SUPER excited to introduce Bamboo!

[Kiwibird]

So yesterday I moved the tank (permanently) to a less active spot and did a 100% water change in the process. I added a bunch of the Indian Almond leaves in a filter bag (the water is the color of tea today!) and was pleasantly surprised to see his fins not looking as ragged this morning. I hope it is a positive sign he'll hold out until Tuesday when the (hopefully) proper medication arrives.

 

[Laurasea]

Aww... Hope he gets better. Are you sure you need heat? I kept mine with no heat, the warmer the water the faster the bacteria grow. I kept saltwater and freshwater tanks for years, and did away with all heaters, room temp was fine...Also when heaters go they first overheat leading to heat stress. Just a thought. Also when treating a bacterial infection , I've always lowered the temp.....but I haven't kept Bettas in years so maybe I'm wrong..looksike I am wrong , Bettas do need their heat, I was doing seahorses for so long guess I forgotten, Seahorses do much better between 65 and 75 , we were always having to encourage people to lower tank temps. Anyway I hope your guy makes it, such a beautiful tank.

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

I will say we have always kept beta with no heat as well. My daughter kept one for quite a while and we never used a heater and he didn't seem to be bothered at all.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Anansi]

Hi, April! So sorry I'm just seeing this. Fish rot is very dangerous and progresses swiftly as you have seen, progressing from the fins and eventually to the body. I've had lots of success in the past using Melafix to address the bacterial infection along with Pimafix to cover anything fungal that might develop while the fish are in a compromised/weakened state.

Both Melafix and Pimafix are natural/herbal brands (not antibiotics) that work extremely well, but you have to act fast. With fin rot you don't have much time. I'm hoping that Bamboo pulls through!

Oh! And best temp for betas is between 76 and 80 degrees. Below 68 and they get visibly more lethargic.

 

[EllenD]

I of course have a heater for both of my freshwater tanks (both hover around 78 degrees F), but for Beta's I've also never used a heater. Not ever. Same thing for Goldfish, you'll actually end-up cooking Goldfish, they HAVE to be in cold water...But I've not ever heard of keeping a Beta in a heated tank. I would assume that room-temperature water wouldn't drop below 68 degrees anyway, just based upon what I've seen in my freshwater tanks the few times my heaters have gone out. I guess it depends on the temperature of your house though, but you certainly don't want to overheat them, they aren't the same as other freshwater, tropical fish...

I actually had to tell Walmart this last year, I was looking at fish food there to see what they had, stopped to look at their fish, and their tropical fish were very well cared for, clean, and healthy looking...Then I looked at the bottom row of tanks, which are their Goldfish tanks, and there were multiple dead Goldfish in every tank (and they actually had some gorgeous Orandas and Fantails)...I looked at their stupid "strip" thermometer on the first tank (all their tanks in each row are heated by the same heater and filtered by the same filter, very, very bad practice anyway), and the temperature of all of their Goldfish tanks was 80 degrees!!! I went running for an employee, told them that all of their Goldfish were dying, and they could have cared less (employee in the fabric department), but she called someone to the fish department on her radio. This young kid showed-up and told me that the "fish guy" was off that day...I explained that Goldfish need to be in cold water with no heater, and they were slowly boiling their Goldfish...There were probably 20 dead Goldfish throughout the tanks already at that point, and the kid was like "Whoa, they're all dying!"...yeah, that's what I just told you nimrod...

 

[Kiwibird]

An update- This morning he still appears to be improving (or at least not getting worse). I may be mistaken, but I think he may even have a small amount of fresh skin growth on his tail/large bottom fin (not that sure on fish anatomy????). His top fin and smaller fins were not affected. Perhaps the mega dose of Indian Almond leaves has done something. The package suggested 10 for a 12 gallon and I put 10 in (a filter bag) in his 7.5 gallon. The water looks like tea but he looks better and his swimming is less....chaotic. I also moved him to a much quieter space and one where he can have darkness all night. Perhaps a couple nights of good sleep has done him well? He was just out in the office and we work all kinds of odd hours and he seemed to be disturbed by the lights.

