I have a betta with a tail rot. What do I do?

Answer 1

flush it

Answer 2

Oh, for god's sake people, this betta will not die from fin rot if you treat him properly. Fin rot is primarily caused by dirty water (I.E.- you didn't change his water often enough). It is not overtly contagious, but it's likely that your other fish may get it if they're also swimming around in dirty water.

If he's not already alone, seperate him and put him in a hospital tank. Do a 100% water change to get rid of the nastiness that caused it. Boil tank decorations to kill germs. The best treatment you can give him is tetracycline (or "Triple Sulfa") used in conjunction with a fungus eliminator. Follow the directions on the package to give him the proper dosage.

Continue treating until you see the rotted parts receeding and you see whitish/clear new growth. Maybe add a litttle melafix at this point to help the healing/regrowth process. His fins WILL grow back. This whole process may take a few weeks or even a month.

To prevent this from happening again, make sure your betta is in a reasonably sized tank. 2 gallons or more is an ideal size to do water changes once weekly (or less if you have an even bigger tank!). If you tank is only a gallon, you need to change the water twice weekly, and if it's half a gallon or less, 3 to 4 times weekly. This is the only way to keep the ammonia levels down. Otherwise your fish is very vunerable to illness. Also as a preventative measure, add a little aquarium salt (PLEASE NO TABLE SALT) to the water when you change it. The dosage is about 1/2 a teaspoon per gallon. The salt will naturally keep nasty fungi and bacteria away.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

1st of all do you have him in a tank with other fish? IF So remove him to a smaller bowl or vase or something for treatments and to be alone.

uGENERAL INFO:

This disease comes mainly from dirty water. If you keep his water VERY clean Mr. Betta will never get tail/fin rot. It is not overly contagious, and bettas will more than likely recover if treated promptly. Fins/tail will grow back, though may not have same color or may not look as good or be as long.



frayed fins and a darker edge are clear signs of fin rot

uSYMPTOMS:

Betta’s fins and/or tail seem to be getting shorter and shorter. Or they seem to be falling apart and dissolving. There may be a darker color (or a reddish one) to the edge of the betta’s fins/tail. He may be still active and eating normally, or may have stopped eating, fins may be clumped, color may be pale.
uTREATMENT:

Do a full jar water change. Use tetracycline or Triple Sulfa (included in our Betta First Aid Kit) combined with Fungus Eliminator (included in our Betta First Aid Kit). Change water every third day and add a new dose of same medication. Continue until fins/tail stop receding and start showing some new growth. This may take up to 4 weeks, so don’t give up. Once rot stops and fins start growing back you can stop treatment, but not before then.
Note: If the rot is very slight or mild, you could use Maracyn I and Maracyn II (together at half the dose each) by Mardel. These med can help but are not very powerful. They come in hard tablet which is a real pain to administer. You'll have to crush them into a powder before you can administer to a betta in a bowl. A tablet treats 10 gal of water, so you do the math. Do not overmedicate! If you are caught by surprise and do not have a First Aid Betta Kit (naughty naughty), then you can run to a local Petco or something and probably find the Maracyn I & II and at least try that. My advice though? Be ready! Get your Betta First Aid Kit now so you have the real powerful stuff at hand and are ready when the you-know-what hits the fan!
GO TO THIS SITE TODAY AND GET REAL HELP!

Answer 4

when i first began keeping bettas, they always got fin/tail rots that never responded to meds. it's especially hard because you don't always even know which meds to use. it could be fungal or bacterial. *to prove this, you'll see that tsakini's post says it's bacterial but recommends a fungus treatment, and both samuella and bettalover suggest treating for both bacterial (w/ tetracycline) and fungus.*
people fail to understand that pumping your fish with multiple meds because you don't know what the cause is, is unhealthy for your fish in the long run. people who overmedicate make me crazy, and stupid breeders are encouraging it on their websites (sure, they have a zillion fish. why should they care if a few don't respond to treatment and die.)

since i started doing salt baths instead of meds (years ago) i have not lost a single fish to fin rot. i swear by them. also it's cheaper than buying meds all the time (less than $2/pound of salt at any pet store) and if you keep them up once the fish begins healing, they actually heal faster.

