MoonMom

Interesting!! Hydrophobic is exactly right—they don’t take to soaking at all. At least as far as I’ve ever been able to manage. Only reason I wondered is because they seemed difficult for my betta to eat and also could have sworn I read somewhere that they needed to be soaked beforehand or they’d give the fish bloat. Fake news! Thanks 😊 Interesting!! Hydrophobic is exactly right—they don’t take to soaking at all. At least as far as I’ve ever been able to manage. Only reason I wondered is because they seemed difficult for my betta to eat and also could have sworn I read somewhere that they needed to be soaked beforehand or they’d give the fish bloat. Fake news! Thanks 😊

@FLFishChik @Lennie and others, how do you feed freeze dried daphnia? Does it need to be soaked first?

Wow. Love the video post of your sweet fish. I am super new here but came seeking help for my sick Betta in the beginning of this year, and thanks to the fantastic people here he’s actually on the mend and growing out his fins. When the news is too depressing I come here and read about all sorts of wonderful stuff. Welcome!

Thank you—I know!!!

@Colu @KittenFishMom @FLFishChik @nabokovfan87 @Goldie Blue Hi all, just wanted to say Moon finished several weeks of the Kanaplex plus worm food 😂 + salt. I honestly didn’t notice any progress other than the fact that we were beyond excited that he was finally actually branched out and was eating something nutritious. But he seemed energetic, hale and hearty and there was no further fin deterioration. We moved him to the community tank with the harlequin Rasboras and our sweet shrimpies and he seems (don’t want to jinx it!!!) to be thriving. Updated pics below. Can’t thank you guys enough. Really didn’t ever expect to have him pull through. Thank you. MM

Lol—well that’s good I guess!! If they’re still happy and good in all other ways, maybe it’s a non-issue. I’ve stared at mine so long at this point that I honestly can’t tell if I’m seeing things or if this is how they always have looked 😂

Hi there! Was wondering whether you noticed any differences after fasting them a bit. I have a batch of harlequin Rasboras where a few of them sound/look much the same. I just noticed so have been reading the forum posts on bloat, etc. they’re always so fun to watch while they’re eating that maybe we are over feeding without realizing. I don’t give more than they’ll eat in a few minutes but will lay of the food for a day or two. Tia!

Got it. Thank you!!

That’s probably sage advice. I was assuming I guess that he had no more bacteria/fungus/etc and was just not responding but that’s probably a simplistic view of whatever is going on. I’m keeping the medicated food refrigerated. Two questions for you: 1) how long would you keep a batch before making another? and 2) how long is it ok to keep feeding him the medicated food? tia!

@Helpwithmy_snailpls sweetie you did a great job. I’m so sorry about your snail. You showed true resourcefulness! And worked really hard. Your betta is beautiful. Best of luck 🙂

@Odd Duck. @Colu @nabokovfan87 @Goldie Blue Hi friends! Wanted to add a quick update on both Moon in his hospital tank and the larger planted tank, since you’ve all been so kind with your advice. With Moon, I added IAL and salt as directed and kept the level consistent through frequent water changes for about a week and a half or so. Then I made the medicated food per the recipe above with frozen bloodworms and maracyn2. Was nervous about it because Moon has historically been tempted with many foods and turns his nose up at all but the cheap salmon flakes—so I was crushed when he did not take my magic worm potion. Tried again that night. Tried again the next morning. Second night he hit it! I was so jazzed. He’s on day three of the medicated food and unfortunately still no change to his fin situation. It may have stopped progressing? It’s really hard to tell because there’s not much left. But certainly no new growth. either way I’m thrilled he’s eating something more nutritious than those damn flakes. And @Goldie Blue he is loving his new tunnel—thank you!! And I just tonight put those sponge caps on my filter outflow in the flex as you recommended, right after I took the attached pics so you can’t see them yet. But they cut the flow way way down, just as you said they would. No matter what happens after this cycle of feeding I kind of just want to move him to the bigger planted tank to give him a break and let him recover a bit from all the meds or just live whatever time he has left in a soft planted tank with some cheerful Rasboras friends. Is that a bad idea? Speaking of cheerful Rasboras—I added 10 to the planted tank, did the trio for first 7 days and they seem to be thriving! They are so fun to watch… so active and pretty. We just added a group of Amanos yesterday and oh my goodness I had no idea little shrimp could be so hilarious and fun. They’re EVERYWHERE. Racing around, trying to compete with the Rasboras for food (and winning!), climbing all over each other… it’s nuts. My kid loves them. Anyway, thanks for all the advice so far. It’s been put to good use and, I hope, will lead to happier healthier fishies on my end. cheers all, MM

Got it—thank you!!

