I know you’ve probably seen this guy before.. Draco (ThatDarnDragon) posted for me once when I was concerned.. I'm posting again because since that time, I've had a few more issues, and I'd really appreciate some advice!

This is Cloud, my Walmart Rescue betta. I’ve been told he’s a Delta, but you’d never know it! His tail has changed about 4 or 5 times since I got him in late June.

Here is a pic of him the day I got him:


This one was maybe about a month after that. His tail had grown so nicely!


Then there was this. I started to get a bit concerned:


It got worse! See the dark red line? That’s a ray that eventually died


Yep, it died and fell out. This is what he looked like after that.


He’s looking slightly better now. It’s been less than a week since I took that last picture, and it’s slowly growing out. He’s perked up considerably and is more like his old self.

Is this guy going to ever get his tail figured out?!? I’ve been going crazy! Every day I’m looking to see what he’s going to look like! I’m a nervous betta mom, so I’m just kind of worried that his tail is never going to recover.. He looks so beautiful on a good day! I just want that to stay! :banghead:

Is this a tail-biting thing? Or is it rot? I keep his tank as clean as possible (he’s in a 2 gallon with gravel, a plant and some small decorations) I do water changes every week to week and ½. Every fish gets salt and stress coat after changes and gravel and decorations are thoroughly cleaned (I’m insanely meticulous when it comes to water changes.) So, if it’s rot, what can I do? If it’s biting, what can I do?

That definitely looks like rot, especially the red parts. I'd try some Maracyn 2 for starters. See how that works for now.

He's been on Maracyn 2 for a while, which is why he perked up.. I've added Melafix now and then to try and give his tail some encouragement to grow, but I've been sticking with Maracyn mostly. That stuff is my new miracle cure! It cured my combtail's fin rot. Too bad it couldn't stop him from losing the fingers off his tail.. :(

Well, if it is rot, it makes me worried that it's been so on going.. I'm considering putting him in a smaller tank, since the 2 gallon doesn't seem to be helping his tail much.. He's in quarantine right now so I can medicate him, but once he goes back into a bigger tank, I might switch him into a smaller tank..

Thanks for the help!! :thanks:

Might be worth a salt bath too, will help kill various micro organisms and it will help clean his respiratory system.

Be careful with the Melafix. You need to dilute it for bettas, they can't take it full strength. I don't use it at all. It doesn't really help IMHO and I know one of our members, BettaMomma, had two fish that received permanent fin damage from it. I just use salt, and a little blackwater extract. Does wonders.

With the red lines and then the piece of tail falling off later, I'm sure it's fin rot. I have two tail biters (:banghead:) and usually it just looks like hunks of their tails disappear (they bite it off and eat it). I have never had the ends look red afterwards nor have I had pieces fall off later from tail biting.

HTH

Wow.. Thanks for the headsup on the Melafix! I don't use it often, but I'll probably never use it again! It hasn't seemed to do much good anyway.. I'll keep Cloud on Maracyn for another week or so to see how his tail goes, and hopefully he'll be alright after that. I'll certainly be buying him a smaller tank! I'll want to do more frequent water changes with him now, and that 2 gallon is a pain to do a 100% change twice a week!

Just couldn't stay away for a whole day! lol

Anyway... That's finrot - I'd have to agree. And I'm about 99.99% sure it's coming form water quality.

My fish are, for the most part, all in 2.5g tanks, and they all get 100% water changes every 4 - 5 days, the ones in smaller tanks get even more frequent changes, and I have not ever once had a case of finrot in any of my fish. Tailbiting, yes a few - finrot, no never. I have 19 tanks going right now, so that many changes that frequently are a pain in the ass - YES a MAJOR pain, but it's worth it :) - and it really keeps the finrot away. heh

So - I'd step up your water changes to about every 4 days. It's not to the point of being totally disastrous, and it could be pretty traumatic for him, so I'd avoid a salt dip or bath at this point - I think you can correct this with some good sparkly clean water. In fact, i can almost guarantee it.

At the next interval when you end a medicating cycle (maracyn) and are to begin it over again, stop medicating him. Get the more frequent water changes going right away and see what happens. If it's possible, order some colloidal silver:
http://www.n-ergetics.com/ecart/Scripts/pr...p?idProduct=251
- I can't even BEGIN to tell you how phenomenal that stuff is for regenerating fishy tissue. Several drops after each water change will do wonders while he's trying to heal. My girls will have an occasional bitchy fit and nip a hunk out of someone else's tail - and this stuff will literally grow the entire hunk back withing a matter of a few days.

and Yes - I would suggest to avoid melafix. Here's Archie. Notice the crumply bottom fin:

and little Harvey whose right gill raker was permanently damaged so now he only uses one:

both compliments of melafix full strength.

