Help! Siamese Fighter With Raggy Fins/tail

[caggimedicine]

Hi guys. I've got a couple of tanks on the go.... on 50 uk gallon, and a small aqua cube with a siamese fighting fish called Eddie. My problem is with Eddie.

The set up:

Aqua Cube
Small filter
Small heater
Small rock
Fine gravel
Couple of real plants
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: <10


I got up this morning and Eddie's fins were all raggy with red streaks. I immediately did water tests for ammonia (0), nitrite (0) and nitrate (<10). I can't understand this at all... everything is fine in his tank, and yet this has happened. I did a small water change and added a little salt, but then had to come to work. Has anyone got any ideas/suggestions?

 

[xweeqtx]

A lot of people swear by Melafix - it has good healing properties[tea tree oil]

 

[leec]

Hi there

If its as sudden as it seems (overnight), then he may have gotten his fins caught in the filter (you may know yourself if this was possible by the type you have), or if he is in a very small tank he may have had a bout of tail-biting due to boredom. There may have been an explosion of finrot bacteria in the tank, that may have been introduced in the last water change (I shudder at the amount of infections and parasites that have come through from my tapwater). If its a real small tank and you reckon it may be selfinflicted I would scale up, or change his habitat decor regularly.

The others are right, melafix or bettafix is great, just dilute the melafix 1 in 2, or add half dose. Aquarium salt should reduce infections, but what i have always found to be the best treatment for finrot or frayed fins is daily baths in a beaker of salts or methylene blue. 1/2 teaspoon in 500 mls tank water, or 6 drops of methylene blue, but not both. Net in your little guy, and give him up to 20 mins in it. If he appears stressed after say 5 mins take him out. He will get used to it after a few days, and not appear as stressed. It allows you give him conc treatments without overtreating your tank, essentially sterilizing his fins/wounds each time. Still treat your tank with some salt and melafix though, to reduce infection bacteria there also. Its important to leave the net in this beaker overnight when you have put him back in to the main tank to sterilise any infection on it from his fins, and prepare the solutions fresh each day. I have found alternating the treatments works best - salt on monday, meth blue on tuesday etc. - it stops any infectious bacteria resistant to one but not the other building up.

Hope this helps
Lee