Sorry! I probably said that wrong—I completed 2 rounds of Kanaplex but the box says you can do up to 3 if fish is tolerating and the condition hasn’t resolved, so I’m not midcourse I just haven’t done the possible 3rd and final course.

Thanks all. Just to clarify, should I do a third and final round of Kanaplex before doing the tank cleanse and starting the maracyn2, or just jump right into the maracyn2 with food? appreciate the continued feedback so very much!! @Colu @nabokovfan87 @Odd Duck

@Odd Duck So after the "cleanse" @nabokovfan87 and @Colu mentions, would you suggest a third and final course of the kanaplex before moving to neoplex, or jump right to the food with Maracyn? Or can/should Maracyn be put in the food alongside either the final round of Kanaplex or first round of Neoplex? The medicated food mixture sounds intense! I will have to research how to do it. My poor little fish I've spent so much on different kinds of nutrient rich food for him but he seems to prefer simple flake food. He won't go for anything that sinks, and he's on the smaller side so if I give him freeze dried anything I usually have to cut it up into extremely tiny pieces and soak it or he just spits it out. Hi Goldie--unfortunately I don't have any photos of "before"! He was very pretty though. I've never noticed fins being clear or see/through, even on the ends--but I always look as I read that can be a sign of fin regrowth. Thank. you for the tip on the almond leaves. I had no idea! And I've never tested water straight out of the tap but I guess I should know what that is like too... The idea of getting RO water and adding back proper minerals sounds like something that is way beyond my current skill set lol. It's amazing how many variables there are, and what can be done... Thanks everyone. I'm flabbergasted to have access to this level of advice. It's just amazing how much you all know.

Actually the tank where my betta is being treated has no live plants. I removed the only one I had (the annubias petit) when I started in with the salt. These plants are all in my new Fluval Flex tank which I had planted in anticipation of moving Moon over when I had that tank up and running with plants and some amano shrimp and rasboras. Didn't want to add those guys until my plants were squared away! So there's nothing in there but plants right now... Sorry about the fish pics--here they are!

@Goldie Bluewhat a development with your betta--it's got to feel defeating after so much time spent battling it and after good recovery made. Thank you very much for the info on the 3D tubes, pathos and java fern. I don't have Moon in the planted tank yet so don't have any insight into whether he'll be sensitive to EG or not. Please see pics of what's left of the Val along with close-ups of the main plant and the runners it has put out. @nabokovfan87 After the treatment with Trio didn't work, I let my fish recover and then figured I'd try just salt at a pretty high level (3 tbsp per gallon). I started that Dec. 30. I bumped salt down to 1 tbsp per gallon when I started the first cycle of Kanaplex (started on Feb 5)--have now completed the 2nd course. Have posted current pics below--am sorry I could not get better quality/clarity on the fin edges, I tried for a while. Hopefully these are at least somewhat helpful. @Odd Duck not to worry! There's no charcoal in there--I pulled out when I started the Kanaplex and also had the charcoal out of the tank during the initial Trio treatment. Thanks again all. Truly a wealth of knowledge on this forum. Best, MoonMom

