# My betta fish with fin rot has not responded to Erythromycin treatment. Please help!



## kayladc (Jan 15, 2014)

What size is your tank? – 10 GALLON.
What temperature is your tank? – 80 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT
Does your tank have a filter? – YES.
Is your tank heated? – YES.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? – NONE.
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? – OMEGA PELLETS.
How often do you feed your betta fish? – 3 PELLETS TOTAL PER DAY. ONE FOR BREAKFAST, ONE FOR LUNCH, AND ONE FOR SUPPER.
How often do you perform a water change? – ONCE A WEEK.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? – 35%.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? – AQUASAFE PLUS WITH MY TAP WATER, AND AQUARIUM SALT.
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? – YES.
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5ppm
pH: 7.6
Hardness: N/A
Alkalinity: N/A (how would I test for these two parameters?)

Symptoms and Treatment:
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? – His pelvic (or “chin fins”, as I call them) have changed from dark blue to blood red. His dorsal (top) fin has become ragged. His caudal and anal fins (back and bottom) are looking paler/thinner and have the white moss/cotton film on the tips.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? – He seems pretty normal, but I think that’s only because he’s had fin rot since I got him.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? – About three weeks ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? – YES. I used warm water and aquarium salt for a while, but that didn't work. I have now treated him with A.P.I.'s EM Erythromycin for eight days (two full treatment cycles) and he does not seem any better.
How old is your fish (approximately)? – I got him from a pet store about a month ago.


So, Midnight has not gotten better with Aquarium Salt or with Erythromycin. I am really worried about him. WHAT TREATMENT SHOULD I TRY NOW? I don't want to overload him with medications, but the Erythromycin has not made him better.
Please help. Thank you.


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## Taeanna (Apr 2, 2013)

Do you mind if we can get a picture of him? it is easier to diagnose if we can get a visual of the problem.


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## kayladc (Jan 15, 2014)

*Pictures of Midnight*

If you look in the first picture, you can see the whiteish film on the tips of his fins.
The next picture shows his torn/ragged top fin.
The next three just show you his overall body health. His head and parts of his fins have been getting more and more red.


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## LittleBlueFishlets (Nov 10, 2012)

Most aquatic bacterial illnesses are due to gram negative bacteria.... Erythromycin only treats gram positive bacteria though, so it's not effective against many diseases.

Are you still using the Aquarium salt? If so: how much Aquarium salt did you add? (Ie: How many teaspoons/tablespoons?) How long have you been using it? 

You said that his caudal and anal fins have white "moss/cotton" on them. What about his dorsal fin? To me, it looks similar to his caudal fin in the photo.

White cotton-like growth can indicate Columnaris. This is a gram-negative bacterial infection. The bacteria that causes it is often found in aquariums. It can take hold when the fish is stressed (such as by being transported to/from the store, put in a new tank, etc.)

To treat Columnaris, I recommend using a furan medication. Here are three that contain this:
- API Furan 2 
- Hikari Bifuran
- Jungle Fungus Clear


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## kayladc (Jan 15, 2014)

I have been referring to the API box and putting one tablespoon of aquarium salt into every 5 gallons of the tank, so two tablespoons for my 10 gallon tank. And every time I do a water change, I add more salt. So, if I do a 25% water change, I put in one half of a tablespoon of aquarium salt.
I have been using aquarium salt for the past few weeks.

The white film is only on the tips of his back fins.
I think what you're referring to, when saying that all his fins look the same, isn't the white film I'm talking about.
All of his fins are looking thin and kind of thin "soft". I don't know how else to describe it.


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## LittleBlueFishlets (Nov 10, 2012)

I would stop using Aquarium salt. Bettas are fresh water fish, and are sensitive to salt. If you're using tap water, it should have enough salt for him. Adding more will place stress on his kidneys (which need to eliminate the sodium from his body).

Since you've used Erythromycin for eight days, I would stop using that too.

Give him a chance to recover from the salt and medication. Then, if the film doesn't go away on its own, or starts to worsen once the salt and meds are discontinued, I would try a gram negative or broad spectrum antibiotic. Here are a few to consider:
- API Furan 2, or Hikari Bifuran, or Jungle Fungus Clear - all three treat gram negative bacterial infections, which are often responsible for fin issues.
- API Triple Sulfa, or Mardel Maracyn Plus (must be PLUS) - contain sulfa drugs, which work against a variety of bacterial infections.


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