# Betta Fish- split fins & fin rot



## monapica (Apr 7, 2008)

I have a male Betta fish, and have noticed that for the past week or so, his fins seem to slowly be deteriorating- he has a fairly mild case of fin rot. He also has split fins in a couple of areas, and the edges of his fins are kind of droopy/ragged> when i got him, his fins were so gorgeous, he seemed like one of the more beautiful fish. Now, he seems to be doing alright, but his fins are ragged, split, and not so beautiful anymore. 

I have been using BettaFix for about three days now, but have not seen improvement. I was wondering, is this helpful or harmful for Bettas?
If it isn't going to help, I will discontinue use...

Also, what can I do about his fin rot? He seems to be eating alright, the only difference I can see is that he has fin rot. I change his water 100% on a weekly basis, and it's never dirty or cloudy. I don't know what could be causing fin rot.

So if you have information on fin rot, and how to treat and prevent it (in bettas), please let me know.


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Do a complete water change and get rid of the Bettafix. I have yet to see that stuff really work.

Methylene blue and fungus elminator together are going to be the best solution. 
If he's in a bowl, mix the meds into a bucket of fresh water and do 100% water changes every day or every other day, using the medicated water. Do this for 7 - 10 days, you should see an improvement. Once he's well again, consider doing his water changes twice/wk instead of once. That will help to prevent this from happening in the future.

If after 10 days you still see signs of illness, continue to treat with the medicated water for 3 days beyond symptoms. (when you notice things healing and not getting worse) This med combo won't hurt him if used longer term. I have worked with this stuff since Jungle first introduced the fungus elminator and Nitrofura G went off the market. I have had bettas on that med schedule for over a year and all I had was healthy fish in aqua colored water! 

Clean water, good variety of healthy foods, and temps 80 - 82 but steady, and you shouldn't have any further issues.


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## monapica (Apr 7, 2008)

Thank you for the information, I changed the water and have stopped using BettaFix...it didn't do a thing to help my betta's fins. I will definitely pick up the products you mentioned and give them a try. I'm glad that Jimmy (betta) is otherwise in good health- he eats normally and swims around; he seems to be a curious little fish  I'll do what you mentioned, and update on his progress. Thanks again!


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

You're welcome. Don't forget to keep his temp up into the low 80's and steady (does he have a heater?) Temp fluctuations and temps that are too low will contribute to the problem and can make things much worse.

Best of luck to you and Jimmy!


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## monapica (Apr 7, 2008)

Jungle Fungus Clear has worked wonderfully- within a few days, the split fins have begun healing considerably, and my fish now fans out his fins like before. I also have a mini tank heater I use...Hydor, brand.. for a 2 gallon tank, do you recommend keeping it on overnight, or will it overheat the water? it's 7.5 watts, and is supposed to warm up water by a few degrees.


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Just so you're aware, there is a difference between fungus eliminator and fungus clear. When I suggest meds I do so specifically based on the ingredients in them, not on what the packaging claims. I'm glad the fungus clear worked out well for you, but I say this in warning for the future. Using the wrong med can be the difference between life and death to your fish.

As for the heater, the goal is to have a constant temp in that tank. If you turn it on and off the temp goes up and down, which will stress the fish and make it sick. A healthy temp for a betta is 80 - 82, but they can handle up to about 85 - 86 safely if need be.

I'm glad your fish is better... might want to toss the bettafix out so you're not tempted to "play with it" in the future. I have found that and a few other meds to be completely useless.


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

Mini-Hydors are preset to 78, so there's no need to be messing with them. Just have a thermometer in the tank that you're checking every so often and you should be good


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## monapica (Apr 7, 2008)

Thanks to both of you for replying... It's good to know that the mini heater is already pre-set, so it won't go over a certain temperature. As for the meds, I am avoiding anything but fungus clear at all costs- I don't want to use anything unnecessary and risk sickness of death of my fish. Anyway, he's doing just fine, just as well as when I first got him (almost 2 months ago). I think the main problem before may have been with water temperature, but now I'm using the heater, and as always, changing water regularly, so hopefully fin rot will no longer be an issue.


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## westpoison (Mar 11, 2008)

Check out this thread. Teaches you how to diagonise and cure fin rot. http://www.fishforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=15945


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## fishiness (Jun 2, 2008)

hi
i saw this pasted on a filipino board
(not that I'm filipino, so I'm lucky it was in as much english as it was)
Methylene Blue. Read ingredient dapat Methylene Blue kasi iba me Copper Sulfate tepok. Now use as directed pero pagdipa madilim you can add more. Basta Methlene Blue ok iyan.

