Topic: Sick betta, fungus and fin rot..?

[WarszawaScream]

Hey guys; first post here.  Used to raise bettas some years ago, had 17 of them at one point - then I moved into an apartment with far less room... since then all my babies have grown up and passed on.

But a few months ago I fell in love with a pet store betta who had similar coloration to a Mustard Gas, and had to have him... thankfully bossman didn't object to having another betta in the office.  :3

And of course, first fish I've had in years and he's got to be the first one I've encountered who's come down with pain-in-the-butt health issues.  Last week I noticed he was developing a small case of fungus (one little patch on his head and another on his side); one of my coworkers gave me this "Pimafix" stuff to use that she'd used with her fish, Kampfstoff didn't seem to like it much at ALL (clamped his fins and hid under his plant at first, also refused food for a few hours), but after two days it did seem to be working.  Thursday was Christmas Eve and I knew I wouldn't be in for three days, so I did a water change and re-medicated, then said a prayer and went home.

Came in this morning and he seems MUCH more active, fungus has receded even more - but now there's a new issue; it looks like some fin rot's gotten a hold of him.  About 1/4 of his lower fin has been eaten away and some of the edges are red.  I remember having this issue with one of my fish years ago (consequently another gold-finned boy) but I honestly can't remember how it was resolved... and the fact that it's come around at the same time as the fungus problem is making me nervous. 

To add to this all - I'm not going to be at work for most of the rest of the week; taking a stay-local mini vacation.  Sure as heck not gonna leave my baby here if he's sick (no offense to my coworkers but I don't trust them to medicate him) so he'll be coming home with me.

SO GUYS, here's where you all come in - what should I treat with and how should I go about it, and what's the best way to prevent this from happening again?  I used to use Aquarium Salt and Aquarisol in all the boys's tanks but haven't been doing it with this guy, guess I need to go back to that!  But should I switch to a different medication in the meantime?  (Was thinking JFE and maybe some kind of antibitotic, but you're the experts here!)

Tank and fish specs:
-male betta, between 8 months - 1 year old, no prior health issues
-1 gallon tank, aquarium gravel, cloth plant (full water change once a week)
-Top Fin brand betta water conditioner
-Top Fin brand color enhancing betta bits (pellet food)
-Aquarium Pharmeceuticals PimaFix (~1/8 teaspoon per day)

[RinsMom]

Ok, most likely what you see as a "fungus" may actually be columnaris, which is a bacteria.... people see it as a fungus because it is white and cottony looking.

Since pimafix is advertised as an antifungal, it may not work against a bacterial problem.  I've not used pimafix, so I really can't comment on that.

Jungle Fungus Eliminator says it treats both fungus infections and bacterial infections.... the ingredients are:  sodium chloride, nitrofurazone, furazolidone and potassium dichromate.

Nitrofurazone is antibacterial against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, making it a wide spectrum antibiotic.  Furazolidone is also anti-bacterial, and anti-protozoal. 

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/303991/jungle_labs_fungus_eliminator_aquarium.html?cat=53

This link gives some information about it, also.

I don't have any Jungle Fungus Eliminator on hand, so I can't really check to see what the full  ingredient list is.

One thing you probably should do is change the water more frequently.  For 1 gallon, even for a single fish, more frequent water changes (100%) are advised.

Fin rot and columnaris are often indicative of poor water conditions.  We can't see the problems, but the ammonia in the fish waste builds up and weakens the fish, making them susceptible to infections.

For basic infections, I usually use JFE first, and then proceed to stronger ones if needed.  But usually, with fin rot, super clean water and JFE should do the trick.

[wendyjo]

OK there are a few things going on here.  First off you should test the tank for ammonia - a full water change once a week in a small 1 gallon container probably isn't sufficient and the betta is suffering from ammonia poisoning, which will weaken him and make him prone to all sorts of other problems.  So test the water and see what the test says - but with 1 betta in a 2.5g tank I was having to change the water at least once a week.  I'd suggest getting a larger container, but if you won't do that then you need to increase your water changes.

I'd go ahead and use the JFE - it IS an antibiotic so don't mix anything else with it.  Keep an eye on that "fungus" as well because it could be columnaris, which is actually bacterial in nature.

You should do some reading on the various betta care articles on this board - alot of useful info on tank maintenance, illnesses, etc. Good luck.

[WarszawaScream]

Thanks guys - I forgot ALL about columnaris, eesh (like I said, it's been some years since I was big into raising/breeding these guys and I unfortunately haven't retained every last thing that I knew then.)  I'll pick up some JFE this afternoon and start treating him with that, hopefully it helps... gonna move him to a sterile hospital tank in the meanwhile and sanitize the heck out of the one he's in now; for some reason I just have this feeling there's something amiss with it.  ... or something amiss with the water in my office building. 

In the past I'd always done once-a-week water changes without a problem but I'll start doing bi-weekly; better safe than sorry.  Tested the water this morning and didn't get any alarming readings, but it's only three days into the water change so who knows!

[wendyjo]

If there is any reading at all then it's time for a water change.

[roseduke]

I swear by Jungle Fungus Clear fizzy tablets. I would do  an immediate water change & then the 2 doses if things seem really bad. It works! better than any thing else I have tried.
  I use a digital scale to measure how much of a tablet I need.
  I clean my 2.5 gallon tanks (1.75 gallons water) every 5-6 days.
  Wash everything in the tank & the tank itself with just the hottest water you can stand (no soap!). I scrub all decorations with a clean toothbrush. If it feels slimy-wash it. Plants too-I clean them under cool water, stroking each leaf & even the roots. Plants have been my #1 cause of fungus problems.

http://www.junglelabs.com/pages/details.asp?item=TB631

Bettas are beautiful & a real pleasure, but they do need TLC.
Good Luck!

[WarszawaScream]

Update on Kampstoff (the sick male) - his condition hasn't improved since last post, BUT he hasn't worsesned either so I have hope.  JFE just didn't seem to do the trick; still has the fuzzies and his fins are slowly deteriorating again (they had stopped for about a week.)  Been doing daily tests on the water and I'm not getting any readings to suggest there's a water quality issue.  Also added some aquarium salt to the tank (1/2 teaspoon) with water changes, which he seems to enjoy.

Should I switch over to Maracyn and treat with that, or is there another preferred treatment?  (Or should I try a wide-spectrum antibiotic in case this *isn't* Columnaris?)  At this point he doesn't seem too down-and-out but he's definitely not 100%; I'm worried about stressing him out with different treatments but I'd rather he be stressed than dying or dead.

[hakkobetta]

You can try a broad spectrum antibiotic - that would help against any bacterial problems, and also help fin rot. The aquarium salt is a good idea as well.