# I got aquarium salt and Melafix...now what?



## danifacetastic (Nov 11, 2010)

So one of my boys in my 10 gallon divided three ways is biting his tail (I think). You can see pictures in my other posts. I bought aquarium salt and melafix today and don't know what to do. Do I just add it in the water in the tank or do I need to do a water change and add the stuff in the water BEFORE I put it in the tank. Will this be okay for my other fish or do I need to quarintine this one? It's not fin rot but I'm trying to get his tail to grow back. So what should I do?


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

Personally, I wouldn't use melafix. It's much more concentrated then Bettafix and I've read that it can damage the labyrinthe organ on bettas.

For the Aquarium salt, let the whole first dose (I think it's two tbsp for 10 gallons?) dissolve in dechlorinated water before adding it to the tank. The crystals can damage your betta. When you do water changes, just add in as much as you've taken out per gallon. So if you take out a gallon and you've been using half a teaspoon per gallon, just dissolve a half teaspoon in the new gallon of water before adding it.

You COULD quarantine him. It might make treating him easier. Then again, if he's a biter, a big change could just cause more biting. It's tricky with tail biters. It's really your call.


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## danifacetastic (Nov 11, 2010)

So should I return the Melafix? Should the aquarium salt alone help? I've never noticed him biting before. I noticed a month or so after I got him that the ends of his tail were a little frayed but now it's like half his tail is gone. His other fins are fine. If I'm just using aquarium salt I could just leave him in my divided tank?


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Treatment for tail bitters can be tricky and unless you can find what is triggering that behavior all you can do is prevent any secondary infection

The best treatment in my opinion/experience for preventing of secondary infection is......fresh, clean, dechlorinated water from lots of water changes

To prevent secondary infection in the 10gal I would start by making 50% daily water only changes with gravel vacuuming every 7 days for the next 10 days and then twice weekly water changes 1-50% water only and 1-50% with vacuuming-this is based on a filtered tank...

Also, if this is a filtered tank-what kind of filter and water movement is going on in the tank....sometimes, not always, the filter can be part of the problem
If this is a HOB type filter what side is the intake....you can always try switching sides with the other fish and see if this makes a difference.

Salt treatment or any treatment- is best carried out while the fish is in QT so that proper dosage and duration can be given so to prevent any problems related to the salt/treatment...part of treatment is also close observation


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## danifacetastic (Nov 11, 2010)

I am using a HOB filter and the intake is in the center, where the tail biter is. The only other tank I have is a one gallon that I could put the fish in. Which do you recommend? Should I start by making all the water changes or should I start by quarantining him and using salt?


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

This depends...is his fins infected or not...if not, I would move him to a different section of the divided tank so that the filter intake or overflow is not in his section and make the water changes I described above

If his fins are infected I would QT and start aquarium salt 1tsp/gal along with 100% daily water changes for 10 days...if you have any IAL or naturally dried native oak leaf I would use them as well for the tannins-I like to steep them in my pre-mixed salt water until the water is a nice amber color-by pre-mixing your salt 1tsp/gal in a 1gal jug this will make correct dosage and water changes easier too.
I like to maintain a water temp in the 76-78F range when I treat.

If you Qt-I would still make some extra water only changes on the 10gal- especially if his fins are infected-this will decrease the bad bacteria numbers in the 10gal to prevent any issues with the other two and be careful with the water temp...you really want to try and keep it under 80F to prevent other health related problems from high bacteria-they love warm water.......

I would also give my filter media a rinse/swish in old tank water with a water change to maintain the water flow and the good bacteria.


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## danifacetastic (Nov 11, 2010)

I don't think they're infected. I made an earlier post entitiled "Something wrong with fish's tail" that has pictures of the before and after. See what you think.


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