Unresponsive fin rot - at wit's end

[diogenku]

Okay, so here goes. For a little over a month my veil tail betta, Nico, has been sick with fin rot. This has been going on for basically the entire time I've had him (I got him on February 2) and I'm at my wit's end. I tried frequent water changes and aquarium salt, but that didn't work (and probably only hurt my cycle because the ammonia readings from that point were funky even though I was using prime) and moved onto Furan-2 after I determined it was a bacterial infection. After one treatment of Furan-2 and still frequent water changes, it's still not getting better. I've waited about two weeks since the last round and went ahead and started a 2nd round, but I'm afraid the fin rot is just resistant.

So, questions:
1~Male veil tail, fin rot (bacterial probably)
2~Unfortunately I only have exact values for the ammonia levels and the temperature. He's at 82 degrees farenheit and the ammonia reading is 0ppm last time I checked, which was yesterday.
3~ 10 gallons. I didn't know anything about the cycle so I bought the fish and the setup at the same time. The cycle seems to have settled now. I've had the tank set up since Feb 2.
4~Sponge filtration with an air pump.
5~ He's the only one in the tank
6~I did a water change yesterday and changed 25% of the water. I didn't vacuum the gravel this time but when I do I only vacuum about 1/3 of it.
7~ for a little over a month.
8~I haven't added anything new.
9~I'm feeding him a combination of betta food and frozen bloodworms.

Attached is a photo of him as of this morning, 3/17.

 

[jessipanda]

Forgot the pic. Not sure what could be wrong at this point...seems like you're doing everything right.

 

[diogenku]

Ah, sorry about that. The pic is here:

I'll continue doing everything I can for him, but everyone I've talked to has been pretty mystified as to why he isn't getting better.

 

[nkoyko]

How often were (are) you doing water changes?

You may want to turn the heater down to around 79°. Sounds crazy but sometimes that can help to kill of the bacteria. I have a male veil tail who had fin rot from being stressed (I move him to put up the Christmas tree and he decided to eat his tail) and I did 50% wc every other day, added an Indian almond leaf and turned his heat down a few degrees and he healed up pretty quickly.

Also from the picture you posted, are you positive he's a veil tail? He looks like a crown tail by the fins. The stringy bits on his tail are not fin rot if he's a crown tail. Google an image of crown tail betta. There are now tons of tail styles in bettas and pet stores don't always label them correctly.

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[jessipanda]

I agree with nkoyko, your betta looks like a crown tail from that pic. Which would explain the tail and fins not “getting better” as that is what they look like. It may just be a simple case of misidentification. However, it probably wouldn't hurt to try lowering the temp a few degrees and adding an indian almond leaf. As well as changing out a few extra gallons during the week. The indian almond leaf will release tanins in the water that help with stress and strengthen the immune system. The lowered temp helps kill off bad bacteria, like nkoyko said.

 

[diogenku]

I'm pretty positive he's a veil tail.

That's what he looked like very soon after I got him. The bits that are protruding used to have solid fin in between them. The fin goes black, then blackish-transparent, then disappears.

I'll lower the temp, though. I gave him a second dose of furan-2 and it doesn't look like any more of his fin is going black, so that's hopefully a good sign.

 

[nkoyko]

Ok he is veil tail. His fin rot just makes him look like a crown tail. After this dose of furan keep up on doing wc (I'd say at least 50%) as many as possible until his fins are fully healed. Clean water is the best medicine for fish with an type of injury.

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[Delapool]

Is the tank cycled now? I was wondering what other readings you are getting. I'd agree that the ammonia could have been a problem. Having the tank stable and cycled might remove the trigger for this if the fish was fine in the shop.

Also how often and volume the frequent water changes were. Ime, a water change always helps to reduce organic material but isn't a substitute for a targeted medication (the difference imo between bedrest and antibiotics for us).

It sounds like the tank has been set up a month and a half if that is correct?

I'd stop feeding the blood worms for a few weeks. Any leftovers from them could be a feast for bacteria.

I agree with lowering the water temperature a few degrees for bacterial treatments. I've found meds work best when all other tank conditions are favourable.

What salt dosing level were you doing?

 

[Matt68005]

Always bacteria causing fin rot as a result of lack of blood supply to fins or wound by nipping. Fungus is always secondary.
You need a antibiotic, choose from the following
Kanamycin
Terramycin
Minocycline
Triple Sulfa

 

[diogenku]

Unfortunately I don't know the other readings as I haven't been able to get my hands on the other test kits. I was doing 25% changes every other day.

I was dosing a teaspoon of salt per gallon, dissolved in water before putting it in. The only thing it did imo was help some splits in his fins heal up faster. I'll nix the bloodworms for a few weeks then.

 

[Delapool]

Yes, try just a few weeks to see if any difference. Ordinarily feeding these doesn't seem to be an issue.

If you're getting no ammonia now that should be ok I guess. Nitrite and nitrates are not as bad but will spike as well following the ammonia spike. Depends how much ammonia went up.

1 ppm ammonia --> 2.7 ppm nitrite --> 3.6 ppm nitrate.

 

[diogenku]

Just as an update, I finished the second round of furan2 two days ago. The fin rot has stopped from what I can tell *crosses fingers* or at least has slowed down considerably.