********
Salt Bath:
1 tablespoon aquarium salt / gallon
at the same temperature of the water your fish is usually in
i do 15-20 min twice a day, but you can vary it (like less once your fish is doing better)
********

also:
clean water is important but clean water alone rarely leads to a full recovery. a full time salt concentration of 1 tablespoon / 5 gallons is a useful stress reducer that i use in all my tanks. it doesn't prevent rot but it will reduce how often it occurs.

Answer 5

I have a betta too! But here's info about tail rot and medicaiton.

CAUSES:
Fin and Tail Rot is a common problem betta owners face. It is most often caused by dirty water. If the water is left unchanged, their own feces and uneaten food particles begin to break down, causing bettas to become stressed and more susceptible to the bacteria naturally present in their tanks that causes fin rot. The best measure against this is to always keep your tanks clean. A betta that has recently been under a high period of stress, may also develop this illness. Sometimes regardless of how well a betta's tank is maintained, the illness still strikes for unknown reasons.

DIAGNOSIS:

Early detection of the illness is the best to try and prevent further fin damage. First know that clear or whitish tips on your betta's fins and tail is fin re-growth, which is a very good thing. If your betta has dark brown/black tips, holes, or tears in his fins that appear to be getting worse, they most likely have fin and tail rot.

In a worst case scenario, the fins and/or tail could be falling apart, shredding, or be completely missing.

TREATMENT:
The first thing to do is a complete water change. Make sure you wash everything with hot water (no soap).

Medication(s):

Fin and Tail Rot is a bacterial illness, so you will want to make sure your medication is intended for this purpose.

One medication that is often used is Jungle Fungus Eliminator. For 1 gallon of water, use 1/4 teaspoon. For 2 gallons, 1/2 teaspoon and so forth. Treat the tank for 4 days then do a complete water change. If fin rot is still present, repeat dosage.

Other common medications that have been successfully used are Tetracycline, Maracyn and Maracyn-Two combined together, along with sulfa-containing medications.

The use of aquarium salt:

Optional: Adding aquarium salt (or a bit extra if you already use it as a preventative) to a betta's tank when they have fin rot may also speed up the healing process. The usual dosage for preventative measures is 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of water; and up to 1 teaspoon per gallon for ill fish.

ONCE HEALING HAS BEGUN:

It is important to know that once you begin to see whitish/light colored re-growth on your betta's fins, it is very delicate. The slightest negative change in water conditions could cause the fin rot to return or the fins to shred. Continuing with prompt water changes will help in the healing process. Some may recommend treating with Melafix or Bettafix once the fin rot has been halted to promote faster fin re-growth. The dosage for Melafix is 10 drops per gallon of water and Bettafix is 1/2 teaspoon per gallon.

Additional procedures:

Fin and Tail Rot is known to be contagious between fish. Always use separate nets for different tanks and wash your hands before and after handling fish or tank materials.

Clean water is always important for a betta, but is especially beneficial for any betta facing an illness. You may find it helpful to change your betta's water more frequently while you are treating with any medication.

Always keeping your betta warm, between 76-82 degrees, will also help them to feel more comfortable and raise their immune system.

Hope it helps! ^-^

Answer 6

Clean tank as normal (10 % water change)
More than 10 % if real dirty.
No more than 50 % water change !!!).
Then treat fish with Meta-fix.

After a week do another 10 % water change, if not better another week of Meta-fix, should do the trick (then 1 more water change).

Change fish filter once a month.
Do water changes twice a month and always after a week of medicine.

Answer 7

Usually bettas get fin rot when their water is not clean. Do your 25-30% water changes every week on his tank and medicate him with a good medicine from the fish store. Mela-fix is good.

Answer 8

go to the pet store they have medicine you can put in your tank for tail rot.

Answer 9

Treat it for fin rot.

Answer 10

I treat my bettas with a fin rot treatment, you can find it at your local pet store.

Answer 11

you can get this at any fish store
Mardel (maracyn plus antibacteria)
hope this helps your betta keep him in a clean tank and away from other fish.