First-time owner: Fin rot?

[LeannaM380]

Hello, I'm a first-time fish owner so forgive me if I'm ignorant on the subject. I have a half moon betta that I've had for about 7 months now that seems to have chronic fin rot. He lives in a fluval chi 5 gallon by himself, with a constant temperature of about 78 degrees (I use a tetra 2-10 gallon heater). I use prime water conditioner and stress zyme. He has no plastic plants in his tank, just silk ones, a marimo moss ball, and an Indian almond leaf. I've read a lot about how to treat fin rot, and I've tried most things except bettafix/melafix because I'm scared it'll hurt Charlie's labyrinth. Miraculously, he recovered from dropsy a few months ago with some salt baths and erythromycin, but the fin rot is still there. I'm not sure what to do for this little boy, but he seems very happy and active (he's literally never refused food and he's always swimming around). I want to give him a happy life but I don't know if I should go for bettafix or not. : (. Any suggestions?
P.s. I don't know if it matters, but he marbeled very heavily when I got him and put him in the tank for a few months. He started off pastel pink and now is a deep navy blue.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Hi Lenna,

1)If I can remember correctly, Bettafix and Melafix won't kill the fish. But they are too mild to kill the bacteria that caused the fin rot. You can make a search from the google about this.
I'd used one of them before but it didn't cure the fin rot.
Note: Fin rots is cause by bacteria infection.

2)You might want to try Potassium Permanganate(PP) dip. Read below link:
http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Potassium_permanganate
Or you might want to put your betta into a quarantine tank with PP in it.

Take note that if you put PP into your main tank, you must remove your filter temporarily. PP will kill everything in your tank including the good bacteria(in your filter).

3)Lastly, make sure you keep your tank clean to clear away most of the bacteria that caused the infection.

 

[NickAu]

Hi

Can you please post a close up photo of his fin's?

Also
Can you tell us about your tank maintenance,
How often do you change water?
How much do you change?

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Hi Lenna,

I forgot to give a "caution" if you use Potassium Permanganate (PP).
PP can be too strong too treat fins rot.
When a fish is having "fins rot", it actually had "open wound".
So you must use the PP with caution. Observe the reaction of your fish when you use PP. Remove the fish or change/ dilute the water if the fish is getting very uncomfortable.