# Fin rot and Mardel's Maracyn



## Waldo183 (Jul 23, 2010)

Hello all!

So Thursday my fish decided it would be fun to jump out of the tank. Thankfully he is doing much better (eating, swimming, and flaring) and is acting like his old self. 

Now here's the problem, on Friday about 30-50% of his fins fell off, which we had expected. We have since been doing 30-50% water changes daily with the new water being conditioned with API stress coat and Aquasafe, and adding in aquarium salt. However, today another good chunk of his fins have turned red and look like they too will fall off soon. 

I, being the nervous fish owner, want to do everything I can to stop this asap so it doesn't get to his body. My boyfriend assures me as long as he's swimming and we keep doing what were doing it will stop. However, I'm still nervous about how much of his fins he's losing. I was contemplating getting Mardel's Maracyn, but I don't know anything about it. 

Please let me know if you've used it and how it worked, or if you have any other suggestions for a quick way to stop this fin rot progresson.

Thanks!


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## Adastra (Jun 18, 2010)

How do the fins appear? Are the edges jagged looking or shredded in appearance? Is there a dark crusty edge to them? Pictures would be great.

Could you tell me more about his home? What size is it, and is it filtered and heated? What was your water change schedule when you first noticed the problem?


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## Waldo183 (Jul 23, 2010)

He lives in a 5 gallon tank with a filter, heater, live plants, and two thermometers. Before the jump he was healthy and we changed his water once a week. Now since we've been trying to bring him back to health we've been changing 30-50% of his water every day. 

This is Kogi before the jump:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c105/fsuwakechick/kogi/IMG_4823.jpg

This was Kogi Friday the day after the jump, you can see some scale damage which has now healed:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c105/fsuwakechick/kogi/IMG_4886.jpg

This was Kogi's tail on Friday:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c105/fsuwakechick/kogi/IMG_4887.jpg

This is Kogi now:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c105/fsuwakechick/kogi/IMG_4894.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c105/fsuwakechick/kogi/IMG_4892.jpg


I hope this helps, and thanks for your help!


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## RandomFish (Jun 16, 2010)

Hi again! One of my bettas had a torn fin during shipment. Once I added the aquarium salt, the torn edges turned red and then the fins just grew from the red parts. So I don't think you need to worry about the redness; it's part of the regrowth and it'll pass. Just be sure to keep the water as impeccable as possible, keep him at a warm steady temp, and in a few months Kogi will have his fins back (hopefully they'll look as they originally did - they probably will if the water is from the same source).


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## Waldo183 (Jul 23, 2010)

Hello! Thanks for telling me about the redness I was really afraid that meant more was going to fall off again. My boyfriend will make the I told you so face when I tell him about this, but I'd rather be an overly cautious fish mommy than have him get any worse. 

Just for a little more info it's hard to see in the pictures but the red part is kind of see through and on his top fin there are holes and it's black along the edge.


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## RandomFish (Jun 16, 2010)

Waldo183 said:


> Hello! Thanks for telling me about the redness I was really afraid that meant more was going to fall off again. *My boyfriend will make the I told you so face* when I tell him about this, but I'd rather be an overly cautious fish mommy than have him get any worse.
> 
> Just for a little more info it's hard to see in the pictures but the red part is kind of see through and on his top fin there are holes and it's black along the edge.


[email protected] bolded part

Yeah, I totally freaked out too when I saw the red parts on my betta...I thought it was some kind of an infection so I Googled it and someone on another betta forum said it's where the new growth starts...and that's exactly what happened.

I also read that the black parts of the fins are like scabs. In other words, in the process of healing. So I think Kogi will be fine and you're being a great fish mommy.


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## Waldo183 (Jul 23, 2010)

Lol I'm glad you liked that I'm sure he's about ready to kill me and is questioning ever having children with me because of this incident.

Thank you again for all your help you're making me feel sooooo much better about Kogi!

p.s. we wound up taking your advice and we made him a top out of thick plastic, so no more escaping.


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## Adastra (Jun 18, 2010)

To me it looks like it could possibly be fin rot. The area is not overly jagged in a way that would suggest biting and the edge appears to be black and infected. It's true that when a fin sustains damage a bit of red inflammation is normal, but the black is typically a sign of infection--and given what you described, the tail itself would not have fallen off in this way if it weren't infected. 

This infection can be cured with clean water and a dose of aquarium salt, so there is no need to break out the maracyn unless he starts acting sick and lethargic. I suggest doing one 50% change a week and one 100% change (during this change scrub out everything with hot water). This will be more effective than a lot of smaller partial changes.


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## Waldo183 (Jul 23, 2010)

Thanks for the advice. Today the parts that were red are more see through but his fins aren't any smaller. As for lethargic that he is not, if anything he's more active and is bubble nesting like crazy so I won't use any meds unless he get worse. Again thanks for all the advice.


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## Waldo183 (Jul 23, 2010)

RandomFish said:


> [email protected] bolded part
> 
> Yeah, I totally freaked out too when I saw the red parts on my betta...I thought it was some kind of an infection so I Googled it and someone on another betta forum said it's where the new growth starts...and that's exactly what happened.
> 
> I also read that the black parts of the fins are like scabs. In other words, in the process of healing. So I think Kogi will be fine and you're being a great fish mommy.



I just wanted to say thanks again. Exactly what you said happened. Within the next couple of days the red part turned clear and have since grown into new fins. He's looking great and we're amazed at how fast his fins are growing back. :-D

I hope all your fish are doing well! Thanks!!!


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## BettaBoy84 (Jul 25, 2010)

How is your betta doing. I have bee in using aquarium salt, and oak leaves and have found the healing to be a lot quicker!

Your betta looks a lot like female however..


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## Waldo183 (Jul 23, 2010)

BettaBoy84 said:


> How is your betta doing. I have bee in using aquarium salt, and oak leaves and have found the healing to be a lot quicker!
> 
> Your betta looks a lot like female however..



He is doing a lot better and I'd say he's on his way to a full recovery... I've just been using aquarium salt and frequent water changes and making sure his water levels are good and his fins are growing back just fine... Not a female just one of petco's "King" bettas... Whatever that means?


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## JaspersANGEL (Oct 12, 2009)

king's are alot bigger than normal betta's, 3 to 4 inches long i think and chunkier i'd say, i have a king, well that is still to be determined *lol* Jet, and he's huge but dimwitted, he's so funny, all muscle but really no brain hahahaha.

anyway's king's are generally plakats from what i hear, so if u do look up jet u'll see he's a veil tail..ignore that, i dunno what he is..

but ur lil' guy really looks like a girl, maybe they just miss labeled her. i dunno if they have king females also..someone else could help u out there....

anyways glad ur fish is doing fine!


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