Re: the heater- I did my fair share of research before buying a fish and every current source I could find said Bettas need heaters (and filters). His heater going out and me not noticing for probably a couple days is what appears to have prompted the illness. I do know some animals are cold water species, my newt is one of them and doesn't have a heater in his tank. The fish tank heater is set to 78 which seems a fairly standard recommended temperature for Bettas. .

Re: Medication- I actually had him on Bettafix which is a milder version of Melafix since the full strength can be too much for them. Poor guy was getting rapidly worse over a few days and reacted like he was in some kind of distress/massive discomfort when I would add each dose so I thought it best to discontinue. Guessing it wasn't the right medication for this infection. I was recommended kanaplex on a fish forum as a next step since milder/more natural treatments weren't working. Though fingers crossed the almond leaves continue helping and if I continue seeing improvements I may not dose the other medication but will keep it on hand in case the infection returns.

 

[Anansi]

Ellen, you're definitely right about goldfish. They are cold water fish and should not have a heater in their tanks. But Betas are not in the same ballpark by any means.

You're not in any danger of overheating a Beta until the water temperature approaches the mid 80's. At around 86, you'd be slowly cooking the Beta. And while a Beta can survive in temps like the low 70's, they would not thrive.

I kept a heater in my Beta tanks despite the fact that my home is usually kept at around 75 degrees. Would they have been okay without one? In my case, sure. I set the temp at around 78 for their optimum comfort, but if the heater failed I wasn't exactly running around in a panic. But many households keep their temps between 65 and 73F, and for those I would say a heater is much more important. Personally however, keeping their natural habitat in mind, I always endeavor to keep their temp around 78.

 

[Anansi]

An update- This morning he still appears to be improving (or at least not getting worse). I may be mistaken, but I think he may even have a small amount of fresh skin growth on his tail/large bottom fin (not that sure on fish anatomy????). His top fin and smaller fins were not affected. Perhaps the mega dose of Indian Almond leaves has done something. The package suggested 10 for a 12 gallon and I put 10 in (a filter bag) in his 7.5 gallon. The water looks like tea but he looks better and his swimming is less....chaotic. I also moved him to a much quieter space and one where he can have darkness all night. Perhaps a couple nights of good sleep has done him well? He was just out in the office and we work all kinds of odd hours and he seemed to be disturbed by the lights.

Re: the heater- I did my fair share of research before buying a fish and every current source I could find said Bettas need heaters (and filters). His heater going out and me not noticing for probably a couple days is what appears to have prompted the illness. I do know some animals are cold water species, my newt is one of them and doesn't have a heater in his tank. The fish tank heater is set to 78 which seems a fairly standard recommended temperature for Bettas. .

Re: Medication- I actually had him on Bettafix which is a milder version of Melafix since the full strength can be too much for them. Poor guy was getting rapidly worse over a few days and reacted like he was in some kind of distress/massive discomfort when I would add each dose so I thought it best to discontinue. Guessing it wasn't the right medication for this infection. I was recommended kanaplex on a fish forum as a next step since milder/more natural treatments weren't working. Though fingers crossed the almond leaves continue helping and if I continue seeing improvements I may not dose the other medication but will keep it on hand in case the infection returns.

Typed my prior reply prior to seeing your update, April. Great to see there appears to be some improvement! As for Melafix being too much for Bettas, I disagree. I've used it over the years with them, especially when helping friends who thought they were about to lose theirs, and to great success.

Buuuuuuuut... you do have to be extremely careful about the dose. Which means doing the careful math when the size of your tank doesn't neatly match up with the dosage examples given on the label. Going a little heavy can definitely cause them distress... and some can be a bit more sensitive to a suggested dosage than others. (Btw, discontinuing the Bettafix when you did was a really good move). So if you do find that you need to try Melafix in the future, just tend toward the lighter side when dosing.

