Correct dosage of Melafix for my 3 gallon tank. Safe for plants? Should I do my Bettas treatment in a seperate tub?

[ItzAllyCat]

I recently got Melafix and Jungle Fungus cure. Wondering which one is safer to use and quicker to treat my beta with. I am also wondering what exact dosage to use in a 3 gallon tank. And what the correct dosage to use jungle fungus clear in a 3 gallon of it is better to use that. Help asap! I have been doing 15 min salt baths a day for my Betta and there has been no progress.

 

[Sgooosh]

I recently got Melafix and Jungle Fungus cure. Wondering which one is safer to use and quicker to treat my beta with. I am also wondering what exact dosage to use in a 3 gallon tank. And what the correct dosage to use jungle fungus clear in a 3 gallon of it is better to use that. Help asap! I have been doing 15 min salt baths a day for my Betta and there has been no progress.

In my opinion, Melafix won't do much. It just makes it smell like eucalptus.
Because bettas require in the minimum 5 gallons, perhaps the smaller tank got too dirty too fast.
"Salt baths" usually won't do much unless you put more salt in there.
I recommend you do this procedure:

1. change out 2 gallons of water from your tank and clean every surface (dont use any chemicals, just water)
2. put the dosage amount for aquarium salt for 3 gallons into the 2 gallons you are going to be replacing. (for API aquarium salt it is 1/2 heaped teaspoon for every gallon, so put 1.5 TEASPOONS of aquarium salt into the new water(instead of 1)
3. change out this water every day, but use normal dosage amount(2 gallons water change, only add 1 Teaspoon for every day)

Aquarium salt is by far the safest and most effective option, and clean water is key.
do you have any photos?

 

[jaylach]

Personally I can offer no opinion as there is no info given.

Is the fish ill? If so pictures are needed.

 

[Essjay]

We need to know what's wrong with the betta. Medication needs to be targeted at the disease - you wouldn't use an antibiotic to cure a broken arm.

Most fish diseases are caused by poor water quality and lots of water changes often clears the problem. Besides the betta's symptoms, we also need to know the water conditions in the tank (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate), how often you do water changes and how much you change each time.
Is there any decor in the tank which is sharp and could tear a betta's fins?

 

[Colin_T]

A picture of the Betta would help too.

Don't give fish salt baths. the stress of being sick, then being chased, caught and put into a container with chemicals or salt for a period of time, then chased, caught and moved back can kill sick fish. In addition to this, if the fish has a disease, then the disease organisms are in the main tank and you need to kill the pathogens there so the fish doesn't get reinfected after the salt bath.

Don't use medications unless you know what the problem is.

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BASIC FIRST AID FOR FISH
Test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. Post the results in numbers, here.

Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. This removes the biofilm on the glass and the biofilm will contain lots of harmful bacteria, fungus, protozoans and various other microscopic life forms.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until the problem is identified. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. It also removes a lot of the gunk and this means any medication can work on treating the fish instead of being wasted killing the pathogens in the gunk.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens so any medication (if needed) will work more effectively on the fish.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Post clear pictures and video of the fish so we can check them for diseases.
You can upload videos to YouTube, then copy & paste the link here.

 

[ItzAllyCat]

We need to know what's wrong with the betta. Medication needs to be targeted at the disease - you wouldn't use an antibiotic to cure a broken arm.

Most fish diseases are caused by poor water quality and lots of water changes often clears the problem. Besides the betta's symptoms, we also need to know the water conditions in the tank (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate), how often you do water changes and how much you change each time.
Is there any decor in the tank which is sharp and could tear a betta's fins?

 

[Essjay]

That looks like finrot. To start with, the best treatment is daily water changes of half the water in the tank. If that doesn't work, try salt - the dose rate is in post #2 in this thread

What to do if your fish gets sick

If your fish ever looks sick or unwell, then the following steps might help. Test the Water and Clean the Tank. Test the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH and write the results down in numbers. Check it for general hardness (GH) and carbonate hardness (KH) too if you can, but...

www.fishforums.net

Melafix, Pimafix and Bettafix should not be used with labyrinth fish, including bettas. They contain aromatic oils which can interfere with the labyrinth organ. Melafix and Bettafix (which is dilute Melafix) are just tea tree oil and Pimafix is bay tree oil so not very effective.

