possibly sick crown-tail betta -fin rot? please advise!

[bezal]

Hello,

I have what I believe to be a sick crown-tail betta I think he might have fin rot in some form. I am attaching a picture or two of him here.

I have had him for almost 2 years, and while I have watched his tendrils get shorter and shorter, he hasn't succumbed to whatever is it.

I used to him have in a 1 gallon tank with no filter, but last month I upgraded him to a 5 gallon Fluval Spec tank since I couldn't regulate the 1 gallon well enough. I added a 200watt heater as well, and the current temp in the tank is ~78 degrees. It has about 1 tbsp of aquarium salt in it and water treatment. There is only one snail in there with him, one live plant, and a piece of wood. Everything else is fake. I feed him betta pellets, same he has been eating for years.

When I first added him, he hated the filter and spent all of his time in the corner letting the outflow suck him against the wall, so I kept it off for a few days to let him get used to the tank. I have a sponge over it now to prevent the flow from being too strong but he still likes the corner.

2 weeks ago I removed him from the tank, and put him in a 1 gallon, and doctored him with aquarium salt and daily water changes to try and treat fin rot. After 8 days I could see new tendril growth (clear ends), and moved him back to the 5 gallon after a nearly full water change.

However, it has been a week since then and almost looks as if he is doing worse than before. His tail fins and top fins look like they've broken down, and even have some small holes in them. The faded patches seem like very thin parts.

Any ideas what I can do or what's ailing him? Many thanks in advance.

 

[Matt68005]

Beautiful tank. Your beta dosent look that bad. I have never had a beta before, tho i want one. I don't see how if you've had him for 2 years that he would suddenly get sick other than stress from a large water change or something. Please note that fin rot is caused by one of three bacteria, Aeromonas, Pseudomas, and Flavobacterium Columnaris. They all have their own cures. The best advice i can give you is treat with maracyn 1+2 (yes maracyn one and two together) Since your tank is 5 gallons just use half the pack. Or since it usually says 2 packs per ten gallons on day one then 1 pack per ten gallons on days 2-7, just use a whole one the first time then half one the other days. You should be able to find maracyn 1 and 2 at any petsmart, some petcos (although some don't carry meds at all which is sad) There are other meds that work, namely Oxytetracycline and kancmycin is very good one. But these you may need to order. And its only one beta he might just be gettin old. lol

 

[BettaGal]

Actually, fin rot can be caused by poor water quality. Test your water with a liquid test kit and post the results. Most of the time fin rot can be treated with frequent water changes.

With the filter, two years is pretty long for a betta. He's probably getting old and isn't as active as before anyway. Try turning it down as low as you can.

It might help to add stress coat to the water.

 

[Matt68005]

No its not. Don't you ever go to a lake? Do they ever have fin rot? nope. It's caused by bacteria. And tellin people that water changes alone or salt alone can cure the most deadly disease to ever hit the fish farm misleads them. What is stress coat gonna do? I never seen any fish with aloe vera on their body.

 

[spiketooth]

No its not. Don't you ever go to a lake? Do they ever have fin rot? nope. It's caused by bacteria. And tellin people that water changes alone or salt alone can cure the most deadly disease to ever hit the fish farm misleads them. What is stress coat gonna do? I never seen any fish with aloe vera on their body.

One you could of said this a bit more tactfully. Two she was right, she said poor water candition COULD cause fin rot not will cause fin rot. Increase water condition will help the betta recover with there own immune system

 

[spiketooth]

It might help to add stress coat to the water.

Why stress coat for a fish that is stress out. To help reduce there stress to increase there immune system. There is a direct relationship between a fish happieness and there immune system

 

[thursyanna]

No its not. Don't you ever go to a lake? Do they ever have fin rot? nope. It's caused by bacteria. And tellin people that water changes alone or salt alone can cure the most deadly disease to ever hit the fish farm misleads them. What is stress coat gonna do? I never seen any fish with aloe vera on their body.

I'm sorry but I'm going to have to agree with spiketooth on what he said.
Plus, bettas don't live in lakes. In Japan, they live in rice patties. I've seen a lot of rice patties and they are very different from lakes. Just sayin'.
Plus, this is a friendly forum that people give their opinions based on their knowledge. No one on here is an "expert" in keeping fish. We are all hobbyists here. Smile!
Oh, and, I have a betta and I keep API Bettafix handy just in case she gets fin rot. You can get it at Pet Smart for about $10. It's the same thing as API Melafix but a weaker dosage. Good luck!! Bettas are great fish! Let us know how he does.

 

[Matt68005]

First. Please stop quoating me. Second water changes and stress coat will not save a sick fish. Third i am done with this thread. I try to help people thats it. People dont listen. Water changes and salt alone dont cure any disease. Dont believe me. Just look at this thread. Dude had the fish in a gallon bowl with probably filthy water and it was fine for 2 years. He puts it in crystal clear water, slime coat falls off, finrot sets in. I dont have to say anymore
Btw im going fishing this weekend. I will be sure to test the water for nitrates. Heck i might even dump some salt into the lake to make sure the channel cats and bass dont get sick

 

[Oohitsae]

I haven't read the other posts, but those pin holes are caused by ammonia burn or flaring too much. The only 2 options out there for that to have happened.
He also has fin rot pretty badly.

What is your water change schedule, is the tank cycled, and do you have a thermometer in the tank or do you just trust the heater?
200w is A LOT to have in a 5 gallon tank and I'm nearly positive it won't read accurately unless you have a thermometer in there, and that may be a very slight factor in it all as well.

Best thing to do for fin rot is clean warm water. Salt isn't necessary but if he doesn't shape up after a week, then a 10 day treatment may be helpful.
Up his temp up to 82 and do water changes daily until you see a good amount of regrowth. Then you can slow down the w/c's to 1 50% per week.

 

[bezal]

Thanks Oohitsae,

Yes there's a thermometer stuck on the tank, and even though the heater is set on something like 82, the thermometer is reading 76-78. The heater was actually a donation from a friend, but it turns itself off when it hits the temp it is set at I guess cause I see it go on and off.

The water change in the 5 gallon has been about every 2 weeks, though I'm told it can wait longer with the filter on. I was intending to do something like a 50% change every weekend unless someone suggests differently.

The tank is cycled. The filter is described as '3 stage' with I think a carbon packet and another packet in the sponge.

When you say do a daily water change, what % are we talking about? The full 5 gallons? Or some portion?

 

[Oohitsae]

Thanks Oohitsae,

Yes there's a thermometer stuck on the tank, and even though the heater is set on something like 82, the thermometer is reading 76-78. The heater was actually a donation from a friend, but it turns itself off when it hits the temp it is set at I guess cause I see it go on and off.

The water change in the 5 gallon has been about every 2 weeks, though I'm told it can wait longer with the filter on. I was intending to do something like a 50% change every weekend unless someone suggests differently.

The tank is cycled. The filter is described as '3 stage' with I think a carbon packet and another packet in the sponge.

When you say do a daily water change, what % are we talking about? The full 5 gallons? Or some portion?

Okay, so I guess the temp isn't the problem. It's just that 200w is a lot!
Anyways, your water changes should be done at minimum once weekly. The percentages I was talking about would be percentage of that 5 gallons, say 50% = 2.5 gallons.

Do you ever test your water parameters?