any updates? he said he was going to do another Patriot video cause he wasn't out of the woods....then poof! worried! hope all is okay with Mike and Patriot!
I hope he is ok too, these were the best videos i seen so far, and I have seen a lot. RUclips is stresssssssssful and maybe he just didn't get to that final video. no worries if thats the case, as long as he is doing ok
🌺Thank you Michael for the update on Patriot. Poor Patriot, he went through a lot & probably still is, due to his age. I must say, you're so good at taking care of Patriot. I bet he's so glad he lives with you. Stay safe 🐠
Hi Wanda - Good to hear from you! I'm trying my best! I want to make sure that when his time comes, it is from natural causes and nothing that I did or didn't do. And I don't think, besides the pellets and not seeing them as well as he used to, that he has any idea he is getting older. Lol. He is still active and has been in his little condo for almost a year now. Stay safe in paradise, and I hope you and the family are well!
I'm glad it was finally able to help Patriot. I know he's likely gone now either way, but he seemed to have had a good life, which is more than the vast majority of Betta's, the most abused pets in the industry, can say.
I have a betta that is at least 2.5 years old now and a few months ago I noticed he was struggling to make the trip from the bottom of the tank to the top. Then, he stopped eating. For four days, he refused to eat a single bite. And the end of the second day, given the trouble he was having with the vertical swim up, I moved him into a very small tank (one gallon) with only 5 inches of vertical, and he could manage that distance well enough. I also put in a plant with leaves right near the surface and he ended up spending almost all his time resting on those leaves, I guess to minimize the effort for breathing. Regardless, after he resumed eating, I kept him in the mini tank for an extra week even after he seemed to be fully recovered, but it turns out he wasn't fully recovered. He still couldn't make the swim from bottom to top in his normal tank. But as best I can tell, the problem is only one of old age - no obvious signs of illness or injury, no problems with the water parameters, nothing I could figure out. (He can't even maintain a vertical position when resting on the bottom unless he has something to lean against. It's a very sad sight to see him on the bottom not leaning against a rock or plant and as a result, listing at 45 degrees...) So in the end, I just lowered the water level in his big tank down to 6 inches. He can make that vertical swim well enough, and still has all the floor space he expects and wants, and seem as content as he can be under the circumstances. Getting old doesn't just suck for us humans, apparently it sucks for fish too :-/
Thank you for this. I’ve been dealing with a very similar fin rot problem in a very similarly middle aged betta fish. He’s been living in a stripped down tank for months and I finally stopped all the medication, keep a low salt dose in there with weekly water changes and pretty much gave up. It’s been 5 months and he’s no worse and no better. I’m going to try this 7 day high salt dose treatment. It’s pretty much a Hail Mary.
Hi Sonya - My pleasure, and I hope it helps! What we are doing here is essentially sucking all the water out of the bacteria, dehydrating it and killing it. The higher salt content is more effective at doing that, since more water has to be sucked out of the bacteria as it tries to balance the salt concentration inside it vs. the salt content in the water around it. While I did mine for 7 days, you could go to 10 days if needed. I would just monitor your betta as you go along. I think the issue with medications now is that some bacteria has more of a resistance against these same medications that have been out a while. Good luck! Hope it works for you!
Sonya - as a follow up, with a higher concentration of salt, add beneficial bacteria to the tank daily or every other day to keep your beneficial bacterial colony up. Higher concentrations of salt kill the bad bugs, but it can also take out the beneficial bacteria as well.
My pleasure!! I hope the videos are helpful to you. I'm trying to share as much of my experience as I can, in the videos and in the cards attached on the videos. Good luck with Jasper! Sending positive thoughts!
Been a while since I caught up with your videos glad everything going good! As always love your content! Thanks for the help you have given me in the past!
Wow! I am really happy with your fish's progress, mine is starting to have a discoloration just last night, he was so beautiful last night but when I wake up the water was so cloudy, I have to go to work that's why I wasn't able to change the water right away. I will definitely try this 1 table spoon per gallon and Indian almond leaves. Hoping mine to get better same with yours.
Where is part 4? Is he okay? I have to say there's a myth that betta are easy fish to keep. in my experience I've never had good luck keeping them. I find they are very sensitive to water chemistry and temperature. My bettas are constantly battling mild fin rot even with twice weekly water changes. Normally Iet the water sit a few days but this one instance I just le it get to room temp, added my water conditioner and my betta was gasping and flashing, it was downhill from there. What I didn't realize is tha my tap water must have high levels of ammonia. So my poor betta has ammonia burns, rot, scales falling off. I'm trying a strong salt bath treatment for the next few days. I have some API products coming, kanaplex and furan 2 to try. But the salt seems to be helping, he actual ate today and pooped. I love the little critter. I hope he can recover.
Fin rot is so frustrating to deal with! My guy is just over a year old and has fin rot on just one part of his tail. I tried the frequent water changers first, then salt, then Pimafix (I know that has mixed reviews). I am on to Almond leaves at the moment...and I was recommended Malachite Green by a local fish store. Haven't put it in yet, as I am so scared of stressing him out more.
Are you not able to do the salt treatment with plants and other fish? My daughter has a old betta and his fins have gotten a lot worse and also has sores he's with guppies and a rubber nose. I have tried other treatments and his fins are now shorter.
