# Treating fin rot



## dshower (Oct 2, 2011)

I think that a few of my guppies might have fin rot. The male is the worst. It started as just a torn tail and now it is pretty ragged looking. He is quite thin now and if he swims he struggles. I separated him from the tank last night and have just started to treat with Pimfix. I saw where it is good to add Melafix as well. Has anyone had any success is treating fin rot and brought a fish back to normal again? If so, what was the treatment? Thanks!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I have had a few fish get it in the last 18 months. If it really bad I have treated as you are doing and it worked. If it is minor, just a few daily water changes will work just as well - IME anyway.


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## HFGGHG (Aug 28, 2011)

I had a few goldfish die in a 10 gal tank from finrot. I finally changed most of the water and went to a different petstore. The nice fish employee gave me a small amount of Melaflex for free. 10ml for 10 gallons, I poured into
the tank and then added 3 Shubukins (calico) goldfish. I also added 
aquarium salt. This was on June 11 of this year. To date, I have not
seen finrot again and the Shubukins are doing great !


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## HFGGHG (Aug 28, 2011)

Correction: 
I meant Melafix and NOT Melaflex !


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## HFGGHG (Aug 28, 2011)

Another correction:
Shubunkin goldfish and NOT Shubukin !


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

In my experience fin rot is rarely serious in it's self. It is most often caused by poor water quality and will heal with clean water. Salt may also help.


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## dshower (Oct 2, 2011)

The male died.  I am sure there had to be a secondary infection. The two females don't really have fin rot, it seems, but are getting very thin and have clamped fins. The one is eating a little of the flakes and gobbled up bloodworms last night. The other is not interested in any food. I took a sample of the water to Pet Smart yesterday and the levels are good. I have the one not eating quarantined and the other is still in the tank. I did add salt yesterday and did a partial water change the day before. Trying to save them.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

It sounds a bit like the fin rot is the secondary problem. Fish weakened by other problems will be prone to fin rot.

How long has the tank been set up? What size is the tank and how many fish do you have? Are there any fish in the tank that could be bulling other fish and causing stress? With a little more information we might be able to help you work out what is going on.

Medications in themselves can be quite hard on fish, be careful not to overdose and even so they can finish off a weak fish. When using salt make sure you add it slowly so you don't cause shock.


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## dshower (Oct 2, 2011)

Oh boy. I guess I have done a lot wrong then. The tank has been set up about 2 months with the fish being in it about a month and a half. It is a 15 gallon tank with 10 fish in it....7 guppies and 3 neon tetras. Also 2 blue mystery snails. I bought the male and one of the females that doesn't look so good back in July and had them in one of those small 1 gallon tanks. Then the babies came! The female was pregnant when I bought her and had babies the very first night I brought them home. I was able to save 3 and raised them in a little bowl. They are very healthy and in the tank. The original female was kind of going after the neons last night, but not very aggressively. Just swam up to them and "nosed" them a bit. I had never used salt and the guy at Pet Smart recommended it. He didn't say anything about adding it slowly though. I added 2 heaping tablespons yesterday to the big tank and put a little in the bowl that I had the sick male in. I am afraid that I am learning all the "what not to do's" at the expense of a couple of my fish.  The male was really the only one it looks like that had fin rot. He was quite "amorous" and maybe the females were getting tired of it and could have nipped his fins. I don't know about that. I haven't seen them being aggressive with each other, with the exception of the one female last night. The two females are just getting thin and have clamped fins. Everyobdy else in the tank looks fine. Thanks for the help and all the info.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

It really sounds like you are not doing too badly, we all learn as we go along. I'm a fan of salt to treat fish as it is effective and gentler than many meds. It's best to dissolve it first and add it a little at a time. Neons are more sensitive to salt than man fish but guppies can take quite a bit.


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## dshower (Oct 2, 2011)

Thanks snail! I know I do need to be better about water changes. I was lax on that and I am afraid that is what made them sick. Hope I can save the ladies. Have you had any experince with fish getting thin and having their fins clamped like that? Is it bacterial or is it hard to say? I feel like I shouldn't just leave them in the tank, especially since they aren't eating real well and continue to get thinner. Don't know what to do for them


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## HFGGHG (Aug 28, 2011)

I had 2 of my platies die with similar sx's, thin and clamped fins. They were in my 29 gallon. I thought that they died from ammonia poisoning b/c the ammonia level was high, which it still is. I read that since the PH is low, this makes the ammonia non-toxic. The other fish in the tank are doing well.
You said that your levels checked out, yes ?


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

It's really hard to say what the problem is for sure. I'd guess either a disease/parasite that they came with or an issue with water quality. At first I thought your tank was cycling, which would cause these kind of problems but you say the tank has been set up for two months so I would expect the cycle to have finished. Did you start the cycle before the fish went in the tank? It is possible that if the fish went through the cycle it weakened them and they are still recovering. Here is more information about the nitrogen cycle (just ignore it if you know about it already):

The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle


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