Wow.. one of my guys has fins like Archie's.. but he's never had melafix in his water before... What are some other things that cause the crumpled fins?


Come to think of it, I also had a betta who lost the use of one gill like yours.. o.O makes me wonder just what my poor bettas are going through that I don't realize!!

I knew you'd come to help, bettamomma :) btw, that link says invalid product, try again with a different link?

Check the ph in your area. It might be to high and the water also might be too hard. That betta like acidic water. If this happen in any future of your betta, soak in with indian almond leaf thick solution for a month or two. When it's gets better, then slowly change the IAL lighter solution in a month.

beyond...
was he like that when you got him?
I haven't ever had any fish (except Archie) get fins like that, but I have bought fish that way - on purpose, cuz nobody else will buy them cuz they're *ugly.


I'm pretty sure Spongebob, my yellow betta:

was possibly also given an overdose of it. All of his fins are crumpled and curled over, and both his gill rakers are damaged - only his plates stick out when he flares.
Lots of places like petsmart just dump straight melafix into their cups when they come in cuz they think it will help.

I suppose ammonia could also burn fins and gills like that too - but there would have to be an awful lot of it to do that... hmm

Fin damage like that is also caused by really bad water.

I'd definitely up your water changes and definitely do NOT put him in a smaller container. You could also try using Maracyn instead of Maracyn 2. I've also used Kanamycin (also K-mycin) and that works great too if you can find it. I agree that a salt bath would work awesomely too! Definitely worth trying anyways.

I agree - don't move him to a smaller container.
I really really think you'll correct the problem with more frequent water changes.
I'd give that a good try for a week or two before you try other things...

Bluebettausa wrote a great article explaining the use of salt with fish.... its benefits/detriments, how it works, and its misconceptions... I'd encourage people to go check it out in the emergency and diseases section, or click here:
http://tropicalfishchat.net/index.php?showtopic=4226

The fella with gill problems didn't come that way.. He was one of my firsts bettas (he's actually the stubborn guy in my av) and I learned alot from working with him. He had tail rot that I wasn't aware of back then, so his tail was pretty short for much of the time I had him.. I never used any meds on him, though, so I know it wasn't Melafix problem. He lost the use of one of his gill rakers somewhere along the line, not sure exactly when..

As per the crumple fins, my fella Comet has those.. He didn't come that way either.. I got him not too long after I got Ty (av fishie), so they were some of my earlier fish. I've learned a ton since getting them and now they're much happier and healthier! Thankfully I know now what to look for, most of the time. If I don't, I will bring it here! I'm LOVING having this resource! Glad Draco told me to join!! jay

I disagree with the tank size. Personally I have had success in fin rot treatment when I downgraded my boy. Then I did a daily 100% water change. This ASSURED that the water was crystal clear and clean. That and salt did so much that it cured my Reese better than any med out there. Just give it patience and time. But again, the larger tanks seem to host more problems when it comes to finrot, just from my experience. Also, when downgrading them, try not to put anything in it besides a tad of gravel and a silk plant to lay on, so they have as much swimming room as they want and not as much to rub against.

edited to add another plus to smaller containers, if money i san issue for you like it is for me, you use a lot less medicine. and if you DO need to start medicating, maracyn combo with salt and fungus remedies (it kills a lot of other stuff I found) and even a trace amount of malachtite green (rid ich, etc) combined with daily water changes saved 2 lives for me.

Yes, I think he will be moved into a 1 gallon.. I had moved him into the 2 gallon a while back, and that's about the time his fin problems started. I'll be able to stay on top of water changes better with him if he's in the 1 gallon..

I have to stop by the pet store today to get some salt, since I'm running out, and I might decide if I want to buy another tank or just move some fish around.. We'll see.. Of course, that all depends on if I can keep myself from walking out with a new fish! :crazy:

Well, if anyone's interested, I'm starting a simple little webpage to chronicle my ongoing battle with Cloud's stubborn tail. Things have progressed and his dorsal and ventral fins are now threatened.. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

I'll update the website whenever there is noticeable change.. ugh.