@Goldie BlueThis reply is belated and I've read it several times. First time I thought "no way is this due to flaring". Second time I thought: "well, he IS super active and you did go through a time where water quality was inconsistent..." Third time after I watched a few videos of betta flaring behavior I thought: "I guess what I took for sociability/active curiosity could in fact be sings of excessive stress/flaring. and if that's the case, yes, he is a non-stop flarer 100%" It's also I guess easier to minimize the behavior because he essentially has no more fins left so it was a lot less noticeable (to me, a novice) as flaring behavior. @Colu @nabokovfan87 @Odd Duck @FLFishChik update is water parameters are largely the same in both tanks as reported above (that is, the existing beta tank and newly planted but otherwise "empty" 15 gal. fluval kit). In Moon's tank I've added the Indian almond leave. he's been on consistent 1 tbsp/gal salt and is on last dose of second round kanaplex--with water changes as recommended. His behavior/appetite is still good but no signs of fin rot stopping let alone healing. In my new planted tank the algae is under control/gone due to the recommended peroxide treatment. the Scarlett temple completely melted away and I removed and replaced with new ones (tbd whether they suffer a better fate). Water sprite seems hearty and still full of occasional new growth but some of the plant continues to turn black. Pogostemon stellatus octopus is a rockstar. Vallisneria has completely melted off but I trimmed and left the rizhome. hope it will grow back--it had started to put out two runners before it melted off. Java moss is new but seems ok. Pearl weed completely died off. Remnants of pale Monte Carlo remain. Annubias petite has been through some trauma/ups and downs but remained alive and a trooper for 9 mos. now (used to be in the betta tank before I salted it). This tank gets easy green once a week and root tabs once a month. I want to put 8-10 harlequin raspboras into the planted tank and treat with Trio. Then add a handful of amano shrimp and when they're all co-existing nicely transfer my betta and hope that the real plants help him live a happier life than whatever is going on for him now. Goldie Blue, thanks for the tip on the pre-filter sponges. Will pick up now as I'm certain the flow is too much for my betta. Thanks also for the tip on that and the pathos. when you say a 3D printed tube that floats, what do you mean? I got him a floating log from aquarium coop but havent used it yet because his current tank is so small and full of an Indian almond leaf and (fake) plants. Also to answer your question, the filter I have in the current betta tank is just a charcoal kit filter. In the fluval 15 there's sponge, ceramic rings and also charcoal. Thanks again all. This has been a great resource. Truly appreciate all the help, and what a fascinating thing fish keeping can be! Regards, MoonMom

Thank you @Odd Duck. That’s the direction we’ll take then for the newly planted tank. Raspboras treated with Trio then Amanos, then add Betta. The first course of Kanaplex in the Betta tank is over and Moon is still active/in good shape but I can’t say the fin rot has stopped and there’s definitely no new growth so I guess I’ll do another round and keep in the Indian almond lead and keep the salt steady at 1 tbsp per gallon. The planted tank is kind of a mystery. I dosed with 50ml for three days and algae is gone but plants have started melting. The pics I’m attaching now are from 3 days ago. The Val is now melted down to the roots. Same with the Pearl Weed. Water sprite and mini Anubias are handing on. Monte Carlo—eh… Water parameters are: -Gh - 0 -NO3 -100 -NO2 -1 -CL - 0 -KH - 360 -pH - 8.4 -ammonia -0.5 wondering if I should just trim melted parts down to roots. Scrap altogether? Add Raspboras or wait until plant growth stabilizes? What a wormhole… thanks again all 🙂 MoonMom

Thanks @Odd Duck. I don’t want to push it as I’m new to this. The pangio cunevirgata have been fun to read about (and I really just love how they look and am really curious about how they behave) but maybe it’s a good thing to look forward to if we ever have another tank with sand substrate. The main goal was to make a decent home for the kid’s fish so we’ll stick to that. I’m scratching my head thinking: if my mom knew what her “innocent” gift of a betta fish for a birthday turned into lol. It’s been fun along the ride and we’ve all learned so much already. My child is too young to benefit from this angle yet but the first thought that occurred to me in all this is: what a great way to teach little people chemistry…and an appreciation for nature and living things. There should be an aquarium of some sort in every classroom! Thoughts on whether to add the Amanos and Rasporas at once? I wanted to treat them all with the Trio when the go in, but if they have to be added little by little I’m not sure how to stage for bio purposes… cheers and thanks, moonmom

@Odd DuckThat's really interesting and good info on the Kuhlis. I am s interested in them but It sounds like it may be better for the tank if we focus on the raspboras, the amano shrimp and the betta. I'd want to either do 6 of the small Kuhlis or maybe 10 of the rasporas rather than a smaller amount of both so that they can each be happy. Substrate in the planted tank is seachem Fluorite Black. Not sure whether that's fine enough to be good for the kuhlis anyway?

