Fin Rot in Betta

[afterwinter]

So my tank just completed its cycle and I went out and bought my betta. I chose the poor little guy because he was so curious and looked very sad. The only problem is he has a terrible case of fin rot. I don't even know what he is supposed to look like as he was just labeled as a butterfly male. My question is does the extent of damage require medication or will a nice, clean 6.6 gallon tank do the trick?

He is eating, curious and exploring. He has spent much of today near the top of the tank though. I will attempt to add some pictures so you can see his poor tail.

Thanks so so much for any help you can give!

 

[afterwinter]

I bought some Stress Coat and VitaChem. I am hoping that will help. I am still wondering if it is too far gone to wait to see if that will work. Any thoughts on how much time I have before I need to medicate? I haven't had fish in years and never one with fin rot so I want to be sure I don't kill him. Thanks

 

[Delapool]

How's he going - is the fin rot still progressing? If it looks like it will go away, I'd just do lots of water changes. If progressing then onto antibiotics.

Could do salt but could easily salt your plants.

Stress coat I've thought useful for ripped fins, not sure on fin rot.

 

[afterwinter]

Thanks for the response. I am having a hard time telling if it is spreading. I am trying to take pictures each day so I can compare them. I will add them here. The good thing is he is eating well and exploring every inch of this tank. He seems only mildly interested in the shrimp that are sharing the space. Not sure if he mild mannered or just not feeling well enough to go after them. I figures maybe the stress coat would help him start regrowing his fins (if they are going to get better).

 

[Delapool]

You could try a moderate water change every second day and see if that helps him. The stress coat I thought I could see a difference after a few days between using it and not using it.