Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I've had Manny since New Year's. Shortly after I bought him, the tips of some of his fins developed a tiny tuft of white material and began breaking. I tried treating him with Jungle Fungus Eliminator (2 weeks), Maracyn 2 (1 week), Maracyn (1 week), CopperSafe (1 month), and Maroxy (2 weeks and currently). No, I didn't over medicate, as all those treatments were done over the course of 4 months. None seemed to help much as I never saw regrowth of his fins.

I have him in a gallon bowl until his 5g tank cycles. His water parameters are pretty good. I change 100% of his water every 4-5 days with dechlorinator, ammonia remover, aquarium salt, and ph neutralizer. Keep him in a room that stays around 78 degrees and feed him a diet of freeze dried bloodworms and Betta flake food with brine shrimp pieces.

The rays of his fins have steadily deteriorated and it looks like its steadily spreading through is fin (not on his body yet, though). I'm wondering what else can I try for this fin loss? Currently, I'm planning to use tetracycline and maroxy for about a week. Is this a good treatment for persistent tail rot? If not, what's a good cure other than what I've already tried?
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Hi.

If his tank is no longer deteriorating, then there is no longer a case of fin rot. Sometimes fin rot cases are so bad before treatment begins that the fin may never regenerate. It's unfortunate but it does happen. Is he still losing parts of his fins? Or are you just looking for regrowth?
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Phishie
Site Coordinator

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

The fins have kept breaking through all the treatments. He used to have pretty rays, but they've all just about broken off now. Maybe the rays of his fins just weren't sturdy enough, they did seem ali'l skinny compared to other crowntails I've seen.

On a side note, my other betta, a VT named Spunk, is doing fine. His fins have actually grown a bit since I bought him (February). One concern with him though is he seems to poop quite a bit and his stomach rarely stays rounded. Is this an issue? Or should I feed him more?
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He will probably never regrow those fins then. I'm sure he's still gorgeous. Just be sure to keep the water quality in prime conditions to avoid things like this again.

How many times do you feed Spunk? If you feed more than once a day, that's too much. Pooping means his digestive system is working just fine... a good sign. His stomach may just be normal sized, but different from how he was at the pet store. My female betta I had looked so different once she was in my care. She was a healthy girl, but died later of gill disease. Poor thing. Just keep an eye on it, and if it gets bigger you may want to lay off the food - maybe every other day feedings - and see if it gets bigger. Right now, I would say it's nothing to worry about based on your description.
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Phishie
Site Coordinator

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Well, the issue with Spunk isn't that his stomach is too big. It's too flat. I'll feed him in the morning and his stomach plumps up like normal bettas. Then after he poops, which is usually the same day, his stomach is incredibly flat, almost concave.... I've never seen a betta poop as much as this one and I'm wondering if it's normal, maybe he's just young and needs more food?

Oh ok. Sorry I must have misread that. Yeah, you can feed him a couple times a day. Maybe one feeding can be with some freeze dried blood worms. Some love them, some don't. It's possible that is he's young, you never really know the true age of a betta unless you get it from a breeder. Keep an eye on it. If the two feedings don't help after about a week, just let me know. We'll look at other possibilities.
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Phishie
Site Coordinator

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

100 % water changes are not neccsesery 10 % every 10 days (10 gallon tank) chlorine remover should be enough why add all the other chemicals .. keep a pail of tap water in the room add the chlorine remover to that and as you change 10 % of the water you will have aged water at room temperature. read his tank temperature because a room is 78 degrees doesn't mean his water is that temperature they can go up to 82 degrees you may need that in order to control the fin rot.