@nabokovfan87 @Odd Duck @FLFishChik @KittenFishMom Hi everyone, thanks for your comments/advice. What an exhausting rabbit hole! No sooner do I learn something or make a decision about what to do than I find I have 6 more variables to account for/learn about/potentially mess up. I never knew what an absolutely absorbing corner of the world this could be. An update as of tonight after I've had a chance to source products and read more about what you all have shared: Moon's Tank: Cleaned, water change. Due to the water change, the 2.5 gallons now has 3 tbsp of aquarium salt total. I'll get down to 1tbsp/gal with the next water change Removed charcoal filter and dosed Kanaplex as directed on package. Turned off UV and will keep stone bubbler on. Will plan to run the full dose of Kanaplex (i.e. every 48 hours for 3 doses). Package says if fish is tolerating and symptoms haven't subsided after first course in extreme cases you can run another back-to-back course. I'll wait to see how it goes. I've added an Indian almond leaf New 15 gal Planted Tank (no livestock) with hair/beard algae problem: I removed what I could by hand and via water change, and turned off the UV for a few days. Dosed with peroxide 5ml/gal tonight after turning UV and filter off for 30 mins. Will plan to continue each day until algae dies off Then plan to add 3-5 amano shrimp. My pie in the sky goal was to do Khuli loaches and either ember tetras or lamb chop raspboras (eventually add the beta) but is that too much for my tank? Was thinking 3-5 amanos, 3 khuli loaches, 5-6 tetras or rasporas and my betta. Does that work bio load wise? I'm not married to this configuration, I just want the fish to be happy. Thank you all. I've already learned so much! I appreciate your taking the time to respond. -MoonMom Should have perhaps included at the beginning of my last post: have any of you ever seen a fish recover from fin rot this severe? 🙁

@Odd Duck @FLFishChik hi there--very glad to have both your responses, and thank you. I have wanted to do my diligence and read up on what you've recommended before wasting your time with more questions but work/life/not perfect understanding of water chemistry is leading to analysis paralysis. So I think I had better just go ahead with it for my poor fish's sake. That said: Water parameters are still exactly as listed above both in Moon's small tank and the "new" planted tank (15 gal. fluval kit) Planted tank has (as far as I can tell) blanket algae. I am including pics. Should this stop me from adding a couple of amano shrimp and the rasporas to get it ready for Moon to transfer into? It sounds like you think it may be fin "damage" vs. Fin "rot". That may be but I wanted to mention that he's overall lost probably 50 to 70 percent of his fins! With that in mind, should I plan to treat with kanaplex, salt and tea leaves as suggested by you all above or should I say eff it, it's fin damage and just let him ride in the new tank? Don't want to stress him unnecessarily, and like I said, he's a frisky lad and seems to have both his wits and his appetite. @Odd Duckwhat do you mean when you ask whether "BB's are maintained"? Thank you again so much. Best regards, MoonMom

Hi @Odd Duck, About a month and a half ago when I realized something was wrong with his fins and I started reading about fin rot I did a sweep of his tank for sharp things. I found a really large spike in the inside of his sleeping cave, which I filed down and away. Was hopeful this might have been the thing, but to be honest I have continued to see fin deterioration every few days since then and since both treatments. It starts with a tiny hole somewhere, and the hole gets bigger until it reaches the outer edge of the fin and becomes another ragged "fin spike". The thing is, he really is a chipper guy. I can't imagine this is all from flaring? His new tank (the fluval 15 gal kit) was set up 4 weeks ago. Plants went in three weeks ago (Montecarlo, pearl weed, postegrom stellatus octopus, water sprite, vallisneria and something that has some pink to it but I can't recall the name--all "beginner" plants). I read that a sign the tank is cycled is new plant growth. If that's true, I've seen new plant growth on all, although they experienced some melt as they were delivered during the cold weather that swept the US so delivery was delayed. Don't know if that had something to do with the degree of melt I experienced or what. In any event, the new tank has gotten root tabs and easy green as directed for the plants I bought. Water is 76-78, the water parameters are exactly what I posted for my existing tank above except that KH and PH are slightly higher. There is beard algae starting and I'm not sure what to do about that/how serious it is. Do you think we should transfer Moon to the new tank after his next round of treatment? Ideally I was waiting to get 5 or 6 lamb chop raspboras quarantined in the new tank and then add Moon when he was better, but if using the new tank just for Moon is going to give him a better shot then that's what we'll do. New fish at this point may be a bridge too far. Thanks again!

Thanks @Odd Duck for the words of encouragement! You're exactly right--the forum software flipped my pics. Will try cropping and loading in higher res...