However, take note that medication can be stressful to fishes. They filter the water through their gills so they are ingesting significant amount of the medicine. There are some instances that fin rot is accompanied by fungal infection.
Fin rot usually starts from the edges of the fins and tails. If the fin rot is rapidly spreading, meaning the fins and tails recede significantly within 24 hours, then it could be a columnaris infection. There are many identified causes of fin rot. Fin rot itself can be a disease or a symptom of a more serious health problem but the root cause of this disease starts from the environment. It could be caused by other fishes in the aquarium.
Because fin rot is a disease caused by gram-negative bacteria such as Vibrio, Pseudomonas and Aeromonas, it can be transmitted to other fishes through physical contact and infected aquarium water. In other cases, a fish nips the tail and fins of other healthy fishes. This can become infected and result to fin rot. An overcrowded aquarium risks the fishes to fin rot. Water quality becomes poor, pH fluctuates, and levels of nitrite and ammonia increases due to waste products.
Feeding your fish with outdated food or leaving large amounts of food floating the entire day can build a breeding ground for bacteria that causes fin rot. Stress also contributes to fin rot. Playing with your fish, handling and moving them to another aquarium improperly can stress your fish. Some fishes are territorial and dominant so their presence can stress other fishes in the tank. The most notable physical sign of fin rot is the presence of uneven white, fuzzy lining on the edges of fins and tails.
The fins and tail may turn more opaque or milky. They may appear inflamed or blood streaked. Soon, they would start to fray and appear ragged. The symptoms can vary based on how long the fish has been affected:.
If you cannot buy erythromycin in your country, try treating the fin rot with aquarium salt. Just be aware that this method generally takes longer to cure the infection. For more details, read our full article on how to treat fish diseases with salt. The medication may take several days to beat the infection, but some clear signs of recovery include:.
In the meanwhile, you can do several things to prevent fin rot from coming back. Other ways you can keep the water cleaner include not putting too many fish in one aquarium, not overfeeding them, and adding live plants to help absorb some of the fish waste. As mentioned before, continue to reduce any stress factors in the aquarium by maintaining the proper temperature with a heater, slowing the water current if needed, and removing any aggressive tankmates.
Finally, keep a close eye on your fish. Take heart! With proper treatment and prevention, fin rot is an easy sickness to beat, and most healthy fish have no problems making a full recovery. For information on how to treat other fish diseases, see our other articles here:. Shop Menu. You already know that the most common signs are fins that appear receding or rotten, but what other signs are there? If you catch fin rot in this stage then the chances of your betta making a full recovery look extremely good.
Common symptoms of mild fin rot are:. If your betta is suffering from major fin rot then you will need to act quickly. Major fin rot is going to weaken the immune system of your fish even more and make it more susceptible to other infections and diseases.
Major fin rot often has these symptoms:. Symptoms of body rot are:. Other less noticeable symptoms of fin rot include lethargy and loss of appetite as well. Check out this article on all the diseases and illnesses your betta can end up suffering from.
Treating fin rot in bettas is going to be easier the earlier you catch it. If your betta lives in a tank over 2 gallons or with anything else living including plants then you should quarantine it as soon as possible. It also causes less stress for your other fish who would otherwise have to deal with more water changes. However, if you do need to set up a quarantine then this is how to do it! The betta fin rot treatment that you plan on using will be dependent on the severity of the condition.
As well as this treatment may also depend on whether your betta is alone in a tank, or housed with other fish. You may have heard of using aquarium salt for fin rot before.
Especially for bettas! Some medications cause damage to a bettas labyrinth organ which it needs to breathe. However, just like all medications, it should be used only when necessary. And there are a few things you need to remember, such as:. You can get Aquarium Salt on Amazon for a good price! Often other popular medications that a lot of people recommend are bettafix or melafix.
They are both made from the same ingredients except bettafix is a more diluted version. However, bettafix and melafix should never be used on betta fish as they can cause damage to a bettas labyrinth organ. If your betta is suffering from mild fin rot, then it may not even be necessary to treat the fin rot directly. To do this follow the instructions below:.
If your betta is suffering from body rot then aquarium salt will no longer do the job. Now that you know how to treat fin rot in bettas the next step is identifying when symptoms are improving. But rather you should be monitoring your fish over time.
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