Next betadine in cotton. Pisa mo. Cotton should be dry. Swab affected affected kasi basta fungus iyan dead tiisue na. You remove it quickly. Avoidly eyes gills. Pwede fin skin only.

Add a little salt.

Methy Blue will kill good bacteria so separate it pail and use new clean cotton fiber sa ohf.

3-5 days ok na.

After that WC and return old cotton fiber good bacteria. Add salt again. No more meth Blue.

if you can figure out what they're talking about you'll be ok 
the other thing is that I read people saying that no matter what you do regarding fin rot, you have to be careful because the erythromycin or other chemicals you decide to use can totally botch up your tank, so if you go natural, or can go natural, you're probably better off

it's funny, when i was in London once I was thinking to get my ear pierced (cartilage not lobe) and they said to clean it all you need is salt water, so it's kind of funny thinking about fish rot cause well, they live in salt water, I wonder if fish in salt water get fish rot

(then again if i pierced my ear cartilage no way I would use just salt water, it's Dial and Bactine for a good American)


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## Torn (Apr 12, 2008)

fishiness, that thread in the link you provided are talking about saltwater fish, a Betta is a freshwater fish. Although I think you and they are right in saying that Erythromycin can damage your biological filter. Also, I think it's best to only follow advice from people posting in the language that you speak or can fully understand, to avoid misunderstandings and possibly making things worse.

I have 5 piercings in my ears (including one in ear cartilage) and used a salt solution to help with the healing process and it works great. Don't knock it until you've tried it! :wink: 


I'm glad Jimmy's feeling better monapica.


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## geekchicklet (Jul 22, 2008)

*Another Case of Fin Rot: Emergency, I Think*

Hello.

I am in great need of help. It's like my bettas fins are deteriorating before my eyes.

A couple of months ago, I noticed one of his fins was 'curling.' I made sure to keep his water clean and hoped for the best (as I read not too medicate too quickly).

Things were looking up.

One day, I woke up and fed him and he jerked his body. Pieces of fin fell off!

I changed his whole setup to a larger bowl with fresh plants. (I had considered an Eclipse 3, but my betta does NOT like water movement at ALL.) He seemed better for a while.

Then, clear signs of fin rot started showing.

I tried a medication they are supposed to eat. He won't eat it.

I tried Betta Fix -- No improvement.

I changed everything in his bowl and tried Melafix -- No improvement.

I changed everything and tried Maracyn -- There was improvement for about 2 1/2 days. Then, a big chunk of tail flaked off.

I changed everything and tried Fungus Clear. Within 24 hours, I noticed major improvements. This only lasted about 2 1/2 days, as well. Again, chunks of tail started coming off and a hole appeared.

Today, I put him in a 5.5 gallon aquarium. All plants have been removed. All he has is a mini heater and round stones. I put a fresh dose of Fungus Clear in. I also added 1 T of Aquarium Salt (after calling Jungle Labs to make sure this could be used in combination with Fungus Clear).

Some things to note:

- I have caught him turning and nipping his own tail.
- I give him complete water changes at LEAST once per week.
- I give him a partial change at LEAST once per week.
- I test his water with strips and tubes. All tests show normal levels. I have no ammonia, no nitrates, no nitrites. His pH always seems slightly acidic at first and is normal after a day or so. It does remain in the normal levels for bettas.
- I use Jungle's 'Tank Buddies' Water conditioner in filtered or spring water and test before putting him in.
- I have not been able to maintain steady water temps. They fluctuate between about 76 and 82.
- Some of his top fins are curled. His bottom fins are half perfect and half clumped and curled (but these are still quite long). It seems the bad half of his bottom fins are showing regrowth. There are some translucent, but slightly coloured patches where there were some fragile fins and tears before. Some damaged areas now have semi-translucent but semi-coloured bottoms. His back fins/tail are a MESS. The top half is showing a lot of shredding and within the past few hours I have noticed white ends. I can't tell if this is a secondary fungal infection or regrowth.
- His behaviour has seemed okay until these last few days. Now, he is showing discomfort.

I took photos but can't find my USB cable.

I bought that Eclipse 3, today, hoping I could nurse him back to health in the 5.5 gallon without a filter and move him to it afterward. I also purchased tetracycline (in case I needed it) and ordered Fungus Eliminator and Methylene Blue. No one here sells it and I won't get this for DAYS.

I hope that's more than enough information, but I will try to answer any other questions. I want to help him, but I don't know what else to do.

Thanks for your time.


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## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

Please post this in a thread of your own either in the betta section or freshwater disease and emergency. More people will notice that way and help you out.


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## geekchicklet (Jul 22, 2008)

Thanks. I wasn't sure about the whole new thread/use existing thread thing.


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