Lifeguard for beta fin rot
- Thread starter BetaBeta
- Start date
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Colin_T
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hi and welcome to the forum 
Can you post a picture of the fish so we can confirm the problem?
What are the ingredients in the Life Guard?
How long has the tank been set up?
I'm assuming you have had the fish for 2 years?
If not, how long have you had it for?
How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?
What is the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH of the water?
What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?
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Fin rot is normally caused by poor water quality that weakens the fish, damages the fins, and allows harmful bacteria into the wound. It can normally be treated by cleaning up the tank and adding salt.
Wipe the inside of the glass down.
Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens so any medication (if needed) will work more effectively on the fish.
Maybe add some salt, (see directions below).
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SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.
The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.
After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.
If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.
When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
Can you post a picture of the fish so we can confirm the problem?
What are the ingredients in the Life Guard?
How long has the tank been set up?
I'm assuming you have had the fish for 2 years?
If not, how long have you had it for?
How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?
What is the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH of the water?
What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?
---------------------
Fin rot is normally caused by poor water quality that weakens the fish, damages the fins, and allows harmful bacteria into the wound. It can normally be treated by cleaning up the tank and adding salt.
Wipe the inside of the glass down.
Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens so any medication (if needed) will work more effectively on the fish.
Maybe add some salt, (see directions below).
---------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.
The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.
After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.
If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.
When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
Hello, thank you for your answer. I have this beta and this aquarium for 2 years. This is self cleaning aquarium. No filter. It has a hitter and lamp. I clean aquarium and change the water every 2 weeks. This fish started developing fin rot as soon I got the fish. Usually I treat it successfully by the Lifeguard brand, for 5 days, as described at the box. But this time it didn't help. Just wondering if I can keep the treatment or not. Or this will be overdose? I never checked the water quality, never add any chemicals. No live sea weeds in the tank. I submitted the photo of the fish, the tank and the medical ingredients. Thank you!
Colin_T
Aquarium Advice Addict
There's no such thing as a self cleaning aquarium. If you don't have a filter in the aquarium, then the problem is most likely caused by ammonia, which is produced by fish food and waste breaking down in the water and no biological filter to convert this into nitrite and then nitrate. The ammonia burns the fish's skin and allows bad bacteria into the damaged tissue where it eats away the fish.
Aquariums without filters should have live plants, and floating plants like Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) are especially good at removing ammonia from the water. If you don't have live plants or a filter, you should be feeding the fish 2-3 times a week and changing about 75% of the water 4-8 hours after feeding. The big water change will dilute ammonia produced by the fish food and waste and keep the levels lower.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
A 1/2 inch layer of gravel in the tank can help to house some beneficial bacteria to help keep the water clean too but plants and or a filter are the best option.
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If the Tetra Lifeguard has stopped working, then either the medication has expired or the bacteria causing the problem have become resistant to the medication.
I would try doing big daily water changes and use salt instead. See how it goes over the next week and if it's not better post a picture of the fish and we'll see if it offers any more information.
If you use salt, start off with 1 heaped tablespoon of salt for every 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. Keep the salt in the tank for 2 weeks and do big daily water changes.
Aquariums without filters should have live plants, and floating plants like Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) are especially good at removing ammonia from the water. If you don't have live plants or a filter, you should be feeding the fish 2-3 times a week and changing about 75% of the water 4-8 hours after feeding. The big water change will dilute ammonia produced by the fish food and waste and keep the levels lower.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
A 1/2 inch layer of gravel in the tank can help to house some beneficial bacteria to help keep the water clean too but plants and or a filter are the best option.
-----------------
If the Tetra Lifeguard has stopped working, then either the medication has expired or the bacteria causing the problem have become resistant to the medication.
I would try doing big daily water changes and use salt instead. See how it goes over the next week and if it's not better post a picture of the fish and we'll see if it offers any more information.
If you use salt, start off with 1 heaped tablespoon of salt for every 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. Keep the salt in the tank for 2 weeks and do big daily water changes.
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