 

[ItzAllyCat]

That looks like finrot. To start with, the best treatment is daily water changes of half the water in the tank. If that doesn't work, try salt - the dose rate is in post #2 in this thread

What to do if your fish gets sick

If your fish ever looks sick or unwell, then the following steps might help. Test the Water and Clean the Tank. Test the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH and write the results down in numbers. Check it for general hardness (GH) and carbonate hardness (KH) too if you can, but...

www.fishforums.net

Melafix, Pimafix and Bettafix should not be used with labyrinth fish, including bettas. They contain aromatic oils which can interfere with the labyrinth organ. Melafix and Bettafix (which is dilute Melafix) are just tea tree oil and Pimafix is bay tree oil so not very effective.

I have heard anything with “fix” is terrible for treatment. Thankfully I have not used it yet. I have been using aquarium salt and started a dose of jungle fungus clear yesterday should I keep using jungle fungus clear or should I just stick with water changes and salt baths?

 

[Essjay]

I would just use salt for now. Not as a bath but in the tank itself. It is stressful for fish to be removed from the tank and put into a bath. It's usually only epsom salt which is used as a bath as that should not be added to the tank - it's used to draw fluid from the fish's body with things like dropsy and is not what you need here.
Salt should be dosed at 2 level tablespoon per 5 gallons water. Remove some water from the tank, dissolve the salt in that them slowly pour it back into the tank. When doing a water change, add more salt to the new water at the dose rate for the amount of new water. With soft water fish like bettas, salt should be left in the tank no longer than 2 weeks then diluted out using plain water for daily water changes for a week.

 

[Back in the fold]

I don’t use chemicals in a small amount of water because it is nearly impossible to get the proportion right . Anytime I have used chemicals I use less than the manufacturer recommends. I think fish remedies and plant fertilizers are best left to very knowledgeable and experienced aquarists using them in large aquariums . Too much can go wrong . Read this forum long enough and you will read sad stories of dead fish and burned plants from chemicals .

 

[ItzAllyCat]

I would just use salt for now. Not as a bath but in the tank itself. It is stressful for fish to be removed from the tank and put into a bath. It's usually only epsom salt which is used as a bath as that should not be added to the tank - it's used to draw fluid from the fish's body with things like dropsy and is not what you need here.
Salt should be dosed at 2 level tablespoon per 5 gallons water. Remove some water from the tank, dissolve the salt in that them slowly pour it back into the tank. When doing a water change, add more salt to the new water at the dose rate for the amount of new water. With soft water fish like bettas, salt should be left in the tank no longer than 2 weeks then diluted out using plain water for daily water changes for a week.

I have a 3 gallon so should I do 1/4 teaspoon? I heard adding it directly to the tank could burn bettas, I guess that’s only if you don’t dissolve it first? I also have live plants 3 Java fern and a marimo moss ball, will they be safe?

 

[TNG]

I have a 3 gallon so should I do 1/4 teaspoon? I heard adding it directly to the tank could burn bettas, I guess that’s only if you don’t dissolve it first? I also have live plants 3 Java fern and a marimo moss ball, will they be safe?

2 level tablespoons per 5 gallons is 1 level tablespoon per 2.5 gallons. As you have a 3 gallon, 1 level tablespoon will do.

 

[Colin_T]

Is the fish biting its tail?
Is there anything hard or sharp (including plastic plants) that could be catching the tail and tearing it?

Is there a filter in the tank?
If yes, what brand of filter?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

What is the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate of the water?

 

[ItzAllyCat]

Is the fish biting its tail?
Is there anything hard or sharp (including plastic plants) that could be catching the tail and tearing it?

Is there a filter in the tank?
If yes, what brand of filter?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

What is the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate of the water?

I’ve never seen him bite his tail and I almost watch him 24/7. I made sure to take a tissue and run it over the decor of my silk plants and it did not tear so I’m pretty sure it is smooth enough to be safe. I have silk and live plants. I have a “Back to the roots” tank so I’m not so sure what kind of filter I have but it works. I gently scrub the filter every time I do water changes but not in a couple days or so since I have been doing mini water changes since he is sick. The pH is pretty high in my tank, but the nitrate is 0 and nitrite is 20. I might go get Seachem prime and stability but I’m concerned it won’t do anything.

 

[jaylach]

I’ve never seen him bite his tail and I almost watch him 24/7. I made sure to take a tissue and run it over the decor of my silk plants and it did not tear so I’m pretty sure it is smooth enough to be safe. I have silk and live plants. I have a “Back to the roots” tank so I’m not so sure what kind of filter I have but it works. I gently scrub the filter every time I do water changes but not in a couple days or so since I have been doing mini water changes since he is sick. The pH is pretty high in my tank, but the nitrate is 0 and nitrite is 20. I might go get Seachem prime and stability but I’m concerned it won’t do anything.

Are you sure you don't have the nitrite and nitrate reversed? A level of 20 PPM on nitrites is fatal.