FIN ROT?

[kaley822]

i noticed yesterday that my betta fish, fishy jr., has a shredded stringy look to its tail that was once normal looking. As far as i can tell the change was sudden, like over one or two nights, because i only noticed it yesterday and he was fine before that. He is in a 2.5 gallon by himself.

Also, there is a mini whisper filter (i think its called) that came with the tank, but fishy has gone for like 5 or 6 months without this shredding his tail so i dunno if this is the problem. There is also a kind of sharp fake plant in there (shown in the following pictures)

is this fin rot or could it be shredded by the filter or plant?

BEFORE PIC ---->

AFTER PIC (LOOK AT BIG CHUNK OUT OF TAIL) ---->

CLOSE UP ON TAIL---->

looking at it now he looks skinnier too ....

 

[kaley822]

come on, anyone? it took me a long time to post all these pics

 

[Incitic]

Cant offer you any advice, but I wish your betta good fortune. I too have sick fish atm.

 

[tekknocolor]

It does look like fin rot to me. Does it look all frayed and have black edging or red edging of the fins?

There is a noticeable difference in the before and after pics. The poor fishy looks all gaunt and stressed

Also, are there any other fish in teh tank with the betta?

 

[kaley822]

no, he's by himself in the tank. what should i use to treat the fin rot, and also what could be causing it?

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

you can get medication from your lfs which will stop it happening and then the fins will grow back. i use stuff called Myxazin on my pleco (he has finrot) and it works really well. but because i live in australia i dont know if you would be able to get it where you live.

 

[tstenback]

Also water changes are required. Fin rot is usually an indication of a water quality issue. You could try adding some aquarium salt as well as my bettas often respond very well to a little salt and perhaps some melafix to heal the fins.

 

[~FairyAngelFish~]

Poor fish!

 

[ger87410]

That's the first thing U check when your fish gets sick is the water quality. Most of the time, that's the problem.

 

[kaley822]

okay, thanks i changed the water last night and i'm gonna go get some fin rot meds today

 

[ger87410]

While you're at it, post your water parameters please.

 

[s6king]

I don't know if you still need help but I have had bettas for years now. I keep mine in in 20 oz glass vases with lids on top (ventilated). When My bettas fins start looking like that I use bettafix. It has helped my fish live over a year now. I don't know if you know this but bettas are siamese fighting fish. Siam is now known as Thailand. Bettas live in puddles (stagnant water) and hop from puddle to puddle.

 

[kaley822]

thanks for all the help. i bought the fin rot medicine but never used it. instead i just put some aquarium salt and melafix in there. now i just put the melafix. the fin rot (if thats what it was) has stopped progresssing and i think the tail has began to grow back a little, but not completely. i have upped the water changes, but i dont know if his fins will ever completely grow back. he seems happy though, swimming around and eating like normal.

he flares when i put the melafix in sometimes, does this mean anything?

 

[Nidge]

Finrot is caused when the fish gets stressed mainly by poor water conditions, The bacteria that cause it are always present in an aquarium and only when the fishes immune system is down does it cause damage.

Most of the time the fish will recover if the rot isn't far gone but sometimes they lose their whole fins. Daily water changes should stop the rot from getting worse and only use medication if it gets worse.