Need help with what antibiotic to use for sick Betta

[Goldiegirl82]

I have been dealing with fin rot that resulted from my Betta biting his tail. Thus has been ongoing since the beginning of September. I was treating this with paraguard Dips and then he contracted popeye. He got much worse, i  tried fin and body cure with no results and it actually progressed to body rot, so I got Erythromycin whi h also had no effect. I started dosing with Neoplex, salt and doing hydrogen peroxide swabs per advice from my local fish store. Things stopped progressing but are not getting better. I was also doing 2 gallon water changes daily, replacing lost medications and salt. I got Mellafix but I think he needs a serious medication at this point.  After doing some research I finally found out that he has saprolegia on the affected area and that is why nothing has helped. Yesterday I cleaned out his tank, removed the substrate ( I had to treat in his main tank) and cleaned everything with hot water and hydrogen peroxide. I then seeded the clean tank and sponge filter with some media from a healthy tank. I put an Indian almond leaf in last night and he was swimming around like his old self. As of last night there are no meds in the tank, I thought he could use a day off from all the meds.  Through all of this he has been eating and not acting very lethargic.  I got Ich x to begin treating with today but my question is what to use to treat the underlying infection? The Erythromycin did nothing, as well as the Neoplex. 

Parameters: (before cleaning out tank)

• pH-8 
• Nitrates- >20
• Hardness - not sure but it's hard
• Nitrite- 0 
• Ammonia- 0
• KH/Buffer- not tested
• Water Temperature 78, heated with preset heater

[quikv6]

Here's what helped my experience with body rot, where the tail was completely gone.

1) Methylene dips for 30 seconds, 2-3 times a day. I let the fish rinse of in a separate "rinse" container of her tank water. Then, a few mins later, I returned the fish (a Molly) to her tank. I kept her in a small breeder box so she wasn't bullied or physically bothered by other fish.

2) Kanaplex in the food AND the water column.

3) Daily water changes, with salt added. (About 1 tbsp/ 2 gallons).

Her tail has grown balk about halfway, and she eats like a horse. I stopped all meds and cut down the salt a bit. I do still do daily 50% waterchanges, as it's a small hospital tank. CLEAN water is key.

[Goldiegirl82]

Ok, thank you! I hope his tail grows back, it was so beautiful for a plakat. I will start the dips tonight. Do you have any experience with the mold? I read that Ich medications are good for getting rid of that. It is much improved after clearing out the tank though. 

[BAT]

I have also found that adding aquarium salt to the water helps with betta fin rot. See the salt article on AC blog for detailed instructions. 

[Goldiegirl82]

Ok, see about adding the salt back in. The mold looked much better tonight but I may still wa t to treat with the ich x to completely get rid of it. I did a Methelyne dip tonight, he tolerated it very well 

[nabokovfan87]

First, Welcome to the forums. Hopefully everyone here can help out!

On 10/24/2022 at 4:47 PM, Goldiegirl82 said:

I have been dealing with fin rot that resulted from my Betta biting his tail. Thus has been ongoing since the beginning of September. I was treating this with paraguard Dips and then he contracted popeye. He got much worse, i  tried fin and body cure with no results and it actually progressed to body rot, so I got Erythromycin whi h also had no effect. I started dosing with Neoplex, salt and doing hydrogen peroxide swabs per advice from my local fish store. Things stopped progressing but are not getting better. I was also doing 2 gallon water changes daily, replacing lost medications and salt. I got Mellafix but I think he needs a serious medication at this point.  After doing some research I finally found out that he has saprolegia on the affected area and that is why nothing has helped. Yesterday I cleaned out his tank, removed the substrate ( I had to treat in his main tank) and cleaned everything with hot water and hydrogen peroxide. I then seeded the clean tank and sponge filter with some media from a healthy tank. I put an Indian almond leaf in last night and he was swimming around like his old self. As of last night there are no meds in the tank, I thought he could use a day off from all the meds.  Through all of this he has been eating and not acting very lethargic.  I got Ich x to begin treating with today but my question is what to use to treat the underlying infection? The Erythromycin did nothing, as well as the Neoplex. 

For fin rot, you're looking for something to treat specifically gram negative bacteria to help with fin rot.  There is a few things to keep in mind though.

You want to treat both the issue and secondary issues.  This would mean that while you are directly treating for this specific gram negative bacteria causing the fin rot, there is a cause to also treat following the gram negative bacteria cure, is to follow up with the erythromycin and fungal issues.  You can do this a few ways, with salt and botanicals (melafix, IAL, etc) during the initial treatment as well as, more specifically, once the fish has had time to recover a little bit, following up with Ich-X, Salt, and Erythromycin.

Alright.... Neoplex is supposed to work for this issue.  Second to that I would point you towards Kanaplex if you aren't seeing the results you're looking for with the Neoplex.  I would suggest at minimum 2-3 treatments for this scenario if you are looking for a severe case.  Let the fish recover, then go ahead and follow up with the above mentioned meds for secondary issues.

 

On 10/24/2022 at 6:09 PM, Goldiegirl82 said:

Ok, thank you! I hope his tail grows back, it was so beautiful for a plakat. I will start the dips tonight. Do you have any experience with the mold? I read that Ich medications are good for getting rid of that. It is much improved after clearing out the tank though. 

Yeah, that would be fungal issues. 😞 .  Salt, botanicals, and Ich-X can all be used. 

 

Finally, be sure to have an airstone in the tank if you don't to try to reduce stress on the fish.

[Goldiegirl82]

Thank you all for the help! I did a Methalyne Blue dip the other night, it seems to have helped a lot! I am thinking I will do it two- three times a week. If I do the Dips and I feed him Kanaplex and add Ich X to the water or is that too many medications at once? It seems like a lot but I would like to treat both issues at the same time if possible. I cleaned the sponge filter woth hot water and hydrogen peroxide then put it back in the tank si tank os heated and has a sponge filter going. 

[quikv6]

Hey Goldie Girl,

If you are going to continue the Methelyne blue baths (which I think you should), then I don't see a need for the Ick-x. Generally really bad fin/body rot is bacterial, and if it does cause a secondary fungal issue, the meth blue should take care of it.

I would continue the Kanaplex for a dose regimen or two.

[Goldiegirl82]

Thank you everyone for the advice, I did the methylene blue Dips for a week and fed Kanaplex, he was healed in about 7 days, still lots of regrowth to go through but the area is healed! I wish I had gone with this regimen at first and not put him through all those other treatments but now I know.