regular water changes and I keep his tank clean; I think its quite rude to assume that I have him in a crappy environment; when none of that was stated.

His tank and his environment are all clean and within acceptable ranges; I've had him a month and his tail has always had a bit of something on the corner of it - the water in the tiny container in the shop, yes was horrible and cloudy.

I was hoping for some advice rather than a telling off.

 

[roadmaster]

I do regular water changes and I keep his tank clean; I think its quite rude to assume that I have him in a crappy environment; when none of that was stated.

His tank and his environment are all clean and within acceptable ranges; I've had him a month and his tail has always had a bit of something on the corner of it - the water in the tiny container in the shop, yes was horrible and cloudy.

I was hoping for some advice rather than a telling off.

If your betta is being kept in a cycled,heated,filtered tank of at least five gallons and weekly water changes are being performed,then so much the better and my apologies.
If it is otherwise,then the explanation I attempted to provide with respect to probable causes for finrot stands.
Was not attempting to be rude ,merely pointing to probable contributer to nearly all health issues with this species of fish.
Without biological filter to process waste from fish and or food,Fish are subjected to toxins such as ammonia and nitrites on daily basis = stressed ,sick ,fish.
Bettas are tropical fish that need same things all tropical fish need,A heated,filtered,cycled,aquarium. As unpleasant as you may believe my response was,,it is the truth.

 

[ellena]

When you say levels are in acceptable ranges, there isn't really an acceptable range. Ammonia and nitrite should be 0 at all times, something which isn't possible with no filter. I take it you have a heater as you mentioned upping the temp. Do you have a filter?

 

[Night61]

actully i think road was not being rude at all imo, honestly fin rot is a condition that does occur with poor water quality. some times the fresh water you put in the tank may not be as pristine as we are led to beleive and thats no ones fault.
and on a side note, attacking members who are just trying to be helpful will not get you very far

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

If your betta is being kept in a cycled,heated,filtered tank of at least five gallons and weekly water changes are being performed,then so much the better and my apologies.

His tank is 5 gallons, cycled, heated and filtered . I should add his tail looks a lot better today.

When you say levels are in acceptable ranges, there isn't really an acceptable range. Ammonia and nitrite should be 0 at all times, something which isn't possible with no filter. I take it you have a heater as you mentioned upping the temp. Do you have a filter?

I do have a filter yes, he likes to flare at it on occasion; when I said acceptable ranges I did mean ammonia and nitrite = 0; I just thought it easier to write that

actully i think road was not being rude at all imo, honestly fin rot is a condition that does occur with poor water quality. some times the fresh water you put in the tank may not be as pristine as we are led to beleive and thats no ones fault.
and on a side note, attacking members who are just trying to be helpful will not get you very far

I do know that it occurs with a result of poor water quality; I just felt I was being picked on for having dirty water when I do not. I don't know if it is even fin rot or if he's just snagged his tail on something (well I don't think it is fin rot I just don't know what it could be). I do think it stemmed from the horrible water he was in from the shop. It was cloudy and full of food at the bottom. When I got him home and floated his bag in the tank he was looking around, looking all excited and quite annoyed that the bag was in his way of swimming around his new tank.

 

[silverrabbit]

Glad his tail is looking better he probably had some fin damage from the dirty water in his cup. Even though your water is filtered and stuff, might be worth stepping up water changes until his fins are healed as water changes really do seem to work miracles.

Also, bettas like water a bit warmer than 25C... They seem to do very well at 27-28, so if it's possible maybe you can increase his temp a bit?

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Glad his tail is looking better he probably had some fin damage from the dirty water in his cup. Even though your water is filtered and stuff, might be worth stepping up water changes until his fins are healed as water changes really do seem to work miracles.

Also, bettas like water a bit warmer than 25C... They seem to do very well at 27-28, so if it's possible maybe you can increase his temp a bit?

I was doing daily water changes of around 20%; I'll start that again . I can also increase his temperature; it generally is around the late 24's to the earlu 26's but I'll crank it up another 2 degrees

 

[GuppyGoddess]

Melafix shouldn't added to a betta's tank.

That said, one of my bettas is having fin rot problems and he was given tetracycline treatment and it hasn't helped. Right now I'm doing very frequent water changes and also feeding him bloodworms (which a member on here told me is good for fin repair).

Hope your betta is better soon.

 

[silverrabbit]

Yeah bloodworms are good, and you could try some frozen krill (they are little, in blocks) and some brineshrimp. Lots of extra protein I'm doing this with a battered betta atm and in just a week there is already about 2mm of regrowth on some parts. Chasing the live foods can really cheer the bettas up too, great fun to watch!

at increasing the temp, hope he gets better

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Melafix shouldn't added to a betta's tank.

Why not? (I'm not accusing just generally interested).

I can give him some nice juicy blood worms tonight - they won't be live food however BUT I do try and put even his pellets towards his filter as it'll blow them across the surface and he'll have to swim after them; although I did this yesterday and he gave me the "oh no not again, I am not entertaining that idea today".

 

[GuppyGoddess]

Melafix shouldn't added to a betta's tank.

Why not? (I'm not accusing just generally interested).

I can give him some nice juicy blood worms tonight - they won't be live food however BUT I do try and put even his pellets towards his filter as it'll blow them across the surface and he'll have to swim after them; although I did this yesterday and he gave me the "oh no not again, I am not entertaining that idea today".

Bettas have Labyrinth organs. . .notice how your fish swims up to the surface for a gulp of air? Some say that Melafix interfers with that organ and they can sufficate. Some say that if you give the betta only a partial dosage, the fish should be okay. You can google around and read on various opinions. Before I knew any better, I did use it on one of my bettas (in a smaller quantity b/c she was still a baby) and she was fine. Later I read about the dangers and decided it'd be best not to use it again.

If you do a search here on TFF, watch out for one poster who ONLY posts when Melafix and other MARS products are mentioned. That person openly admits working for them so I do feel her opinion is bias.

 

[loraxchick]

just a word of caution to folks (in case it may not be too clear in the good advice above). only increase temp once the fins begin healing. if you do so while the fins are eroding/damaged (if it is from bacteria which we always should assume) will make the issue worse in most cases (=cause the bacteria to grow faster and damage more areas). simple waterchanges usually help best. only about 10% of fin issues require actual meds of any kind.
and 100% agree NO MELEFIX or BETTAFIX. ive heard a lot on this forum about how it affects their labyrinth organ but have never actually seen any documentation to back it up. and havent had a problem using it with gouramis. so i dont know much of the validity to that point (please excuse me if im wrong. not trying to judge or say anyone is wrong). what i DO know is that i used it once for MINOR fin damage back in the "day" with bad results, unfortunately for the fish.
best thing when healing is bloodworms!!! orany other protein rich foods for growth, repair and immune boost. they are mostly carnivorous fish and should be fed as such.
glad hes on the mend!

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I'm not at home today so I don't know how his tail looks but last night it was looking well; I also gave him some bloodworms to which he obviously devoured quicker than his normal pellets