Fin and Tail rot???

[Trickster]

Im not positive, but i suspect my betta of having fin/tail rot. When i 1st got him he had a damaged tail top, probly from being transported over to the store, i knew things like tht happened, but lately i noticed on the lower part of his tail it looks like its rotting away, im not sure. Are there any other signs of fin/tail rot??

[t_chelle16]

Sometimes with fin rot there will be some white gunk along the edges of the fins, but just the fact that they appear to be deteriorating is a pretty good sign. What are your readings for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte? If your water parameters are okay or once you get them okay, then you can treat the fin rot with an antibiotic like Maracyn two.

Here's a couple pics.




-Chelle

[Trickster]

The pictures u showed me, are those all pictures of tail rot??

[t_chelle16]

Yes.

-Chelle

[Trickster]

Then im pretty sure he has it.........ah ****! I might be getting a job, if i do then i can pay for the medicine, if not, well.......... is it possible for tail rot to heal itself????

[t_chelle16]

My bettas will sometimes get very mild cases of fin rot after I do a water change (probably slight differences in water pH or temperature) and those generally heal themselves. But those are extremely mild cases. Most times meds are needed. Maracyn two really isn't overly expensive. Big Als has it for about $3 or $4, but you'd have to pay about $5 shipping. I can get it at my LFS for around $7.

What size tank is the betta in? Is it filtered? How often do you do water changes?

You can try just doing lots of water changes, but I'm not guaranteeing it will work.

-Chelle

[Trickster]

I got medicine for $5, its a fungus care. For fin/tail and mouth fungas. Its a .5 gallon (1/2 Gallon) and its of course not filtered.

[t_chelle16]

What's the active ingredient(s) in that?

How often are you doing water changes? In a 1/2 gallon, you should be doing them about every 2 - 3 days. Otherwise the ammonia will build up and can cause ammonia burns or a weakened immune system which can lead to the fin rot.

-Chelle

[Trickster]

Every 2-3?!!?!?!?!!? wow i do them once a week.... thats not good, U think thts the reason for the tail rot?

[t_chelle16]

Probably. You should get a test kit for ammonia.

-Chelle