# Female betta with NO FINS!!



## rich e rich (Sep 7, 2012)

Hey everybody,

I stopped by the pet store to pick up two bettas when I saw a female with NO Fins! Not even the fins at the side.

I uploaded a picture, not sure how it will be seen.

So the story is they got the fish yesterday in a batch of bettas, and this one was bad. I told them I'll take care of it.

They told me it ate this morning, but I put food for it, and it didn't eat. There's nothing in the water, I just changed it.

I'm going to put methalene blue in. Please advise on how to use salt

Can I have advice please?

This can be our project


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## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

If she lost her fins due to fin rot, warm clean water is the best thing you can do for her. A little AQ salt may help too.


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## rich e rich (Sep 7, 2012)

How exactly to use the salt: dosage, how long to leave the salt in etc


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## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

I usually start with 1 tsp per gallon, gradually increase over several days to 3 tsp. I try not to use salt for very long, say a week or two because any longer could hurt her.


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

if you can get some, Indian Almond Leaves, or even naturally dried oak leaves will help, as well. poor gal. :I wonder how in the world she got shipped like that. best of luck with her. :U


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## rich e rich (Sep 7, 2012)

How long to leave in the salt?

Also, she is not eating

If she doesn't eat, then death will be inevitable. How can I get her to eat?


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

they can last a long while without eating. but, food high in protein will help out a lot. can you get frozen bloodworms? if not, try getting fresh garlic, chopping it up, smashing it, and soaking pellets in the juice. the smell often gets bettas who won't eat, to eat.


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

I'd say no longer then 10 days with the salt treatment. Afterwards, be sure to acclimate her back into the fresh water slowly so she doesn't go into shock.

Have you posted anything on the Diseases and Emergencies section yet? Posting a thread there with the information on this sticky: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49233 will really help anyone who wants to assist you in healing this poor little girl a lot.


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## lelei (Apr 30, 2012)

The best way is to do the AQ salt, 1 tsp per gal, very well dissolved with some Stress Coat, that is what I used for my rescue, with hardly any fins either, but you have to do daily water changes, for the first 72 hrs, and repeat, stress coat, and salt as you go, and keep trying to get her to eat, it may take some time, but she will eventually come around, try different kinds of food, I used the Hakari Gold, and the Omega One, for my lil girl, and with in a week, I saw a lot of fin growth, you can do salt treatment for about 10 days, I took my girl off of salt after 10-12 days, and then just evey other day water changes until I got her in a bigger tank, Good luck with her, Keep us posted


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## rich e rich (Sep 7, 2012)

Thanks for all the information! 

How much would you say is 1 gallon of water? I've been getting alot of mixed details


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## LionCalie (Sep 24, 2011)

This is a very advanced case of Fin rot. It will likely soon start attacking her body because she has no fin left. To be honest I feel this fish is past the point of conservative treatment. If you don't notice any improvement or she gets even worse then I would recommend purchasing medication to treat her. Fin rot is bacterial, so look for a gram negative antibiotic.

There are 16 cups in 1 gallon. If you are unsure how many gallons you are working with you can do a 100% water change (remove fish) and fill the tank using a measuring cup. That way you can count how many cups it takes to fill the tank. Make sure the water is the same temp, that you use conditioner, and acclimate the fish properly after the change.


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## BettaQi (Jul 26, 2012)

Omgoodness sending healing vibes to this poor baby and all other fish who are similarly suffering!

Thank you for taking her home!


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

and if you are talking metrics... about 4liters.

Good luck!


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## rich e rich (Sep 7, 2012)

Ok, I'll consider this info. Thanks alot


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## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

Awww!! :-( How does she even move around? I mean, I know they wiggle their bodies, but that can't get her very far. Keep us updated, plz!


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

How does she manage to swim, if she moves around at all? Good luck with her...


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## rich e rich (Sep 7, 2012)

she wiggles

UPDATE:

She still isn't eating, even though i tried soaking the pellets in garlic.

HER FINS ARE GROWING BACK:
I'm starting to see little spines and her fins at the side are appearing.

I put mela Fix in the water


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## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

Glad to hear her fins are growing! 
I've heard Melafix is bad for bettas... something to do with their labrynth organ.
I suggest Stress Coat. It helps tissue regrowth and calms the fish, too.


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## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

Yay for her fins coming back

Also I hear bad things about any medication with fix in it. Tends to be a betta killer.


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## babystarz (Aug 3, 2012)

rich e rich said:


> she wiggles
> 
> UPDATE:
> 
> ...


Do NOT us Melafix, it can damage a betta's labyrinth organ. Do a 100% water change to get it out of the tank. You should buy *Maracyn II* and follow the dosing instructions on the bottle. Do not use Maracyn I, it's a completely different medication.


