# BettaFix??



## BettaCarol (Aug 13, 2011)

Hi,
I think my Lightning has fin rot. I was given BettaFix by the PetSmart employee. It says to put in 2.5mL per gallon, so since I have a 2.5 gall Betta Bow I put in 5mL to start. I states to do this daily for 7 days, and THEN do a water change. 

This stuff smells pretty strong, am wondering what your thoughts are on it, and if I'm understanding the instructions right. 

How can you tell the difference by looking at him if its Fin Rot or tail biting? Is tailbiting more jagged and fin rot more even? 

Here are my answers to the questions:

Housing 
What size is your tank? 2.5 gal Betta Bow
What temperature is your tank? varied between 72-78, went down at night, up during the day, up more when the light was on at night before we went to bed.
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated? Now it is, just got a 10 watt
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqueon Betta Food
How often do you feed your betta fish? About 4-5 pellets twice daily


Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? every other week. 
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Aqueon Betta Bowl Plus

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? No.
If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Fins are shorter and ragged. 

How has your betta fish's behavior changed? I haven't noticed that it has changed, other than maybe hanging at the bottom a little more occasionally. But he is always swimming and alert, when ever we go by the tank he comes to the front to greet us and flares up at us sometimes. He doesn't seem to be having any trouble swimming. 

When did you start noticing the symptoms? About 3 days ago

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Yes, did a 50% water change, got new filter and a dose of BettaFix. 

Does your fish have any history of being ill? No

How old is your fish (approximately)? Got him from PetSmart about a month ago. Not sure of age. 

Any help would be appreciated. Is the BettaFix ok? 

Thanks
Carol


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Hey there Carol! If you could post a picture of him, it will be easier to determine what the problem is.  
I think that it might be finrot though do to your water change schedule. 
In a 2.5 gal, you should be doing 60-80% once a week instead of 50% every other week. 

BettaFix is 'ok'... but really the best medicine is clean water. 
BettaFix _can_ cause problems with a betta's labyrinth organ (what they use to breathe air with), and isn't really recommended on here.


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## BettaCarol (Aug 13, 2011)

Here is a before pic and an after pic. The After pic is one I just took, and it is the more close up one. 
I haven't uploaded pics here before, so I hope I did it correctly.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Hey there, welcome to the forums!

BettaFix is generally not recommended by the people on this forum (including me) since it includes tea tree oil I believe and that damages the labyrinth organ.

A better and more conservative way of treating fin rot is to buy Aquarium Salt, this is usually found in pet shops, start with 1tsp per gallon and do 100% water changes daily. . . Usually you'll see an improvement, his fins will stop looking like it's becoming shorter and shorter, if not up the salt concentration by 2tsp/gallon. You can also add Stress Coat to help the healing, don't continue this treatment for more than 10 days. 

Keep us updated and pics would be nice!

Edit: It doesn't look like fin rot to me to be honestly more like tailbiting. There's not red/black lines around the edge of his fins, have you got him in the act of tailbiting before?


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## BettaCarol (Aug 13, 2011)

I haven't seen him biting his tail at all. if that is what it is, would you still suggest the AQ salt? 
I saw they tailbite because they are bored...what do you do to prevent that? 

Any and all suggestions are appreciated!! 

Thanks again! 
Carol


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## BettaCarol (Aug 13, 2011)

Can I get AQ salt at PetSmart?


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Is his tank always divided? I suggest giving him the whole tank if not. Bettas loovvee to swim!~  

You really don't "need" AQ salt, but it can help boost their immune system to help promote fin growth. Yes you can get it at PetsMart.  

Tail-biting, though _can_ be caused by boredom, usually it's due to the weight of their tail- it slows them down and is heavy. 

I'm not exactly what he has, looks like it might be tail-biting.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

BettaCarol said:


> I haven't seen him biting his tail at all. if that is what it is, would you still suggest the AQ salt?
> I saw they tailbite because they are bored...what do you do to prevent that?
> 
> Any and all suggestions are appreciated!!
> ...


You can try the ol' mirror trick. Not for so long though! It may just tear his fins even more. Make him flare a bit, like a minute or so. You can try adding Stress Coat, it'll help with regrowth. 

What I do with my Jake is that I feed him with a toothpick, and he's recognized that fact, so I'll make him chasing my toothpick, makes him fit I guess. 

Other ways is to upgrade his tank, maybe to a 5 gallon? It's your choice, the other two methods on top might work along with adding Stress Coat.



BettaCarol said:


> Can I get AQ salt at PetSmart?


AQ salt can be found in generally any pet stores that carry fish. It's not needed to treat with AQ salt since Bettas are freshwater fish, unless it's an actual disease, you can do AQ salt treatment, just don't continue it on for more than 10 days and don't do it frequently.


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## BettaCarol (Aug 13, 2011)

His tank was only divided for a few days in the beginning when I decided he be happier to have the whole tank. 
One thing did change recently, a couple days before I noticed the fins. I have his tank on a cabinet in the family room/kitchen area where we spend a lot of time. Previously I had nothing else there so my cat would "visit" him. Don't worry he was safe from the cat getting to him. 
Well about a week ago I put the photos in frames that had been there before....and therefore the cat does not jump up anymore....wonder if he got bored now that she's not there lol. I doubt that but it's the only thing that's changed ( other than the water changes)

Thanks again. I will discontinue the Betta fix and try the salt.


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Mmmm I don't think the cat would have had anything to do with it really. Maybe freak him out, lol. You can do what Micho suggested with the mirror (15-20 min a day is good)  

Let us know how he does! You should see fin re-growth within a couple of days, though it could take a while to get back his full tail.


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## BettaCarol (Aug 13, 2011)

Sounds good! I will give it a try. Do a 100% water change, add aq salt. Then every day I do another 100% and add more aq salt, correct? How many days would you recommend, the full 10 days?


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

BettaCarol said:


> Sounds good! I will give it a try. Do a 100% water change, add aq salt. Then every day I do another 100% and add more aq salt, correct? How many days would you recommend, the full 10 days?


Correct, if it's hard for you to measure how much salt to use, get a one gallon jug, premix with AQ salt (remember to add water conditioner too). And pour it into your 2.5 gallon.

Do it until you see signs of improvement, and yeah don't continue this for more than 10 days. If this doesn't work, I wouldn't suggest using AQ salt for awhile.


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Yup, but in my opinion, just doing 70% changes once a week is fine. If you want to do the salt treatment- put him in a smaller container (1 gal-ish) and do the treatments in that- it's a lot easier then emptying out a 2.5 gal everyday  
Make sure you do 100% water changes while during treatment. You don't have to do a full 10 days, but you can. Just don't go over that.


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