Also, frequent water changes are essential at this point. They'll make a huge difference for him in fighting this thing. Keep in mind that the infection may merely have slowed rather than stopped. So keep a close eye on those fins.

Oh, and one other thing. Fin rot can be either bacterial or fungal. Bacterial tends to be more ragged, while the fungal is less so and sometimes has a white delineating edge. (This is why I usually hit with Melafix AND Pimafix, as one is a bacterial remedy and the other is a fungal remedy.)

 

[Kiwibird]

Here is the poor little guy currently. I should have taken photos everyday but I didn't. This is his fin and tail right now and there is marked improvement. Near the ends, I see what appears to be small thin patches of skin growing back. Earlier in the week, they were like threads dangling off him as though his tail and fins went through a shredder. From my best understanding of fin rot, I'm almost certain it's fungal because at its peak on about Tuesday, I saw near microscopic fuzzy white stuff on the edges.

I also want to note, after this started I removed all the fake plants and put in 4 real ones. I don't think the fake ones (made for Bettas) were tearing his fins of tail but I wanted to be safe and figured live plants would be better anyways. And while he seemed not to mind his filter, I baffled the flow after the fin rot started and put a piece of filter pad over the intake just in case that had done something to his fins.

 

[RavensGryf]

April, I’m glad to see that he doesn’t look nearly as bad as I first imagined! With the right medication and water conditions, he’ll recover .

 

[Kiwibird]

April, I’m glad to see that he doesn’t look nearly as bad as I first imagined! With the right medication and water conditions, he’ll recover .

It may be that I'm so new to fish so just newbie panic, but it seemed really bad to me! He went from a lightly ragged edges of his tail to it half gone in less than 48 hours and his fin started to go too. He was also swimming erratically, like he was in some kind of major discomfort (which I imagine he was/is!). Anyways, he does look to be doing better and I really hope he is! I would feel awful if he died of some horrible flesh eating disease within weeks of me getting him

 

[Anansi]

Looks like you halted/slowed the progression early! Nice, April! And yeah, if you saw the white, then it is almost certainly fungal.

 

[Billdore]

Just found Bamboo I hope he keeps doing better. I love Bettas they are so awesome. Even with my saltwater tanks I love to keep em. The size and ease of the tanks makes em perfect for my bedroom. I really like Betty basics by seachem for mixing my water up. I bought a female Betta a couple years ago thinking she might be sick or pregnant, but she may actually just be obese. I try hard not to over feed her she seems happy but boy is she chubby. I like to do small water changes so I leave plenty of beneficial bacteria in there. I also have used bettafix with her to try and spruce her up but I think this is kind of just the way she is.

 

[Laurasea]

Here is the poor little guy currently. I should have taken photos everyday but I didn't. This is his fin and tail right now and there is marked improvement. Near the ends, I see what appears to be small thin patches of skin growing back. Earlier in the week, they were like threads dangling off him as though his tail and fins went through a shredder. From my best understanding of fin rot, I'm almost certain it's fungal because at its peak on about Tuesday, I saw near microscopic fuzzy white stuff on the edges.

I also want to note, after this started I removed all the fake plants and put in 4 real ones. I don't think the fake ones (made for Bettas) were tearing his fins of tail but I wanted to be safe and figured live plants would be better anyways. And while he seemed not to mind his filter, I baffled the flow after the fin rot started and put a piece of filter pad over the intake just in case that had done something to his fins.

That picture is awesome! He's looking right at you, looking peeved! Like don't take pictures unless I'm at my full glory! I hope he keeps getting better.

 

[Kiwibird]

Just found Bamboo I hope he keeps doing better. I love Bettas they are so awesome. Even with my saltwater tanks I love to keep em. The size and ease of the tanks makes em perfect for my bedroom. I really like Betty basics by seachem for mixing my water up. I bought a female Betta a couple years ago thinking she might be sick or pregnant, but she may actually just be obese. I try hard not to over feed her she seems happy but boy is she chubby. I like to do small water changes so I leave plenty of beneficial bacteria in there. I also have used bettafix with her to try and spruce her up but I think this is kind of just the way she is.

