# I think my betta has fin melt!!! Please help!!



## Thetanknewbie

Hi all. I have an emergency!! My male betta has fin melt and I'm not sure way to do. I have him in a 1/2 US gallon hospital tank without a heater or filter. I have changes the water every other day. (Before I change the water I test it and it has been consistently at 0 ppm for Amonia, Nitrate, and Nitrite). I have been putting AQ salt(1/4 of a tbl spoon) after each water change. This has been going on for about 6 days. What else should I do? Am I treating him correctly? Let me
Know.
PS: How do I post a picture from the iPhone?


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## Berylla

If you can, put him in a gallon tank and change out his water 50% every day. Don't feed him for a week to keep the water clean. Bettas can survive weeks without food. 

The clean water changes every day should clear it up unless it's something more serious. Could you post a photo?


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## jrman83

Fin Rot is usually a water quality issue. No need to move to different tank. Just do daily water changes for a couple of weeks and the fins will heal just fine. No meds necessary.


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## majerah1

Whats his temp? The best treatment for him is clean WARM water. Just room temp is not only less than ideal but will slow the healing process. Does he have live plants? Also how are you testing his water, strips or liquid test kit? In my honest opinion he is in way too small a home. He should be in the least, three gallons, heated and filtered, and if you can with live plants to help his water quality. In half a gallon, not only is it not able to be heated properly ( 82 F is the magic number) but also he has no room to move about.


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## sharkettelaw

my reply is going to sound a bit rude and if it does, i apologise. so first, bettas thrive better in a warm water tank than what they do in coldwater. they are tropical fish after all and should be kept in a heated tank. second, fin/tail rot is a water quality issue and water quality issues are a result of not doing frequent water changes. im not contesting your doing water changes, im simply saying you're not doing them often enough and the fin rot is proof of that. people have a notion that smaller tanks means they're easier to keep and clean..they actually arent. smaller tanks mean more frequent water changes because the water gets filthy quickly and easily. cold water not only shortens a betta's life span but slows down its metabolism which can lead to obesity and bloat if its fed more than it should be. im sorry to say, but because this is a water quality issue, either your test kit/strips are inaccurate or you're not being totally honest about the maintenance..


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## Marshall

^ agreed, it's unlikely that the test would show 0 ammonia in a half gallon after 2 days.


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## Thetanknewbie

Hi thanks for replying. I originally had my betta in a 3 gallon heated/filtered. When he got fin melt I moved him to a 1/2 gallon bowl for treatment.
I was away for 3 weeks so I left my betta with my mom and she forgot to change the water while I was gone and I got him back with fin melt. I change 50% on M,W,F in the 3 gallon. 
I change 100% every other day and 25% btw the 100% in the 1/2 gallon. I test my ammonia with the API Master Aquarium Test Kit(Liquid) and it has been at 0. Is the salt ok? I will be moving him back to the 3 gallon by Friday because I'm going to do a 90% water change. Is there anything else I should do?


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## Thetanknewbie

sharkettelaw said:


> my reply is going to sound a bit rude and if it does, i apologise. so first, bettas thrive better in a warm water tank than what they do in coldwater. they are tropical fish after all and should be kept in a heated tank. second, fin/tail rot is a water quality issue and water quality issues are a result of not doing frequent water changes. im not contesting your doing water changes, im simply saying you're not doing them often enough and the fin rot is proof of that. people have a notion that smaller tanks means they're easier to keep and clean..they actually arent. smaller tanks mean more frequent water changes because the water gets filthy quickly and easily. cold water not only shortens a betta's life span but slows down its metabolism which can lead to obesity and bloat if its fed more than it should be. im sorry to say, but because this is a water quality issue, either your test kit/strips are inaccurate or you're not being totally honest about the maintenance..


You weren't being rude, I forgot to tell you about the 25% water change btw the 100% water changes. Sorry.


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## majerah1

Move him back to the three gallon with the filter and heater. Salt is not necessary if you keep him clean and warm. Simple as that, just do waterchanges daily until they start to regrow then to back to normal.


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