Betta tore his fins on filter

[Catalina]

I've had my betta in a 10 gal. with some corys for a couple months now, and everything has been going great. I did notice he was swimming very close to the intake tube of the filter a few times, but he always swam away quickly and I figured he could handle it.

A few days ago, I had the flu, and didn't look in my tank for a whole day, which is a first. The next day, when I peeked inside, my bettas tail fins were a lot shorter, and shredded at the ends. I'm sure the filter finally caught them, because he's been hanging out around it a lot. I was very upset with him for doing that to his beautiful fins. Why would he choose to spend so much time around there when he has the whole tank to choose from? I feel like a mother I know whose beautiful toddler cut off all his blonde curls with plastic scissors.

Anyway, he's still his happy self, eating like a pig, swimming around and flaring. But I'm wondering what I can do for him to help his fins grow back. I've heard of Melaflix, should I use that? Would it harm the snail in the tank with him, the corys or the live plants? I'm going to Ireland for a week on Monday, and I don't think I want to leave medication in the tank while I'm gone unless I'm really sure it's not going to harm anything. Do you think he would be okay if I just did a water change with some extra Stress Coat a couple days before I leave, and then put medication when I get back? Again, he doesn't seem to be affected by this at all. Is that going to change? I am going to get some foam to put around the intake tube so the damage doesn't worsen, because he's proved his intelligence is not top notch. Hopefully, this won't affect the flow of the filter.

 

[BrianNY]

Hi Catalina. Sorry about your betta. You don't need to medicate at all. The fins will grow back after time. Please don't use the stress coat either. Too much can actually harm your fish, and they will produce their protective body slime quite naturally .

I was also going to suggest a sponge prefilter, but you're already ahead of me there. Have a great time in Ireland

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi Catalina,
Oh no, how terrible! I agree with Brian that no med is necessary since he didn't lose his fins to fin rot. I would not use Melafix on bettas. It's a safe and helpful remedy for fish other than bettas, but it may harm the betta's air-breathing (labyrinth) organ.

I use Novaqua instead of StressCoat. IMO, I didn't want to use an organic ingredient like aloe vera in the tank.

I'm glad he's eating and swimming well now. He should be ok, since he is in good health and I know your tank parameters are maintenance are good! If the torn ends look a little fuzzy when you get back, you could try some BettaMax. But I think everything will be fine! Hope you are feeling better, and have a good trip!

 

[Capt.Gorilla]

A good way to prevent this is to wrap a sterile sponge around the intake and fasten it some how, then even if he strays too close agian it can't acctually be sucked in.

 

[TankGirl]

You can also tie a piece of cleanpantyhose to the intake, but like the sponge, it will act as a prefilter and will need to be cleaned out more frequently than your regular filter.

 

[Sati]

You can also tie a piece of cleanpantyhose to the intake, but like the sponge, it will act as a prefilter and will need to be cleaned out more frequently than your regular filter.

Yeah, I lost a puffer when the pantyhose slowed the filtration to a near stand-still w/o dumb ol me noticing.

 

[Catalina]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I returned home from Ireland yesterday, and it looks as if he might have a case of fin rot now. I don't know if this is related to him tearing his fins on the filter or what, but now some of his fin edges are kind of clear colored, which I know is a sign of fin rot. He's still acting super healthy- eating like a pig- but he hasn't made a bubble nest which is unusual because he usually makes huge ones.

Anyway, what should I do to make his fins healthy again? Melaflix is the treatment I know of, but someone said it could affect his labyrinth organ? Is there any other treatment for fin rot? Can I treat him in the community tank with the corys, live plants and snail or would I have to move him into a separate bowl to treat (he would absolutely hate that)?

Thanks again for your replies. From now on I will be using Novaqua instead of Stresscoat. I didn't like the idea of putting aloe in the water, but I wasn't sure of which other conditioner to use.

 

[TankGirl]

Just so you know, Novaqua has phosphate in it, so if you have had any problems with algae, or you have phosphate in your tap water, it will exacerbate this slightly.

His fin right might be fungal or bacterial, and you may want to use Spectrogram (broad-spectrum, including antifungal), and you can even use that with the Melafix (I have read about betta breeders using this and am not aware of it harming their labyrinth organ - someone correct me if they know otherwise). I would quarrantine the fish for this, since it is easy enough to quarrantine a betta, even though he won't appreciate it! Good luck.

 

[An t-iasg]

Novaqua has phosphate in it

Yes, I know! When I was a newbie I thought that if they said to add 10 drops per gallon, then 20 had to be better!!! Well, I found out the hard way!! Although I never had an algae problem, just a rather green air tube. If I pay careful attention to how much I add, it isn't a problem. I do mix my tap water with RO water.

I found a post on another forum about how Melafix affects bettas and other labyrinth fish. I think someone originally linked it here a while ago. I have linked it here before, but --TankGirl, tell me if it's ok now and if it is I'll post the link again.

I did use Melafix on my betta. I noticed him getting very stressed. I stopped using it and did a water change. This was before I read the info about Melafix being harmful to labyrinth fish, so when I read it I knew what they were talking about! I have also read that Melafix is a good and effective remedy for other types of fish, so if I get fish other than bettas, I would try it again.

 

[TankGirl]

Yes, please post a link on that. I was reading on a betta forum and there was a breeder who did a survey of some kind among other betta breeders, and the consensus was that they saw nothing harmful when they used it. If my fish showed signs of stress during medication treatment, I would certainly take that as an indication not to use it, so I will tuck that away for future reference!

If you are using RO water then you are in good shape, probably. Not many people are aware of the phosphate issue with Novaqua, so I thought I'd mention it.

 

[An t-iasg]

http://fishgeeks.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=17002

For mild fin rot I would use BettaMax. For worse fin rot I would use Kanacyn. The BettaMax capsule can be put into a gallon of water. Put it in a cup of tank water first to dissolve it, then pour it in. Be careful, the powder can stain.

The Kanacyn capsule is for a 10 gallon tank. If you're using a 1 gallon QT bowl, what I do is put the whole Kanacyn capsule into a gallon of water, in a bottled water jug (add your dechlor too) and then put about 1 1/2 cup (measuring cup) of medicine water into the QT bowl. Fill the rest of the bowl with regular water.

 

[Catalina]

Ok, I was a little confused about what to do, but decided he needs to be treated with an antibiotic. Petco didn't have any Kanacyn (their medication section was sadly slim pickings) so I got Tetracycline. I'm going to be treating him in a QT bowl, and the Tetracycline tablets are also for 10 gal. tanks, so the tip you gave for the Kanacyn ones should work in this case too, yes? I just wanted to make sure there were no objections to using Tetracycline, and if not, I will start him on it tonight. I'll let you know how it goes, thanks for the advice!