Betta FinRot questions

[azul]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new here...Second post. Here's my problem.

I have a beautiful blue betta (well, he was very beautiful until last week) at my office in a 2.5 gal tank. It's filtered, carbon. Temp ranges between 78-80 constantly. I clean the tank weekly, use salt, NovAqua, Amquel and Bettafix to treat the water in the correct proportions for the tank size. His buddy is a little apple snail. I feed freeze-dried bloodworms and betta bites. Once each daily in small amounts.

I'm not a novice aquarium owner or new to bettas. I've battled finrot before, but this one is perplexing to me.

I've had Azul for about 3 months. He had a gorgeous tail when I purchased him, but he always seemed a bit depressed and not as active as a normal betta. I did notice some scratching on the bottom rocks and he seemed to prefer the bottom of the tank. He just never seemed like he was in the best health. Last week, I noticed what looked like little pin-holes developing in his tail. I began treatment with Maracyn-TC for 5 days. His tail looks just terrible now! . It's ragged and falling apart rapidly. He lost a big section of the bottom dorsal fin on Thursday. I did a 70% water-change today and began treatment with Furan-2. What else do I need to do or add to help this guy out? He's eating well, and since I began the Maracyn-TC treatment (tetracycline)...he's been swimming better and more active, so I feel like he feels better.

Oh--I checked ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels, all within appropriate ranges.

Thanks!

Azul.

 

[Zagz]

I would add some active carbon to your filter. Stop medications, stop using bettafix. Water changes and dechlorinator are all you need for now. Treating medications one after another is not good for the fish. You may need to do daily water changes of 25% each for a while.

Posting exact parameters for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate would be more helpful.

 

[azul]

Little update

Started the Furan-2 yesterday and noticed new fin development where he lost the big portion of fin over the weekend. .

I will continue today's dose of Furan-2 and then do a 25% partial water change tomorrow am, and return the carbon filter. He's very active and is swimming around the full tank and staying at the top more. .

 

[azul]

Just wanted to report that Azul is doing great! I finished the Furan-2 treatment and did a partial water change yesterday, adding the filter back in. I've never seen him happier. His tank levels are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and I don't have a tester for nitrate, but believe with the ammonia nad nitrite levels being 0, then it's probably in a good range.

I'm happy to report good tail growth, and the ragged large tail fin is smoothing out and looking good. He's swimming all over the tank, which is a first (he would just keep towards the bottom when I first brought him home). He's fanning again, and dancing for me, which is really cute.

I'm going to change from a whisper filter to an Azoo filter. It has a smaller head, and I think that Azul may be getting his back fins caught up in the filter from time to time, causing some of the damage. He's no longer scratching himself on the rocks and plants.

 

[Menagerie]

WELCOME TO AA
YEAH!!! Glad to hear your finned friend is doing well!

 

[azul]

Thanks! Me too! Azul is number 3 this year for a variety of reasons. First, I lost Bubbles when we had a horrible ice storm in December. My Dad had also passed away so it was terribly difficult. I lost Red in July, right after vacation (ammonia levels had skyrocketed, overfeeding is my guess by the fish watcher So I'm very happy that Azul is doing much better. He had the most gorgeous tail for a petstore betta that I had ever seen. Very much connected together, and he's a very irridescent blue, almost like a peacock. I had a hard time finding a name to fit how incredibly beautiful he is, so I'm hoping that when the tail heals, it will return to it's former glory.

Thanks for the forum. I'm really enjoying the wealth of info that members provide, and it's nice to be able to get answers quickly to problems that are not often discussed in the books.

 

[new2betas]

Glad Azul pulled through. It was the sickness of one of my male bettas that led me to this forum! It is a wealth of help and information!

 

[azul]

Update #2

Just when I thought that Azul was getting better, then I come back to work today, and the fins are more ragged than before, tail fin is in shreds and the top dorsal fin is ragged and missing some bits.

I'm so frustrated! I came to the office on Saturday, and the fins were looking great! New growth, color is good, tank levels all good (0 ammonia, 0 nitrites). I just don't get it. He's swimming around great, good appetite, fanning at his reflexion.

I did a partial water change this morning, added in some Furan-2 (since that seems to be working) and a little Maroxy. I just don't know if this a bacterial, parasite or what? Any suggestions would be most welcome!

The only thing that I have noticed in the tank that could be a possible source is the filter. He likes to swim by the filter and sometimes the tail will be sucked in a bit. I have a new filter on order and it should arrive today.

Thanks for all the help!

Azul

 

[Sahabo]

Only a couple reasons I know of for loss of fin on a betta: finrot, blown tail, stress, something mechanical like getting caught on a decoration/filter, or tail biting. I've corresponded with new2betas about this so I'll repost a bit of that here...

If it's finrot, your going to see a slow but smooth loss of fin starting from the edge and moving towards the body.

A blown tail looks like it just exploded suddenly, holes and ragged pieces everywhere...like someone shot a bomb at a flag.

A bitten tail looks like crisp pieces cut off in random places and they can bite off quite a lot in one night.

Stress can be caused by fluctuations in temperature, new environment, over stimulation, etc. Temperature changes can stress sensitive bettas enough to lose tail or start biting.

If your betta is biting and it's boredom, add some stimulation by putting him where he can see other fish, change his decor periodically, put him in a higher traffic area.

I wouldn't medicate at this point unless you think it's finrot. Otherwise, clean water and stable temps, low stress...fins should grow back.

If you see the fins grow back and then suddenly disappear again, I'll bet you money that he's biting his tail. This can be due to stress, boredom, pent up aggression or a genetic trait in bettas. Here's a great link about it. The Pictoral Saga of a Tail Biter - UltimateBettas