Help help betta fin rot??

[VioletEmber]

I am panicking! Is this fin rot? Or worse? Is it contagious? I had an older female guppy in the tank with him and she started looking raggedy so I separated her from her male -- and she died the next day-- her fins looking terrible. Now today I notice this on my beloved perry! I can go test the water- but I've been doing lots of water changes lately because I just switched from gravel to sand in this tank.

I took all the plants and fish out of original tank, put the washed sand in the bottom of a different tank, added the plants and filter and fish, even 50% of the water from the original tank.

He is currently in a 10g with 3 ottos, two guppies and 4 lampeye killifish. If it is contagious, then I should treat the whole tank?

 

[absolutangel04]

Your water is likely fine, but it doesn't hurt to test it anyway.
Any chance he and the female got into a tussle and thats why his fins are raggedy? Or they got into a tussel andhis fins were damged and then got fin rot?
It always hard for me to tell on crowntails how much rot has happened.

 

[VioletEmber]

Before (best I could find of his fins)

 

[VioletEmber]

Darnit- hit the wrong button... But I doubt it was a fight, the guppies are small still, but I suppose it is possible. The thing that makes me panic that it is columnaris (?) because I have been watching him like a hawk since the substrate change and he was not like this last night. What else could affect his fins so fast?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Columnaris will show up as a white fuzz in most cases around the head and/or back. it looks like fin rot IMO. Keep his water clean and add some salt.

 

[absolutangel04]

I honestly don't know what else could have caused it so fast. Thanks for the before and after shots. That really does help.
Yeah, it doesn't look like fight damage to me.
Columnaris often has white fungusy looking stuff, but sometimes it can just show itself by fins disintegrating at the edges.
If I was you, I would try a salt treatment first to see if anythings changes. If it gets worse, you will have to use meds IMO.

 

[VioletEmber]

Ok- salt and water changes. 50%PWC daily? I love this fish and I'll do water changes standing on my head twice daily if I have too!

I was just doing some more research and of course I got more confused - is fin rot and columnaris the same thing or two separate things? One site said they were the same... Either way, if the salt doesn't clear it up (should I lower the temp in the tank?) what meds would you recommend?

 

[absolutangel04]

Ok- salt and water changes. 50%PWC daily? I love this fish and I'll do water changes standing on my head twice daily if I have too!

I was just doing some more research and of course I got more confused - is fin rot and columnaris the same thing or two separate things? One site said they were the same... Either way, if the salt doesn't clear it up (should I lower the temp in the tank?) what meds would you recommend?

They are different. Fin rot can have multiple causes while columnaris is a specific ailment caused by a specific bacteria (its a gram negative one I believe). Good question though. They are often confused together.
Yes, IMO that sounds like a good pwc regime.

 

[absolutangel04]

Also, lowering the temp probably won't do anything to really affect the outcome, so I would just leave it. I am not positive about the exact meds off the top of my head.

 

[VioletEmber]

I am so heart sick... Look at him today! The LFS doesn't carry meds beyond melafix and the not so local one is closed today... I put him in a qt tank so I can up his salt dosage if need be and do water changes more easily... But he looks worse today and the fins look stiff.

 

[VioletEmber]

Btw- those are bubbles after a water change, not giant algae!

 

[absolutangel04]

Poor guy. Yes, definitely put in qt and up the salt. Unfortunately, he looks like he might need more meds for this because it looks a bit aggressive.

 

[VioletEmber]

Heartbroken. Perry went to fishy heaven this morning. Makes me feel so helpless! I'm going to go get some meds next time I am someplace that sells them just to have them on hand and will hopefully never need them.

 

[LyndaB]

I'm very sorry for your loss. If it was columnaris, it is highly contagious. The only way I saved my community tank when it struck was to cull the two symptomatic fish. That saved the rest.

 

[VioletEmber]

I'm very sorry for your loss. If it was columnaris, it is highly contagious. The only way I saved my community tank when it struck was to cull the two symptomatic fish. That saved the rest.

I am obsessively checking my fish now for any signs of weirdness... So far only my dwarf gourami is looking bad and I've got him in qt now... He wasn't in the same tank but maybe I moved something or used the same net... He looks sort of brownish... No fuzzy stuff though. Getting meds asap.

 

[absolutangel04]

I am really sorry about Perry. That sucks.
Uh oh. I doesn't good that another fish is having issues too! I hope he is ok. Keep us updated.

 

[apinkmanatee]

I'm so sorry about Perry.

 

[VioletEmber]

I have vowed to not touch anything in my tanks for awhile, beyond good maintenance of course. No new anything! I just feel so sad and so responsible... They are utterly dependent on us and when we can't fix it... Ugh. So far everyone besides the dwarf gourami is looking good... If he makes it through the night I'll go track down meds, but I doubt he'll make it, the way he looks. Poor guy. One of his front fins is pinned to his side ... Woah!!!! I just saw him completely spazz out! Swimming super fast in tight circles and then all over the tank... Oh gracious, now he's stuck to the filter... This is gruesome. Why doesn't my petco sell meds!!!?!

 

[absolutangel04]

Do you need to put him to sleep? I am really sorry he isn't doing well. If he is that bad though you may want to consider euthanizing him. Thats totally up to you though because you are the one looking at him so you are the one who knows how badly he is doing.

 

[apinkmanatee]

How is he doing today?