Oh-No Fin rot?!

[mellawson]

I believe poor Felony (my male betta) has fin rot his fins are ragged looking and a little fuzzy on the ends if I had any idea where my camera was I would take a picture. I have never had to deal with fin rot before and I just noticed it a few minutes ago. I usually check my water (API liquid kit) and do my pwc's on Thursday and I check my water again on sunday. The temp in that tank is kept at 79. I have not done anything today yet I am going to do some googleing then tend to my tanks I just thought I would post this first. Any advice will be much appreciated! TIA!

 

[dkpate]

Is it black around the edges? If you can find your camera (I know how that goes LOL) it might be easier to diagnose. I would start doing 2 water changes a week, and see if that helps him out.
My bettas do bite their own fins, but you can tell the different between fin rot and biting.

 

[mellawson]

No there's no black around the edges, some of the frayed looking ends are kind of white and fuzzy looking he is acting normal and eating fine. I changed and checked the water, ph-7.8, ammonia-0, nitrite-0, nitrate-between 20&40(a little more red than 20 not as dark as 40) but I think my heater may be going kaput.

 

[HN1]

Frequent water changes. Clean water will be the best thing that you can do for him.

 

[mellawson]

Water changes I can do, but how long should I give it before I try something else, if need be. I don't want to jump in a give medicine he doesn't need but I don't want to wait too long if he needs them either. I understand it's probably one of those just watch and see things and you need a pic for more than that...ah heck I'll just go hunt my camera.

 

[dkpate]

LOL, well just the clean water will clear up the fin rot. It did with my guys when I first got them.

It's white and not clear?

 

[mellawson]

This is the best I could get. It actually looks a little worse than it did this morning. I'm going to just go with lots of clean water as long as he is acting normal.

 

[dkpate]

Hmm, do you have a cover over your filter intake? I had to cover one of mine because my bettas fins kept getting sucked in there when he was sleeping. It doesn't really look like fin rot to me, but to help him grow them back, clean water will help.
If you see black on the edges or curling, then you know you have somf rot coming on.

 

[mellawson]

No my intake isn't covered, I'll cut some nylons and cover it with that. When I first got him him his fins were a bit tattered and when they grew back they were wavy, so when you say curling to you mean actually curling? or more like shriveled? I think I know what you mean but I am also prone to blonde moments...lol

 

[dkpate]

I mean like the edges will curl up towards his body.

Try covering the intake and see if that helps. With good water, his fins will start to grow back in a couple of days, and you can actually see the clear finnage if you look close.

Also, you probably already know, but make sure the pantyhose is brand new and dye free if possible.

 

[mellawson]

I'm also going to get a new heater the thermometer says 79 but the water seemed cooler than normal.

 

[dkpate]

The best temp for bettas is between 78-81*, and if it feels cool, it probably is. I got 2 of the new Marineland heaters, and both overheated my tanks, so if you can find one in your price range (not the Whisper ones from Wally World) that is not one of those, that would be good. Maybe making a thread asking about heaters is a good idea? I have only had the 2 kinds, and the old Marineland ones are fine, but the new ones aren't. The Whisper ones never kept the temp right, so I quit using those. Waste of money....
I have also had 2 thermometers quit working on me, so now I have a stick on AND a suction cup one.

 

[krap101]

I don't know how accurate it is, but I stick my hands in my tank pretty frequently, and it might change with weather (I'm usually pretty good though). In my head, 80ish water feels a little cooler than neutral, and that's how I normally go about doing water changes.

I have the old dual-temp marineland heaters, and they're going pretty well. I think the two temps are 76 and 82, and I usually preferred 78, which was the only downside. (I got a bunch of bigals when they went on clearance) Me like an idiot, forgot to unplug the heaters when tearing down some tanks, and it freaks you out every time.. (sizzle sizzle CRACK) I think I've broken 3-4 heaters this way