Betta has clamped fins after temperature dropped.....

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My heater on my Betta tank disconnected (plug loose) for 24 hours. Temperature dropped from 77 degrees to 68 degrees. Found my Betta resting in a corner of the tank and he has been very inactive since then. I reconnected the heater and temperature rose to 77 degrees. It's been about a week now since the incident. He does come up for feeding time after some coaxing but is generally very inactive, often resting on the bottom of the tank. Also his fins now look very ragged and are clamped together.

Should I try adding aquarium salt to the tank? It is a 5 gallon tank. If so , how much do I add? I would pre-dissolve the salt in a jar filled with tank water first and then distribute it around the tank. Are there any other meds I could try?

Ammonia is 0, nitrites 0, nitrates around 10ppm. Ph is 7.4.
 
I dont know anything about bettad but I didn't want to read and run, I hope you can get some help.
 
Now he hardly moves at all. He just sits in the corner of the bottom of the tank. Any ideas of what to do? I’ll be doing a large water change today and will add salt. How much salt should I add?

here’s a pic
6E1A7B09-6AA2-4B0D-95CE-673E8124BD1F.jpeg
 
I would suggest considering if there may be any other factors involved. My tanks regularly drop by 5-6C (10-12F) during water changes and I have never seen any negative effects. 68F is only a little below the recommended range for betta (if my arithmetic is correct) and it took 24 hours to get there.

Disclaimer: I have never kept betta so I have no idea if they are particularly sensitive to temp fluctuations, I'm only suggesting not to assume there aren't any other possible reasons.
 
instead of salt, I am thinking of using fungus cure by API to see if it will help. Anyone use this for fin rot? I did an 80% water change today.
 
I would recommend using API aquarium salt + Melafix. Dose as per bottle's instructions. My bettas recovered after. Remember that your bettas would need high protein food during recovery so feed twice a day alternating between pellets, blood worms, mosquito larvae. If you don't have access to it, feeding the egg yolk of a hard boiled egg is fine too. You can prep in advance and store the egg in the fridge. To feed, you can use a toothpick to pick off the amount to feed. Good luck! Fins regrowth takes about 2 weeks or so for half moons.

Sent from my EML-L29 using Tapatalk
 
Melafix should not be used with anabatids - nor Pimafix or Bettafix (which is actually dilute Melafix). They interfere with the labyrinth organ and can cause problems for the fish.

Melafix is also not a very strong product. It is akin to us using an antiseptic if we cut ourselves - fine to stop an infection getting in, but if one does we need something stronger to cure it.
 
I dosed api fungus cure. After 4 days, will do a large water change and gravel vac. Do you think I should treat with aquarium salt after water change? If so , how much salt should I add to the 5 gallon tank?
 
I'm not going to try to answer that cos I have no similar experience. But I guess people will want to know how he is getting on with the treatment so far before advising (and of course just cos we care ;))
 
He spends almost all day resting on his side at the bottom of the tank. If I tap hard on the glass with the pellet bottle, he will zoom up to the top, eat all the pellets and then go right back down and rest on his side again. Well at least he's eating. I hope with time he will heal...time will tell. Where there's life, there's hope.
 
Just an update on Betta's condition. After treating with fungus cure, I did a large water change and added 1 tbsp of aquarium salt (dissolved in a jar of tank water). Did another large water change 3 days later. I also have been added tannins via Indian almond leaves.

Now he comes out a lot more and comes to the top when I come into the room, looking to be fed. Big change from when I had to coax him out with the handle of the net to get him to come to the top and eat. His fins still look a bit ragged but I think with time they will improve.

I think the salt may have helped a lot as well as the large water changes.
 

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