Betta boy - what is going on here?

[MotorcycleBoy]

We've had this betta for about a year now. He's done fairly well. However, he started to have a problem with his fins a few months ago. On advice, we treated with Pimafix and Melafix, along with the usual tank maintenance and Indian leaves. Oh, also StressGuard.

At first, things seemed to improve a little, but not much. Stabilized was probably the word for it. It wasn't getting better but wasn't getting worse.

Getting ready to move to a bigger tank, and read about the 3 medicine quarantine tank treatment with Ich-X, Maracyn, and ParaCleanse. Planning to use the current small tank as a Q tank in the future anyway, so thought I'd try that approach and see if it improves. 

I don't know if this is improvement or worsening. But, in his fins right below his underside, you can now see through them pretty much. The light shows through. The color is gone. 

You'll also notice his head and upper body are white. When we got him he was all blue and red. 

The pictures are from the start of treatment (day 0, Sunday - you can see his fins under his belly were still blue then), Wednesday (day 3; a little light starting to show through in those fins on his underside) and today (day 6; light showing through in a much bigger area of those fins). Following the instructions and he hasn't been fed.

What complicated this, too, is that in preparing the new tank, I'd planned to take the substrate from existing to help establish BB. I did that, but then there was a problem with the new substrate (clay exploded in tank; had never worked with that and got bad advice) and I had to dump it and start over. So, all the plants are in the tank here with him, which I would think would help, but the tank also lost a bunch of its BB and is essentially cycling again, though not from an entirely cold start. However, the substrate removed has caused the pH to lower a bit (I didn't expect that) and the new plants and situation may also be increasing stress. So, maybe that's all this is? 

I've been keeping up on the Stability and Prime as if cycling a new tank and using the StressGuard to try to help, as it doesn't interfere with medications. For the 3-medicine treatment in a 2.5-gallon tank, I did what is recommended and mixed the medicines with 10 equal water parts (as designed for 10 gallons of water) and treated the tank with 2.5 units of that, so it is prorated appropriately for a 2.5-gallon tank. (The rest is in the fridge in a sealed cup still.) 

Water parameters:

Sunday, before a 30% water change and 3-medicine treatment administered: pH 7.4 (a bit lower than the 8.2 we usually have), ammonia 0.25 (a slight bump from our normal 0), nitrite: 0, nitrate 5 (a small bump from normal 0).

Thursday (day 4 of treatment): pH 8.0 (getting back to normal), ammonia 0.5-1.0 (not sure exactly, the color was more between the two than matching either), nitrite 0, nitrate 0 (yeah!).

I'm not sure what to do. Is this part of the process? Should I finish the treatment cycle as planned and go back to normal, or do something else? 

The new 20 gallon tank will be ready next week. Should I move him over then or keep him in the little tank until I know he's better? I could see the tank change potentially being stressful to him or it could actually help him do better in a larger space. Not sure there. Thoughts?

Is this just stress, or is something else going on?

His only tank mates are nerite snails he mostly ignores.

Thanks! 

Edited November 21, 2020 by MotorcycleBoy

[ange]

It sounds like you're doing the right thing already. Maracyn is definitely a good move for him. I'd suggest keeping him where you have him now and finishing a full course of Maracyn. The directions include 25% water changes each time it is re-dosed which also helps with water quality (one of the common triggers for fin rot). Just note that Maracyn can be hard on beneficial bacteria so it may take longer for the tank to cycle. This shouldn't be a huge concern as you are changing the water with each dosage, but it should be considered when you are reading parameters and see possibility of a stalled cycle.

I've used StressGuard in the past with bettas with mixed results. I still keep it at home because even if it doesn't always make a difference, it does seem to help in some cases where it's the only variable. If you find a need to simplify your routine I don't think it would be negative to abandon it.

[MotorcycleBoy]

Thanks. 

To clarify: this is the treatment I've followed (not being sure of what the cause/source is, it seemed reasonable). https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/faqs/how-to-use-quaratine-med-trio

Perhaps I should follow that with a cycle of just the Maracyn? If so, how long of a break in between? 

[ange]

The quarantine trio is intended for fish that are brand new but don't currently show any symptoms of disease. Your betta appears to have fin rot so the best course of action is to treat that illness before proceeding with the med trio. For the video link that I've posted, it's at a timestamp specific to active infections.

5 Quick and Easy Steps for Treating Fin Rot

WWW.AQUARIUMCOOP.COM

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What do you do if your fish’s fins and tail are looking ragged or discolored? It may be a bacterial disease called fin rot. This illness is simple enough to treat but can lead to other serious complications if left unchecked, so follow our...

 

[MotorcycleBoy]

OK. Well, since I am already on day 6 of the 3-medicine general quarantine treatment, I suppose I should wrap that up, do the 30 % water change, and then start a round of JUST the Maracyn? 

Should I give him a break in between, or just resume feeding and go straight into the instructions for the active treatment? 

At least I'll know everything else is knocked out. Thanks again for helping!

[FrozenFins]

11 minutes ago, MotorcycleBoy said:

OK. Well, since I am already on day 6 of the 3-medicine general quarantine treatment, I suppose I should wrap that up, do the 30 % water change, and then start a round of JUST the Maracyn? 

Should I give him a break in between, or just resume feeding and go straight into the instructions for the active treatment? 

At least I'll know everything else is knocked out. Thanks again for helping!

try using aquarium salt, do waterchanges every other day, feeding very little to keep the tank clean