My Betta Has Fin Rot! Please Help :(

[T'sMommy]

Hi everyone. I'm pretty sure my poor betta has fin rot. I haven't been watching him as closely over the past few weeks because I was preparing to move into my new apartment. He lives in a cycled, filtered 2.5 gallon tank and I usually change his water once a week, but I waited almost two weeks this time because I was so busy with moving in, and then today after changing his water I looked at him and saw a HUGE piece of his tail is missing. He is a half moon and the big, flared back part has a chunk missing from the middle; it is just a jagged fringe now. The edges of his fins also look rougher and like jagged. I am so worried I don't want him to die I feel so horrible that getting behind on water changes probably caused this and so bad I didn't notice it before. Should I get medicine? I don't want to hurt him! What should I do?

 

[Blitz]

In beta fish fin rot is a common disease. Fin rot is caused by different types of bacteria, often occuring as a result of poor water quality.
Fin rot is also contagious.
The symptoms include the fins turning white, or shrinking. Often the fins become frayed, and the base of the fins become swollen or enflamed. Sometimes the entire fin almost disappears.
Often cotton like substance will appear on the fins when fin rot is present.
There are many ways to treat fin rot. Since the primary cause of fin rot is poor water quality the first thing you should do is completely change the beta fish water, and clean the tank thoroughly.
Next you will want to add a little Mardel Maracyn 2. Maracyn-2 is a broad-spectrum antibiotic (minocycline) tablet often used to treat fin rot.
Finally some aquarium salt can be added to the tank. If the treatment is working you should notice a significant improvement in your beta fish in about 2 days. Within a week there should be no signs of fin rot left.

HOWEVER, your fish may not survive, so act fast. GOod luck!