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## lelei (Apr 30, 2012)

Yes, and Bettafix, and Melafix are both dangerous, don't use either one..ok..just use the stress coat, and AQ salt...I hope your lil fishy heals up quickly


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Melefix and bettafix are usually not recommended - many say it can destroy their breathing organ. Personally, I think this only happens when one over doses or does not follow instructions. 

However it may be best to remove the melefix as its a stronger version of bettafix and switch to another medication. There are a few that will be good for advanced fin rot. I would go with API Furan 2.


> Effective against a wide variety of gram-positive and gram negative bacterial diseases of aquarium fish, including; Furunculosis (Aeromonas), Dropsy, Gill Disease, Fin and Tail Rot, Hemorrhagic Septicemia, Eye Cloud, Black Molly Disease.


 I seldom can find maracyn 2 and when I did, it never worked. Its less effective in certain water types


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## lelei (Apr 30, 2012)

*Just a comparison*

This was my rescue fishy..with severe tail rot..she is in a tupperware container..hard to really see..but you can see the missing tail:-(









and this was after a few days treatment with only AQ salt and Stress Coat.;-)


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## RandyTheBettaFish (Jul 11, 2012)

Hope she makes it, the poor girl!


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## rich e rich (Sep 7, 2012)

Ok, babystarz, I'll do that. It's troubling because I bought this ig bottle of melafix.

I read of people that used it for this same purpose, and they said it worked fine. What are your thoughts?


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## rich e rich (Sep 7, 2012)

Thanks for the info lelei,

I'll use Stress Coat instead. That's a really nice fish!


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## BettaQi (Jul 26, 2012)

I used a half dose of melafix for my girl for one day and it helped.

However back when I had 5 boys I dosed one full dose with melafix and his fins got "hard" and brittle and never "flowed" again.


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## babystarz (Aug 3, 2012)

rich e rich said:


> Ok, babystarz, I'll do that. It's troubling because I bought this ig bottle of melafix.
> 
> I read of people that used it for this same purpose, and they said it worked fine. What are your thoughts?


Yes some fish manage to not get it into their bodies, but really it is dangerous in any amount for bettas because if it gets into the labyrinth organ (basically, it's a betta's lung) it can cause damage. The main ingredient in melafix is tea tree oil (a mild antiseptic, not an antibiotic) and if it coats the inside of the labyrinth the betta cannot breathe and may suffocate.

Stress coat is good to use, but it's also not an antibiotic and you can use it in conjunction with a stronger medication to encourage a healthy slime coat, which it important for keeping your fish's scales and fins healthy.

Maracyn II is a gram negative antibiotic that is safe to use on bettas, although not the only one available. Various strains of fin rot are resistant to certain antibiotics, so if one antibiotic does not work you can attempt to use another. I do know that some strains of fin rot are entirely treatment resistant but this seems to be rare. Here are some other antibiotic choices:



> The majority of aquatic diseases are gram negative which makes treatments with antibiotics such as Kanamycin or other gram negative antibiotics a good choice, this is no guarantee that the disease pathogen will respond. Sometimes combinations of Kanamycin and Nitrofurazone give a wide spectrum treatment, other times you may have to try very different antibiotics such as Erythromycin or Metronidazole (Erythromycin is often a good choice for usually aerobic gram positive eye infections) while Metronidazole is sometimes a better choice than Kanamycin or Minocycline for anaerobic gram positive bacterial infections with the side benefit of mild effectiveness for internal and some external parasites.


Source: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/aquarium_medication.html

Usually the use of antibiotics is discouraged unless conservative treatment has failed or is inappropriate given the severity of the situation, and I believe this situation is indeed severe enough to warrant bringing out the big guns to make sure the bacteria causing the rot is dead.


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## rich e rich (Sep 7, 2012)

That's for the very detailed answer babystarz. I will source Macaryn 2 and Stress Coat


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## lelei (Apr 30, 2012)

rich e rich said:


> Thanks for the info lelei,
> 
> I'll use Stress Coat instead. That's a really nice fish!


Thanks she is very special, and she is doing soo much better, her tail is fully grown, and her dorsal and anal fin are getting longer too..I will upload a recent pic..you would never beleive she is the same fish.

I sure hope you have the same results with your lil girl;-)


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## rich e rich (Sep 7, 2012)

Glad to hear that Lelei (i've never heard that name before, how you pronounce it?)
The betta is doing well, she's actively wiggling, her fins are noticeably growing too. But she still osn't eating. I haven't been able to source the Stress Coat, or Macryn 2 yet. But soon though


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