Elmo and the dissapearing tail...

[twoluvcats]

my betta Elmo, in my 2 gallon hex is losing his tail. I didn't really notice until i looked at an old picture of him and realized that the red part of his tail is missiing. Its about 1/3 to 1/2 gone. I think he might have torn it when I added the HOB filter and then it rolled over to tail rot (*i think!*) He's eating, moving etc all normal. I don't have my test kit with me today (he's at work), so I don't have water perameters, excluding that the ammonia is at 0. Testing last week showed all tests within normal perameters (ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5, ph 8) I clean the tank once a week and replace water due to evaporation every 2-3 days. I treat the water with Jungle's Bowl Buddies. The water is crystal clear, so I have a hard time beleiveing that this is a water quality issue, unless our water is just inherently bad for betta tails (and it may well be)

I've been reading up on it and there's a million ways to treat tail rot. How have those of you who have had to do it done it? I have BettaFix and FungusClear on hand. Getting ahold of anything else will take a bit...i'll either have to order it or drive 80 miles to find it.

 

[Purple]

If it's tail rot after an injury, you'd see a fuzzy outline to the rotting edge. Treat with anti-fungal. The fuzzy stuff should go quickly, and the tail may regenerate - but by how much remains to be seen...

 

[twoluvcats]

ok its not fuzzy at all...its red, but so was the part of the tail that's missing...its more like its just disintegrating.

 

[kikuchiyo]

Defintely fin rot (I know I'm still treating for it ;D).

Use some antifungus medicine (Jungle Fungus Elimantor or what I'm using Aquarium Product's Anti Fungus) and then use melafix to help heal him up.

Hope that helps!

 

[kikuchiyo]

The site looks kinda ameturish but its really helpful:

http://www.healthybetta.com/articles/Illness Diagonsis/finrot.html

Keep in mind fin rot can look different - like the red streaks you mentioned.

 

[twoluvcats]

Thanks kikuchiyo! I'll be bookmarking that link, good info...and they have instructions for mixing meds for small tanks WOOOO

Ok...today I'm bringing Elmo and his tank back to my house so I can keep an eye on him more. I'm going to take his tank apart today and clean it...should I just leave it bare (no plants n' substrate) until I'm done medicating him? How long should I treat him with the antifungal...until I see fin regrowth?

Melafix is Melaluca, right...so in theory, BettaFix is the same thing (aslo melaluca...tea tree oil)

What should I disinfect my net with?

 

[kikuchiyo]

I'd treat him with antifungal until you don't see anymore red streaks or disintegration. You might not see growth for a couple of days and you don't want to overdose meds, if you don't have to.

I believe bettafix is the same thing, but I'm not 100% sure.

At a buck or so a net, I'd just get seperate nets for everyone.

 

[twoluvcats]

ya, I will get nets for each tank...but i live in the middle of nowhere...so its not just a matter of dashing out to get one...I gather a list of fish stuff i need and then make a pilgrimage to the LFS 80 miles away. So in the interim if i *need* to use my net in another tank, i'll dose it with tea-tree oil before I do.

What about substrate and plants in the tank while i'm medicating? or should i just leave it bare?

 

[kikuchiyo]

Substrate and plants....live plants defintely need to be taken out (or rather the fish probably needs to be in a q-tank). For fake plants, I think the Anti-Fungus stained the base of my silk plants slightly green (not a huge deal, but still...), but I'm not sure yet as I'm still treating. Gravel's fine with most meds I think. If there's anything else alive and not sick I'd put the fish in a q-tank. If not, you might want to just treat him in the tank (I think); just becareful the meds don't stain stuff (if that matters).

 

[twoluvcats]

I just cleaned out his tank completley, and he's in a bare tank for meds...I had to drain the tank down to move it from the office to my home and i noticed there was some pretty nasty stuff in the gravel.

Today his fins look WAY WAY better. I'm not sure how much longer he'll need to stay in the anti-fungal. He had one spot of black where the fin was eaten away the most...that is completley gone. I think there might even be some fin-regrowth already. Would taking him out of the anti-fungal this afternoon be too soon? That would have been 24 hours in an anti-fungal bath.

 

[kikuchiyo]

I would follow the recommendation for one dosage, at least.

 

[twoluvcats]

ok...then i'll leave him there till sunday...that'll be 4 days, like the package says. I just don't want to overmedicate if i don't have to.