betta finrot advice

[pickle123]

I think my betta has finrot because I noticed his fins are looking a little raggety. a few days ago I noticed a little piece of fin had partially come off, and today I noticed a couple more little strands partially hanging. He has been moving around less since a week ago. I've started treating him with aquarium salt (1 tsp per gallon with 100 percent water changes every day) I've read that i should do 2 1/2 tsp per gallon to treat it effectively, but I don't know if that is too much for bettas? I'm wondering, I have kanaplex on hand, so should I treat him with it? I'm not sure if the finrot is advanced enough that it's neccesary? also, is kanaplex enough by itself or should I also use nitrofurazone? Also don't know if I should use the kanaplex because I heard that it can lower the oxygen level-- so does he need a filter on to make sure he gets enough oxygen? I don't want to put him in my tank with a filter because I heard finrot is contagious and there are other fish in there. And I don't know if it's a good idea to treat all my healhy fish with kanaplex since it can cause kidney damage? I could treat him in a seperate tank but it doesn't have a filter. also the kh and gh levels were low so I added baking soda (until the products I ordered come to fix the gh and kh) and now the levels look right. 

[Carl]

Hi;
Fin Rot can be from many causes, some contagious, some not so much.
Getting your water parameters in order is certainly job one.
What are your parameters, including GH & KH?

For KH Baking Soda can work, but some have anti caking products and are not best for aquarium use. For GH and especially mineral Cations, by for the best best is the AAP Wonder Shell (beware of parasite sellers on the internet selling product that is not fresh and without proper instructions, only purchase genuine/authorized product from AAP (American Aquarium Products).
Resource Link: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/MedicatedWonderShell.html

I would also suggest Nitrofurazone WITH Kanaplex, as this is the more effective treatment of the two, in particular the formula found in AAP Yellow Powder.
Resource: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquatronics.html#furacyn

Doxycylcine is another alternative:
Resource for fresh product: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumPharmaceuticalsAPI.html#fin-body

As for water changes, 100% water changes are NOT recommended, please read these articles:
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_cleaning.html
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Medication.html#change_water

For further information as per treating Fin and tail rot (please read in full and follow ALL directions, do not pick and chose):
www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2011/06/betta-fin-rot.html

Finally, please read this article in full for a better understanding of fish disease treatment:
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Disease.html

[pickle123]

I was actually asking for help recently about this betta because his chin was turning white and you helped me out. I ordered medicated wonder shells and alkaline buffer/replenish (unfortunately I waited so they won't be here until a couple of days) because his gh and been at zero and the total alkalinity had been at 40. Since I added the baking soda a few days ago his total alkalinity was around 80 or 120 and his GH was around 75.(and I've been treating the water with the same amount of baking soda) Thanks so much for your feedback I really appreciate it!

[pickle123]

also, to clarify, do you think I should do methylene blue/salt baths and treat him with kanaplex/Nitrofurazone? I don't know how to tell what type of bacteria caused the finrot, if it's aeromonas or something else or gram negative or positive...so I don't know if using AAP Nitrofuracin Green and AAP Fin and Bodycure are better choices? and if I'm doing the methylene/salt baths should I still treat the tank with aquarium salt? And if I keep him in my 1 1/4 gallon tank w/ no filter, how often should I change it, 50 percent every two days? 

[Carl]

Apr 20, 2022 8:41:18 GMT -5 pickle123 said:

also, to clarify, do you think I should do methylene blue/salt baths and treat him with kanaplex/Nitrofurazone? I don't know how to tell what type of bacteria caused the finrot, if it's aeromonas or something else or gram negative or positive...so I don't know if using AAP Nitrofuracin Green and AAP Fin and Bodycure are better choices? and if I'm doing the methylene/salt baths should I still treat the tank with aquarium salt? And if I keep him in my 1 1/4 gallon tank w/ no filter, how often should I change it, 50 percent every two days? 

I generally would suggest the MB/Salt baths.
Either the AAP Nitrofuracin Green or Kanaplex/Nitrofuracyn (AAP Yellow Powder) would be my starting point.
Doxycycline (AAP Fin and Bodycure) would be my suggestion if one of the other treatments failed

A sponge filter would be a good idea in this tank, but either way 50% or what ever is needed to cut old medication and keep Ammonia .25 or less
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Medication.html#bio_filtration