# Betta fin rot



## Stinky (Jun 18, 2009)

I have this betta that I sort of rescued from a small bowl somebody kept. He had the fin rot infection because of the ammonia. How he's been in decent water quality for almost 2 months but the fin rot still seems to be present, or I can't tell if it's healing. Is fed the right kind of food, seems to be eating well and seems relatively healthy. Does it ever fully heal and if so how long does it take? Video of it below.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I've always used aquarium salt and API Stress Coat+ to help rebuild fins after fin rot. It does grow back with time, though with bettas I'm not sure how fast. Bev (majerah1) will be able to answer this one a little better.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

What size is the tank?temp?Water change schedule?Any meds added?what exactly is being fed to him?Pellet,frozen,live,flake?

You do know he is a crown tail right?His fins will look ragged because of the extended rays,so that will always look tattered.


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## Stinky (Jun 18, 2009)

Tank is 5 gal. Temp is kept at 80F. 20% of the water is changed about once a week when the stuff at the bottom gets sucked out. No meds have been added since some people told me not to. He eats nothing but betta flakes at this point. 

I know the tank needs plants but I haven't gotten around to finding java moss, which I heard is very easy and good for this fish.

Yes, I know it's a crown tail, but it still looks a little severed in parts, and parts of it were white, now that seems to have subsided, but the short parts haven't changed much. I have seen other crown tails and the rays look circular and full. More importantly is I want to know if the disease will still linger, and if so do I need to do anything to get rid of it once and for all? Salts and stress coats?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Ok for fin rot in bettas,they need daily 100% changes,in an uncycled tank.The water should be kept at around 84 to 86 degrees.Add a medicinal dose of aquarium salt(the carton will say how much) with each waterchange.You will see regrowth within a few days to a week.If the fins were really short dont expect them to look exactly like they did before fin rot.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

I think the tank is cycled, no?


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## Stinky (Jun 18, 2009)

majerah1 said:


> Ok for fin rot in bettas,they need daily 100% changes,in an uncycled tank.The water should be kept at around 84 to 86 degrees.Add a medicinal dose of aquarium salt(the carton will say how much) with each waterchange.You will see regrowth within a few days to a week.If the fins were really short dont expect them to look exactly like they did before fin rot.


Seems drastic, but that's interesting. I'll need a quarantine tank for this. Couldn't the cure be worse than the disease from all the stress on the fish? Would the fish be acclimated daily to new water or just thrown into the new water?

Oh, and if the fins will never grow back as they were, then doesn't that mean the disease was already gone and it's just permanent scars? Is there a way for the fish to beat the infection on its own in ordinary water conditions?


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

I say do what majerah1 says cus she knows bettas, but I still don't understand.

majerah1- Do you recommend taking the betta out of a cycled tank and putting it in an uncycled tank to do 100% daily water changes or are you saying what to do if the tank isn't cycled yet?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

in a cycled tank with substrate then about 60 or 70% change.But in a barebottomed,its easier to go 100%.Your water should be the same source no matter what,so acclimation shouldnt be drastic.I just saw the tank was barebottomed,and assumed it wasnt cycled,sorry if I was mistaken.In a bare tank the only thing cycled is the filter anyhow,so 100% wouldnt hurt the BB.

The thing that causes fin rot is poor water quality.ammonia mostly.so if finrot sets in,and you are only doing partials,in an uncycled tank you are still leaving some ammonia,though it will not be as much.the best cure therefore is pristine water.

Trust me the stress will be minimal,and many get used to the routine.Even if the fins do not grow fully back,some of the fins will.Just dont expect perfect finnage is all.Of course some will grow back almost all of it,depending if the finrot was minimal and caught in time.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Thanks, makes sense.


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## Stinky (Jun 18, 2009)

After all this time I think I've done all I can. The tank was fully cycled, btw. The ammonia and other stuff was minimal. I did the full water change for about 1 week and continued weekly 20% change. I raised the temperature to 86 degrees and that made the fish hyperactive and dart around. I can't say the fish has changed much so I suppose it is healthy. I saw other fish of this type, and the pectoral fins were like ribbons. This one has like frayed ribbons, but I suppose this is normal just like the white parts. It was in a pitcher for like a year while school kids picked at it. Not sure how it survived this long.

Anyway, thanks for the advice.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Thanks for giving us an update. If it's healthy now there is no reason it can't be a happy fish. Maybe the fins will grow a little with time.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

I've just looked at the video again. Your betta may have had fin rot but it also looks to me like it could be a crowntail betta which means that the 'ragged' tail would be normal, just part of it's natural tail shape.
crowntail betta - Pesquisa do Google
Maybe majerah could give her opinion here.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Thanks for the update!Hes doing well then?

I think I mentioned in my first post he was indeed a crowntail.

They are more prone to water quality issues and usually when they get finrot the rays will not grow back as nice as they once were.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

majerah1 said:


> I think I mentioned in my first post he was indeed a crowntail.


Sorry, missed that.


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## Stinky (Jun 18, 2009)

Here's one more video of it. Does it look ok? It still begs for food when anyone shows up, but I noticed recently it tends to sit around on the bottom a lot even during the day, whereas before it would go around flaring at the glass all day. It especially likes to hide behind that cup most of the time. Is that a good or bad sign? Do they just get used to it and take a rest, or has it already reached its "golden years"?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

S'ok snail,lol.Its hard to remember what I say lol.


Stinky,He looks fine to me.I would give him more in his tank though he looks bored.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

He looks like quite a handsome healthy fellow to me. You've done a good job with him. I agree on giving him more decor. Bettas love to explore. I imagine you were keeping the tank bare to make it easier to keep clean while you got him back to health but now you can enjoy making it interesting for him. He'd enjoy plants. What kind of light does the tank have? Even without a light you could probably have java moss and marimo balls. Other than that. Just make sure anything you add is aquarium safe and that he won't get stuck inside it or snag his fins on it.


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## Stinky (Jun 18, 2009)

snail, the tank has a standard incandescent long light bulb on the cover that came with the tank. Thank you both for the suggestions. I think I'll stick with bare bottom but I'm going to look into potted plants. Or perhaps just one? I'm guessing one small fish can't give out enough CO2 for more than 1 plant or is that irrelevant?


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Java ferns, Anubias and mosses don't need substrate, you can attach them to a stone piece of wood, or other decor. Marimo balls just float around the tank. They all do fine with low light. Being undemanding, slow growing plants you can have plenty without having to worry about lack of CO2.

If the bulb you have is long it's probably fluorescent, which is better for growing plants than an incandescent. 

Is your bulb like this?: Incandescent light bulb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia If so you can swap it out for a compact fluorescent bulb. Get a pigtail one of something like 20 watts that says 'daylight' and it will be great for growing plants.


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## Stinky (Jun 18, 2009)

The bulb is actually incandescent long. I think I can find a fluorescent in that size. Thanks!


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Stinky said:


> The bulb is actually incandescent long. I think I can find a fluorescent in that size. Thanks!


Look for one that's about 6500K or it might say 'daylight' or 'full spectrum' on it. If you can't find that 'cool white' will do. You don't want a bulb that gives off a warm yellowish light because plants can't use yellow light.


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