Betta w/ fin rot again - snails to blame?

[Rachelinwy]

Hi all

My betta had a bout with fin rot about 2 weeks ago. I removed his snails to another tank, and treated him with "Fungus Clear" (nitrofurazone, furazolidone, and potassium chromate).

He got better, so I changed the water and put one of his snails back in... BAM He's got fin rot again.

I have removed the snail, and dosed the fish.

My question is this: Could the snails (olive snails) be harboring the fin rot fungus? Can I treat the snails, too, or shall I resign myself to keeping them separate for the rest of their lives?

Thanks

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi Rachelinwy,
I don't know if snails can harbor the organism (fungus or bacteria) responsible for finrot. I suppose anything's possible, and from your experience it looks like it may be possible. I have never had snails, though, but I've had lots of bettas and lots of episodes of finrot.

Answering these questions may give us a little more info: What size tank is your betta in? Can you describe it? Does it have a heater/filter? How often do you do water changes? How many and what type of tankmates (other than snails) does the betta have?

 

[Rachelinwy]

The betta's in a 2.5-gallon hexagonal tank, with the snails and some Elodea. I change about 1/2 gallon of water once a week. The tank has one of those mini-heaters, so it stays around 78-82*.

The betta hasn't been in the best of health for the past few months, so it could be he's just at the end of his line.

I would like to know if the snails are off-limits for other fish in the future. That is, will they have to be isolated until they pass on? How long do olive snails live, anyway?

Thanks!

 

[An t-iasg]

I have had bettas that were vigorous and healthy, and some that only lived 6 months or so. We never know how old they are when we get them, either, unless you happen to know the breeder.

I don't have any info on the snails. I'll try to call this post to the attention of some more members. I do know that other members have fish and snails with no problems, but I can't speak from experience since I"ve never had snails.

It's good that you have a heater. I would try to increase the frequency of your water changes since the tank is still rather small. My betta QT tank is a 2.5 gallon, and when I have a betta in that tank, I change half a gallon every other day, which would be 3 times a week. That may perk the betta up a bit, plus when fish have good, clean water, they are more resistant to bacterial and fungal infections.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Not a freshwater expert by any means, but from a "troubleshooting" aspect, I wouldn't blame the snails quite yet. It could just be that you had a reoccurance of the fin rot that would've happened even if you hadn't put the snails back in.

Personally, I'd leave the snails out longer this time and give it a good 3-4 weeks until you put them back in - just to make sure the fin rot is really taken care of. Then put the snails back in. If it happens again, even with a longer wait period, then it probably is somehow related to the snails, or maybe any stray water that's coming in with the snails. At that point then I guess you'd be back to the same question you have now. But with just one instance of this happening, I'd be more apt to think it was just coincidence.