How to dose Maracyn for Betta with fin rot?

[JacobB]

Hi,

I think my betta fish has a mild case of fin rot and I was wondering if the aquarium co-op method of using a single dose of ich-x and maracyn is effective.

I added my betta a couple months ago into an established (about 9 months old) 10g tank with 3 zebra danios, a red minor tetra, and a snail. About 3 weeks ago I decided to add 3 more zebra danios because one was killed by the other 2. About 2 weeks ago I noticed my betta's fins were getting clearer and more ragged around the edges. I suspect that adding the extra zebras may have stressed my betta and started the fin rot. I tested my water and it had 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrites, and 20ppm nitrates. 

I moved my betta into a hospital bowl and treated him for over a week with aquarium salt and daily water changes, gradually increasing the dose to 3tsp per gallon. This seemed to slow down the sickness but it looked like it was still getting worse. My betta seems to be acting healthy minus the look of his fins but I didn't want to take any chances so I decided to go with a stronger treatment. I watched the aquarium co-op video on how to treat fin rot and decided to try this method.

Here are a few current pics of him sorry for the bad quality. To me it seems like his fins are slowly losing color and receding. Its more noticeable on his top fin. I'm still not 100% sure this is fin rot because his fins are not completely deteriorating but they do seem like they have gotten worse over the past 2 weeks. Do you guys think this is fin rot and I should keep treating it?

I have just moved my betta to a hospital 10g with a heater and bubbler and added 1 packet of Maracyn and 1 tsp of Ich-X. I guess my question is will a single dose of each med be enough for a week of treatment? I'm asking this because both medicines say to dose daily throughout the treatment and I haven't found much information online of whether the aquarium co-op approach works. I want to be able to treat my betta within this week because I will be going out of town soon and it will be a little harder to have someone else treat him when I'm gone.

Thank you for any help or advice.

[Colu]

What I would do is just treat with maracyn following the instructions on the box fin rot is  a bacterial disease ich x will have no effect 

[JacobB]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah im thinking dosing everyday would work better. I heard that fin rot could either be bacterial and/or fungal so wouldn't the ich-x help?

[Colu]

What you could do is add one dose of ich x and leave in while treating with maracyn

[JacobB]

Ok thanks I will try that

[KristinaC]

My red betta looks the same! I'm uncertain about it being fun rot. But I'm fairly new. Can you update us if your pretty guy got better?

[JacobB]

Hi,

Sorry for the late reply. I ended up treating my betta with Maracyn and ich x for the recommended time and I didn't notice any improvements but his fins stayed the same. I assumed that it wasn't fin rot because he was acting healthy and his fins didn't respond to any treatment. I decided to put him back into the community and he seems happy and healthy but his fins are still ragged. After a few weeks I noticed that his fins are receding more and I'm not sure what to do. I don't know if I should treat him again because it makes him kinda depressed. I keep the water quality good in the community tank so I don't know what could cause this. Maybe its possible it is normal for a betta to lose some of its fins over time?

[Colu]

With the symptoms your describing a would say it's Bacterial fin rot    I would do a course of kanaplex in his food  here's a food recipe or 

[JacobB]

Here is a picture of my betta currently. It looks like the fins are deteriorating only on one fin. Could this be due to nipping or is this some type of fin rot? Also the fins are still clear around the edges and I'm not sure if this is healthy. Can someone confirm what this is based on the photo? Thanks

[Betsy]

This looks like nipping to me...who else is in the tank?  His tail seems too short for him to be nipping...but his roommates might be suspects!

In my experience, clear on the edges of fins = growth.  A good sign, for sure!

Also...frequent water changes helped me get my colleague's fin-rotten betta to regrow most of his finnage...how often are you water changing?  I think I water-changed Geode every other to every third day (no meds used)...but he was in his own, un-cycled small tank (3.5 gal), not a community.

[JacobB]

I've got 5 zebrafish and 1 red minor tetra. My betta seems to get along with the zebras because he's not bothered when they are swimming right next to him. The tetra may be the problem, but it is strange because it is usually the betta that occasionally chases the tetra. I've never really seen the tetra be aggressive towards the betta.

I do a 50% water change once a week. Might consider doing more. Maybe I should move the tetra to another tank too and see how the betta does. I want to avoid medicating again because I'm not sure if this is fin rot.

[Betsy]

That's a good idea!  I hear you on avoiding medicating!  I will say, I feel like Betta fins take FOREVER to heal...so, you may be doing everything right, but progress might be slow...as long as you're not going backwards, you're going forwards!

50% change once a week is pretty solid...how big is your community tank?

If you don't see a positive change when you remove the tetra, you could also try separating the Betta.

[JacobB]

It is a 10g tank. Thanks for the advice, I'll keep it in mind when helping my betta recover. I'll try to keep you guys updated if something happens.

[SWilson]

Like @Betsy fin rot takes a lot time to heal, it sounds like your initial course of treatment helped by stopping the rot from getting worse, I've read it takes a long time for the fins to grow back even after you address the underlying bacterial problem.  I think your original diagnosis was probably correct. 

If you can move the snail or if you decide to separate the betta again, you could also try salt. 

You're definitely not alone. I'm dealing with very similar issues with my blue veil-tail betta.  He started out in a community, then I moved him to a smaller, less occupied community, none of that worked. He's now alone in a 3 gal and I'm starting to treat with maracyn.  It's been about 2 weeks and I haven't noticed any improvement (and it's possibly gotten worse).  I think I will start doing more frequent water changes.  

Good luck! Please keep us posted. And Mr. betta is beautiful!