Ok, well some of you know of my cute DT, Bo and his fin rot issues. First I tried Melafix, then salt/heat, JFE tabs, colloidal and filtering. Nothing is seeming to work anymore. Yes, the red, gooey stuff has disappeared, but all his regrowth is GONE.

I'm still wondering if he isn't biting still... but I just see no regrowth at all. Will someone give me something they've used that worked?? I'm just at a loss here..

Oh, and heres a before and after:
BEFORE


AFTER


He looks so awful... and Jason's guy from BC Betta can't seem to kick his fin rot either...

Have you tried frequent water changes, add an indian almond leaf, heat up the water to 80+ F, and see if he is biting his tail or not. That's the only advice I can think of right now. I've only had fin rot once and sadly my betta died.

BC betta must breed brittle bettas, wow say that 5 times fast. anyways, both of ours from her are really fragile. Animal whom I thought was over it has spiked up again. I have him quarantined and in clean salty water so hopefully that will do it, this time I'm not taking him out until I see significant regrowth

My water is filtered, and I clean it once a week. I really can't do it more often than that, seeing as I can even use my own tap water.

If I could afford some Indian Almond Leaves, I'd get them... but I'm so poor right now, it's not really an option. He is heated to about 84. I just don't know. I'm going to email Maryanne.

i just used some doc wellfish salt and that cleared up fin rot on freckles... he may MAY be biting his tail... is there anytihng that could be tearing it up??

Like I said, I've used salt and it did nothing. Nothing he's tearing his tail on at all. I have never seen him bite and I did sit and watch him for a long time one day. I'm just so confused!!

hmmm 50% water changes everynight... how much salt did you use... you could make the leap and dilute some melafix or just use bettafix!! :/ i dunno

It's hard for her to do daily changes, cuz her well water has something in it that kills her fish, she lost, i think 5, to this water problem. we've tried most everything with bo, he's a baby, he needs to be in a womb I think :lol: :lol: he's very sensative and it's hard to kick anything he gets.

I used a tablespoon of salt for his 2.5 gallon tank... so a LOT. Yeah, I'm not using Melafix. I saw what it did to BM's fish, and it didn't do anything for him the first time...

I'm just going to wait patiently for Maryanne's email back to me.

I've never once had a single problem with melafix, at all, and I've used it on a bunch of different fish, different dosages *shrugs* I don't get what you peoples beef with melafix is :laugh: :lol:

Okay... now this is just my opinion and maybe not everyone will agree, but this is what I did when I had fin rot issues...

I honestly believe that ammonia is the source of it. I don't know what the pH of your water is, but mine out of the faucet is about 7.4 - and is medium hard. My goldfish love it, but in a small, unfiltered container, that's high enough for the ammonia that is excreted by the fish to become a real problem.

Ammonia is more toxic the higher the pH of the water is. At 7.0 or below, it's not a big deal at all. Bettas like a lower pH and softer water, so I started using Tetra Blackwater Extract - what I figured was the commercial equivalent of IAL - with mine. NO MORE FIN ROT! I had a spawn of 90 babies and not one of them has died or had any indication of fin rot.

My pH is around 6.8 - 7.0 in the betta containers, and all my fish are thriving. I've resisted using any kind of salt because I've heard salt can raise the pH of aquarium water.

AND I don't agree with all this about Melafix. You can use it at full strength, BUT you don't re-dose it daily. There's no huge filtration system in most betta containers, so it's not being removed. I have used it up to 2 consecutive times and then changed the water and redosed. It worked for me...

So, just my opinion. Take it for what it's worth, but I can tell you that ammonia and a high pH DON'T mix! ...if it doesn't kill the fish, at the very least it will give them ongoing fin rot.

BTW... the doubletail was beautiful! It must be really discouraging to have him looking like this.

I just got some IAL in the mail today. Where are you from? How many gallons is he in?

I will gladly send you a few ASAP, no cost.

This is what I would do:

I would boil some dechlorinated water with an IAL in it, and let it cool. After it is cool, I would add it to a tub of even more dechlorinated water and let it sit for 24 hours. The next day I would do a 100% water change.

Hopefully the IAL sitting in there for a day, plus the aged water, would knock out whatever the hell is wrong.

I say screw medications :)

Let me know what you think.

you said its filtered right??? well go buy water from your LFS and use that!!!

I wish I could afford to buy water for all my water changes every week, but I have to change 4 2.5 gallon tanks, a 1-gallon, and part of my 5, 20 and 10. Yeah... a LOT of water. I do have some blackwater extract... and I never even thought of using it. I know my pH is right around 7.0. I don't own a testing kit myself, but I've had it tested at my LFS a whole load of times and so I know from that.

Seahorse, I'm from Wisconsin... and I'm going to see if I can talk my mom into getting some IAL first... hehehe... I'm so evil. Your offer is SO nice, though!! Thank you!

Ok, I'm going to try the Blackwater extract and I'll keep you all updated. Thank you all!!

Alright awesome, good luck!

I'm from Michigan :)

*waves hi* howdy michigan neighbor :)

I can't believe my eyes!!!! I swear it's been like 4-5 hours since I put in the Blackwater extract and I ALREADY see regrowth!!! Eeeee!!! I'm so excited!!

Seahorse - I talked my mom into getting me so IAL!! 100 for $20 on eBay!! She feels bad for Bo because he looks so pitifully disgusting... hah. My mom's a softy.

AWESOME! I knew this stuff rocked!

Yup, eBay is the best. That is where I get mine!

So happy for your boy :wub:

Justhal, you are the man. You pick up so fast too I tell ya.
I do think that betta is been breed under Indian almond leaf since he was born. He just get used to more acidic water like what justhal had said. Where did you get from?

I have luck with this Anti-Fungus Plus by aquarium production. If your fish got fin rot, cotton wool and fungus growth, this is good. :)

The Blackwater Extract is the 'poor man's' Indian Almond leaf! LOL!!! I used to use it when I kept discus, and my dad used it with his killifish. BUT I don't think it has the same antibacterial properties as IAL, and I'm switching over too - I want to have the REAL STUFF when my Wasan bettas get here...

Softer, slightly acidic water is closer to what the fish would have in the wild. ALSO, for those of us who keep them in smaller containers - the dogs and I would be forced out of the house if I had to set up aquariums for all these bettas - the more neutral, slightly acidic water practically neutralizes the ammonia, or at least makes it non-toxic. It's a small lesson in water chemistry I learned from an 'old time' fish keeper...

BTW - Blackwater Extract isn't a medication: it's a water conditioner. And I don't really consider Melafix a medication in the same sense as an antibiotic or anti-parasitic, though it's closer to being one than the extract. it's probably as much a medication as salt. When fish get sick, the first thing to do is examine your water. It's always better to try to discover what's going on with your fish's environment that may have caused his issues than to start throwing drugs at him.

OH - p.s. --- I'm from Michigan too! Must be the land of better betta breeders!!!

Come over with Saucy to my place sometime.
You can see Harvey and Archie. :)

Yeah... so weird. I think I'm just going to get rid of it... haha. Cause like you always say, BM, if it gets to the point where salt and/or heat and clean water don't work, Melafix ain't going to fix it.