Urgent Questions

[Galanta]

I'm trying to fix up my friend's crowntail betta, who seems to be suffering from beginning stages of columnaris (established with Wilder in earlier thread).

Before I got advice from Wilder I hat purchased Pimafix. George (betta) was in medicated water for 48 hours and did not improve. Wilder mentioned to me Maracyn and the importance of aeration, so I went and got Maracyn and a little pump and airstone.

I mixed up the powder as instructed ahead of time and then after the water had warmed to the temperature in the room, did a full water change and refilled the bowl/vase with the Maracyn water.

I hooked up the little pump first with the airstone that came with it, but it was making huge bubbles, so then I changed it to a limewood airstone, which I had picked up because the package said that it made micro bubbles. I assumed that this would be better for a betta fish, since they don't like current. Well, even the little bubbles are stirring up the water (2.5 gallons) like crazy and I fear that it will be wearing him out as he is laboring to get to the top, etc. Further the Maracyn water was clear when I first put it in (had been sitting pre-mixed for 8 hours), but now with the limewood airstone it has gotten all cloudy. Little specks have come off the little wood block and George keeps grabbing them and (luckily) spitting them back out.

So my questions are:

1) Is limewood OK for bettas or is this going to be a problem. If a problem, is it OK to just take out the limewood airstone or do I need to toss all the water and do a 100% change again?

2) Is the current going to stress out George to much? He normally mostly just glides/floats around, but now he is actively swimming most of the time and I don't know if this is going to wear him out too much.

3) I got the smallest pump I could get my hands on and did not expect it to be so strong. There is no adjustment control on it. Is there anything I can do do reduce the bubbles with what I have? I.e. what would happen if I sawed off half of the limewood airstone, to reduce the area of where bubbles are coming out? I currently have it all the way at the bottom. Can I maybe let if float on top, so half the air just goes straight out or will that just not properly aerate the water?
Can I make small punctures in the hose to reduce the air pressure?

These are probably kinda dumb questions, but I don't want to kill George by over exerting him or having him get all messed up by the limewood.

Thank you!

 

[Spamtastic]

I know you can purchase regulators which are small and black. Look similar to http/www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/14346/product.web (my apologies - I havent got a clue on how to insert a piccie!!!)
Theyre plastic and you add it on by cutting the tubing into 2 and slotting on the cut ends either end.

Im sorry I have no Betta experience but Im sure someone else will offer their advice. If not, have you posted in the Betta section? Im sure thats where the experts would hang out.

 

[Galanta]

Thanks. Will try there too ...

 

[saz326]

If you need to reduce the output of the air stone then you can let some of the air out by making a small hole in the pipe so that not all of the air reaches the airstone. (just read that in your question - Yes you can!)Its more by luck than by judgement that you make the right sized hole - so trial and error.

Near where the airline joins the airpump, make a small hole in the tubing. try it for a minute, then make the hole bigger if needs be. If you make the hole too big, then simply snip off the end of the tubing and try again. This way you dont loose too much tubing.

Edited to add more info. A little current is a good thing. It will help to keep oxygen rich water flowing over the damaged fins which can help with the healing. dirt and debris drop to the bottom so you dont want the airation to be strong enough to lift this dirt into the water. You can also add a little Tea tree oil to the water - there should be info on it somewhere in the forum - use search function. Its antibacterial.

 

[Galanta]

Dear saz236, thanks a lot for the helpful instructions. I had the general idea of diverting some of the air, but I would have just randomly made a hole somewhere along the line. Your way is much more intelligent! I will definitely reduce as little as possible. Will check out on the tea tree oil. Is this OK to use together with Maracyn? I still have the Pimafix stuff which is also from some kind of tree (Bay Tree Oil), I just did not know if I could use together with Maracyn, so switched from only one to only the other. If they are compatible, I will add it back in.

 

[lou_d]

Can anyone please tell me how urgent it is to treat fin rot? as its not possible for me to get the pet store for another day? will he last? he's a male molly, that has been "ill" for the last two days and has been in isolation... seems to pick up and then drift away again?

Can anyone please tell me how urgent it is to treat fin rot? as its not possible for me to get the pet store for another day? will he last? he's a male molly, that has been "ill" for the last two days and has been in isolation...

 

[Galanta]

I'm not sure about Mollies specifically and don't know what you mean by "pick up and drift away again" Generally, if it is just fin rot, it is not deadly right away. I.e. the fish will not die just from loosing part of his fin - unless there are more serious infections involved. Fin rot will eat away at the fins and finally start eating up the body at which point it most certainly endangers the life of the fish. In fact from what I heard from finrot in betta fish, it normally does not make the fish act different than normal unless it is very very advanced.

If your fish is generally active, eating and just has a bit of his fins damaged, he should be fine. But if he is acting sluggish, etc. he probably has something else than/in addition to fin rot which might be more urgent to deal with. If he is not acting well, you should describe the exact symptoms you can see in terms of what he looks like and how he acts, so maybe somebody more knowledgable can tell you what is wrong with him and whether it requires immediate action.