Is this tail rot?

[freshwaterfishfan]

I recently cured ick from my tank but noticed something wrong with the tails of my two mickey mouse platis. I took them out of my big tank and put them into a smaller one. Here are some pictures. I was wondering if their tails are rotting or if its just my betta attacking them....
Please help with the diagnosis.

 

[dskidmore]

Is it possible you had an ammonia spike during the treatment of the ick?

What are your ammonia/nitrite readings?
Is it getting worse?

 

[freshwaterfishfan]

My ammonia/nitrate levels are at .25. I did recently add new drift wood, i don't know if that has anything to do with it.
I don't think ive seen a change in their condition yet. I noticed it this morning.

 

[dskidmore]

Driftwood can sometimes take a little while to cure and could cause some pH swings or ammonia release. .25 would be bothersome as a true reading, but the kit could be off. Does it normally read .25 or 0?

 

[freshwaterfishfan]

Ever since I've started it has been reading .25. I'm probably going to get a new test kit. The wood also caused my water to turn yellowish and the betta I have in the tank is sitting on the heater now. It's never done that before.

 

[dskidmore]

The yellows are tannins. Some fish actually like that, they sell blackwater extract at the pet store for those kinds of fish. Fish that are not natural to swampy envrioments might not like it so much.

What is your normal pH and current pH?

Do some water changes to clear up the water and maintain water quality. But keep an eye on the fins, if they get worse it may be something else.

 

[freshwaterfishfan]

Thank you very much for your help. My pH is at 7.6 and has been for a long time. I will do a water change tomorrow and hopefully get some meds today. I just glanced at the fins and it looks like strands of the fin are flowing behind the part on the picture above.

 

[freshwaterfishfan]

One of my platies just died. It showed absolutely no signs of illness other than it stayed at the bottom of the tank and did nothing. It also had a large white spot on each gill. I also found a (vampire?) pleco that had the same thing as my last platy, its fins were torn, i think it may just be my betta munching on other fish.

 

[freshwaterfishfan]

Came home and found both fish dead. I am planning on cleaning out my aquarium and leaving it with only my betta for about a month, then maybe reintroduce some fish.
Darn, such a bad day.

 

[dskidmore]

Sorry. It's rough when things happen too quickly to figure them out. I'm guessing the wood affected the water quality in some way we hadn't measured. The tannins will leak out slower over time and become a non-issue. You can speed up the process by boiling the wood, but leaving the tank be fore a month is a good policy anyway after unexplained deaths.

 

[freshwaterfishfan]

I just spent a day cleaning my tank. I boiled all the wood, ran plants trough hot water, and cleaned the gravel. All I have left is my crowntail betta, surprisingly hardy. I plan on leaving my tank the way it is now for about a month, let it recycle I guess, and then go from there.

 

[freshwaterfishfan]

I was just thinking, could betta food have made my other fish die? I came up with this after I read the betta food label and it said something about having salmon pigments for vibrant betta colors or something. Also, the other fish in my tank died off and their fins looked ripped, worn out, and raggy while my betta was spotless. Any ideas?

 

[dskidmore]

raggy fins is a sign of ammonia poisioning.