As long as she's healthy and lives a full life right?

That picture is awesome! He's looking right at you, looking peeved! Like don't take pictures unless I'm at my full glory! I hope he keeps getting better.

Don't want to anthropomorphize too many feelings on a fish, but it is very clear he has not been the happiest of fish. I imagine he's suffering discomfort of some kind. Will see if he continues looking like a grumpy fish after he's healed!

 

[Kiwibird]

Mor positive signs this morning. His fins and tail continue to look better but he is also not just swimming as frantically this morning and is actually 'patrolling' around the largest plant in the tank and built a bubble nest. Basically, behaving more like I'd expect a healthy fish to behave based on my research.

Once he is fully recovered (hopefully by later this month) I plan to see how he takes to a couple shrimp in his tank. Just a couple to start in case he decides they're snacks I also need to figure out what to do with these plants. They seem to be doing well but I know eventually I'll need to fertilize them. Looking at Seachem flourish for that? The LED light on the tank is good for planted aquariums up to 20 gallons. It's so bright on my small tank I actually created a diffuser for the tank cover!

 

[Kiwibird]

Well unfortunately after several days of apparent recovery with just water changes and Indian Almond leaves, this morning his tail went from looking like it was making real progress to holes and looking shredded again within hours I decided to dose him with the Kanaplex since the infection seems to keep recurring after a period of regrowth. Hopefully, this will treat it once and for all!.

 

[Laurasea]

Just found Bamboo I hope he keeps doing better. I love Bettas they are so awesome. Even with my saltwater tanks I love to keep em. The size and ease of the tanks makes em perfect for my bedroom. I really like Betty basics by seachem for mixing my water up. I bought a female Betta a couple years ago thinking she might be sick or pregnant, but she may actually just be obese. I try hard not to over feed her she seems happy but boy is she chubby. I like to do small water changes so I leave plenty of beneficial bacteria in there. I also have used bettafix with her to try and spruce her up but I think this is kind of just the way she is.

As long as she's healthy and lives a full life right?

That picture is awesome! He's looking right at you, looking peeved! Like don't take pictures unless I'm at my full glory! I hope he keeps getting better.

Don't want to anthropomorphize too many feelings on a fish, but it is very clear he has not been the happiest of fish. I imagine he's suffering discomfort of some kind. Will see if he continues looking like a grumpy fish after he's healed!

Science has now accepted the validity of animal ( I'm including fish) emotions, and personality.

 

[Kiwibird]

Just an update, after dosing with Kanaplex, Bamboo seems to be fully over his fin rot and his tail and fins are close to back to normal. Seems it indeed must have been some kind of fungal infection. He's also back to swimming around normally and not like he's in distress. Because it did scare me a bit, his tank is going to permanently remain a 'blackwater' tank, although I've been adding the leaves to a filter bag VS letting them decompose at the bottom. I've been reading more about the benefits of tannins in the water for fish and shrimp and hope that it'll work as a preventative from further infections (that and not having the heater break in the middle of winter again).

Thus far, he's remained the same color as when purchased so I'm pretty pleased about that as I like his peachy color and was really hoping it was how he was suppose to be and not him being pale due to stress or illness

In other news, as he's almost 100% again, later in the week I'll be introducing some new tankmates- amano shrimp. I'm going to put 3 in the tank, that way if he eats and/or doesn't like them, it's not a big deal (Mr. Newt would eat them if they stress him out or something). I think they'll be a nice compliment in the tank and add some additional movement.

 

[SailBoat]

So sorry that I had missed this. Not that I could be of any help since my knowledge of fish is little more than driving a boat. Very happy that Bamboo is doing so much better.