Fin rot or damaged/growing fin?

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lynhagan

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I have a Betta fish whose fins look a bit raggedy. I thought he had fin rot before and dosed with Aquarium salt and bought but did not use meds. I'm new to this and had some problems with water hardness which now looks resolved. He eats and blows bubble nests. My parameters are nitrite 0 nitrate 5 6.5 pH O2 5mg 89kh 162gh. Posting pics for you experts in the next post @Colin_T
 
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I have a Betta fish whose fins look a bit raggedy. I thought he had fin rot before and dosed with Aquarium salt and bought but did not use meds. I'm new to this and had some problems with water hardness which now looks resolved. He eats and blows bubble nests. My parameters are nitrite 0 nitrate 5 6.5 pH O2 5mg 89kh 162gh. Posting pics for you experts in the next post
 

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The fish looks fine.

Fin rot is normally caused by poor water quality (ammonia, nitrite or high nitrate) or a dirty tank. If you do big regular water changes and gravel clean the substrate, and make sure the filter is kept in good shape, you should never see it.
 
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The fish looks fine.

Fin rot is normally caused by poor water quality (ammonia, nitrite or high nitrate) or a dirty tank. If you do big regular water changes and gravel clean the substrate, and make sure the filter is kept in good shape, you should never see it


Really? He has a black crusted edge on his back fin? I thought that was a sign? You have to zoom in on the photo. Happy if it's not though ☺️
 
If you can get a picture with his fins flared out it might show the issue better. You can hold a mirror up next to the tank for this.

Clean the glass before you take the picture so the dry water marks don't cover anything on the fish.
 
If you can get a picture with his fins flared out it might show the issue better. You can hold a mirror up next to the tank for this.

Clean the glass before you take the picture so the dry water marks don't cover anything on the fish.
Thanks, I'll try ☺️
 
Took a while :) When you zoom in on the fin they are a bit translucent with a black crust and a few stringy bits. Maybe on the mend from a previous infection or something?

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Monitor the black on the edges of the tail. It could be damage or healing. Black is normally bruising or cell damage but it doesn't look frayed.

If the fish is healthy and fed a varied diet, and you keep the tank clean, any minor infections should heal up on their own.

If the fins start to split or fray, then add salt and post more pictures. Otherwise monitor and see how he goes.
 
Thank you Colin. I appreciate you taking the time to reply. Do I add salt and then the remove it with 50% water changes? I feel bad that I may hav done him some harm as a rookie Betta keeper 😜
 
SALT

Using Salt to Treat Fish Health Issues.

For some fish diseases you can use salt (sodium chloride) to treat the ailment rather than using a chemical based medication. Salt is relatively safe and is regularly used in the aquaculture industry to treat food fish for diseases. Salt has been successfully used to treat minor fungal and bacterial infections, as well as a number of external protozoan infections. Salt alone will not treat whitespot (Ichthyophthirius) or Velvet (Oodinium) but will treat most other types of protozoan infections in freshwater fishes.

You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate (1-2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will not affect fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
 
Hi Colin. he was still looking a bit raggedy after I monitored him for a week so I decided to follow the aquarium salt advice you gave at the initial low dose for 48 hours. I just put it in today - what signs of improvement should I looking for with possible fin rot in that time and should I keep it in for two weeks regardless, or take it out after 48 hours with the method you share?

I have had hair algae on some driftwood and plants that I bought which I took out - I didn't know if was causing problems or how to get rid ouf it. Whilst he is run down, I think I have to keep temps high and lights low?

Thanks Colin for your help.
Lyn
 
If the fins start to split or fray, then post pictures because that is usually fin rot.

Leave salt in the tank for 2 weeks.

Keep the temperature around 26-28C
 
Hi Colin. It's been a while since I posted as I wanted to follow your previous advice and monitor. The fins continued to be raggedy and I made the decision to use aquarium salt (at your suggested dosage). He seemed to perk up but then started resting a lot and only eating sporadically. I noticed the fin is more ragged, now with what appears to be a hole in the back one. I am ready to dose with Intrepid Anti Fungal and Fin Rot (6ml for a 32 tank filled to 30 litres) but just wanted to double check I am doing the right thing. I did a 75% water change today and took out all ornaments and cleaned with boiling water (wasn't confident enough to use the bleach we had in the house). I took all the gravel out and washed it too, squeezed the filter in the tank. Am I doing the right thing?

Here is the link to the youtube video I uploaded - he is very hard to photograph and film but you can see the hole and fins well enough.
https://youtu.be/gDHJoqoD90w

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