Hi - my male VT, Charlie Parker is recovering from finrot. Yesterday i noticed that the edges of his fins that had been rotted, are now edged with white. Does this mean regrowth or fungus? I don't know whether to medicate or relax finally. Does anyone know?
Thank You!

Dana.

Is it white or clearish white? If its white white then it sounds like a secondary infection but if its clearish white then its fin regrowth.

Hi Dana, do you still have the tank salted at all? Sometimes low dose salt can help to prevent secondary problems while it's healing up. The other thing is to make sure the water quality is perfect and nitrAtes are as low as possible (if you have a cycled filter that is). It sounds like Charlie Parker is doing better anyway

When my betta was recovring from finrot he had whitish edges to his fins. In the light you could see that these bits were actually partly transparent and much much thinner that the rest of his fins. These bits have now turned to red (He's red) and are looking nearly as good as the rest of his fins.

I would put some salt back in the water as Mr. Bumblebee suggested. It could not hurt to do a 7 day course of bettafix if you can get a hold of some.( sold at petco) I think my betta had velvet and the beginning of fin rot and I did the salt and the bettafix and he healed up.

Hi Guys! Thanks so much for all your replies!

Sushi - it's kinda clearish, so i'm hoping that it's new fin growth! When i first got him, the edges of his fins were kind of ruffly, and then with the finrot, they became all shreddy looking with holes. Now they're going back to ruffly looking. Much nicer looking!

Mr B - yes i've kept the tank salted ever since the course of maracyn 1 & 2 that i administered to him way back a month ago. I've also been changing the water every other day, and using Prime, to keep it as pristine as possible.

Bettafix sounds like a good idea, i keep maracyn 1& 2, and maroxy on hand at all times, but i think i'll expand my first aid kit to include the bettafix.

Here are a couple of pictures to show how it looks. Do you all think that i should just continue on with frequent waterchanges and salt, or should i try a course of bettafix now - providing that i find it?

Please let me know what you think! Thanks so much!
Dana.


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sory, i don't know what's going on with the picture links. Grrr. i'll keep on trying. D.

Ok, i think this will work!














Thanks Guys!

Looks like fin regrowth to me!

Yeah, it looks like regrowth to me too



That's a tricky one, as you could do either.

Personally, I would just continue with water changes and and salt, aiming to reduce or gradually phase the salt out over time. Regrowth can take a very long time and be aware that it may not be quite as good as it was before. How much salt do you have in there still?

Others have had success with Bettafix/Melafix in treating finrot and promoting regrowth. The antibacterial action of it sometimes speeds things up a bit. If you wanted to use this, you can use Melafix instead of Bettafix as I gather they are essentially the same thing only Melafix is a lot more concentrated and you have to be very careful about dosing it with Bettas as they can be very sensitive to it. I think there is something pinned about it at the top of the page. Otherwise, many people opt for Bettafix as the dosing is thought to be easier and safer for bettas.

Personally, I would say continue as you are for now with good water, stable temperatures, good nutrition and gradually phase the salt out if you want to. Although, of course Bettafix or similar is an option too if he seems to stop improving. Good luck with him!

Hooray! Thanks for reassuring me about the re-growth! I feel much better knowing that! Although, it makes me sad to think that his fins may never be as beautiful as they once were. Thanks for all the great info on the mela/bettafix - i think that i'll keep up with the waterchanges and salt for now - since it seems to be working, and try out the medications when improvement seems to slow down or stop. How hard is melafix on your cycle? I'd be hesitant to use it, if it crashed my cycle completely.

Mr B - I am still using a concentration of 1 tsp salt /gallon. Charlie Parker is in a 5 gallon tank. He seems to tolerate the salt very well. I'm afraid to phase it out, since he seems to do well when it's in there. The bettatalk site says to always add it to the water, but some members here feel that it's not so good. Also reccomended is aquarisol? I've never heard of it, but maybe i should look into that as well?

Thanks again for taking a look at Mr Parker, i appreciate your help!

Dana.

Hi Dana, Melafix is not too bad on a cycle generally, I've not experienced any big problems with it anyway. The biggest problem I've experienced with it is the greasy residue it seems to leave behind for a long time no matter how hard you clean things or change the water. As for the salt, if he's doing well with the 0.1% then you can keep him at that for quite a long time if you wanted too while he's recovering.

I know that some betta keepers recommend keeping tanks low dose salted all of the time - you can do that if you want to (0.05-01%). Personally, like many others, I've come around to the thinking that it can be better used and more effective only when it's needed. Others believe some salt in a bettas water can help prevent problems at all times. I think the most important factor is maintaining good water quality. Keep us updated on Charlie Parker's progress

Thanks Mr B! I'll keep you all up to date on Charlie Parker's progress!
Dana.

Congrats to you Dana! Looks like he is doing great. Pretty fish too...looks like one of my boys.

Thanks for the nice compliment Goldyfan! Although he was much more beautiful when i first got him - before the raggedy fins started. I've done everything i possibly can to reduce his stress level, t he still goes charging around and flaring at every little thing he sees! He never seems to relax. Maybe it's just his nature, but i really wish he's just chill out so he could rest and heal. It's ok - you can call me on overprotective fish mommy, i don't mind -it's true!

Dana.