Hi Monique - The siphon is just a little DIY siphon I "built" because I couldn't find one small enough for these nano tanks (I know you can relate!). I did a video on it awhile back: ruclips.net/video/U5n1GiduP8s/видео.html Hope that helps a little! And thanks! Patriot is still hanging in there. I'll do a video update on him soon. He has certainly aged quite a bit more, but he's a tough little guy :)
Please help, I'm not really sure what to do. My betta recently got his dorsal fin torn overnight. I suspected it to be from his hide that had a sharp edge on it. When I noticed the tear in his fin, I took out the hide, sanded all the sharp edges, rinsed it with tap water, distilled white vinegar and water solution and then rinsed it again with tap water and wiped it with a paper towel. I put the hide back in the tank and ordered some Seachem stressguard (still waiting on it to arrive) after watching one of your other videos, thinking that it could help my betta heal from his wound. The next day (today as of writing this) I noticed that some fuzz is growing where his wounded fin is. I saw that one of the live plants in the aquarium had a rotting leaf. I removed it, thinking that maybe it was contributing to higher ammonia levels in the water. It's a 3.5 gallon tank with a filter and heater and he is the only fish in the tank. I'm not sure what to do, as far as treating whatever the fuzz is on him. I'm going to do a 25% water change tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I should try aquarium salts or medication, or should I just wait and try the stress guard. Any advice would help. Your videos are really helpful by the way.
Please help. My fish isolates himself either at the bottom of the tank or the water heater and he swims far from me when I come to the tank. his mouth is constantly open. He gasps for air at the top. He still eats but he sleeps all day and barely moves from by the heater. His scales are pine coning. And his body looks normal from far but there is a little bit of swelling. I cry for my fish to hear he might be going through kidney and liver problems. My parents haven’t cleaned the fish tanks fo 2 months is this normal? please help.
You can add a small amount of aquarium salt; however when your doing a treatment you'll have to do about 1 Tbsp/gallon. When I set up my 3.5 gallon I used 1 Tbsp. total. However when my goldfish got fin rot then I used 2 Tbsp. and did a 25% water change after 3 days. After each water change I only added a small amount of salt (1/8 tsp) because salt never evaporates from the tank; it can't be filtered out; it has be taken out thru water changes. I hope that helps. Again I continued to do water changes every 5 days until thr fish responded to the treatment.
Hi Anthony - Good to hear from you! Yes, I do believe it does. In the same way that the salt dehydrates the bad bacteria, it can definitely do the same to the beneficial bacteria. When I did the 1 tablespoon per gallon treatment, I noticed ammonia rise, as well as nitrites, so I started adding beneficial bacteria daily - I was doing daily water changes, but I did see it affect the beneficial bacteria. After several days of dosing the BB, the colony stayed stable, but I kept adding it for a week after treatment. I think it is really important, if treating with salt at higher doses, to also begin dosing beneficial bacteria right away. Hope you and the family are doing well and staying safe down south!
Hey Mike! I'm wondering if you can give any guidance on how to tell when you should stop a round of salt treatment? I got a betta from the store with fin rot. I tried just clean water changes for the first bit and a lot of the black tips went away but the recession continued so I decided to try salt treatment. I started with 1 tsp/gallon for 5 days in a quarantine tank. I wasn't sure if that was enough so at days 6, 7 and now 8 I've added 2tsp/gallon. I've also added Seachem Stress Guard daily. The quarantine tank is 3G. I'm not sure it is still progressing but his fins certainly still look tattered. I know I shouldn't go over 10 days but with the higher dose I'm wondering if 8 days is enough and I should move him back to his regular tank to see how it goes. His regular tank is 9G and there are only 2 snails in it. Unfortunately in Canada we can't get a lot of antibiotics. I've ordered some Jungle Fungus Clear from the US and hope it will come through in case the salt treatment doesn't work and the rot progresses. Any guidance is greatly appreciated and thank you so much for your videos. They have been super helpful so far.
Hi Heather! Glad the videos have been helpful! Our goal with the salt is to kill of the bacteria by, essentially, dehydrating it, killing it off. So our goal is to get the fins to stop receding. If we can stop that, the fins will grow back, in time. I don't like to go more than 10 days on a salt treatment at higher doses. It is usually 7 days, but no more than 10. Are you using teaspoons or tablespoons? I think teaspoons? If teaspoons we are still at a pretty low dose, but it wouldn't hurt to give him a break for a week in his regular tank. After that, you can do a treatment of 1 tablespoon per 3 gallons, so 1 tablespoon in the 3G quarantine. You could even leave it at that ratio for a few days then increase to 1 tablespoon per 2 gallons for a slightly stronger dose. That should get the fin rot. If that doesn't work, I would give him another break, and you can always try 1 tablespoon per gallon. But in any salt treatment, I never go past 10 days, and most treatments are for 7 days, then you want to give your guy a rest. Does that help a little bit?
@@dmichaelsfishden thanks so much. I’ve moved him back to his regular tank and will see how this week goes. Hopefully the receding stops, he’s definitely feistier. Appreciate the info as I wasn’t sure how long to wait between treatments so that is helpful also. You rock! I hope Patriot is holding his own and feeling better.
@@dmichaelsfishden Herb’s fin rot kept progressing so we are starting the one tbsp/gallon treatment today -fingers crossed. I’m thinking he’s a bit older as well as his eyesight isn’t the greatest. One question, and maybe I missed it, but did you use any stress guard during the heavy salt treatment?
@@heathermass2276 sending good thoughts to Herb. 🙏. Hope the more concentrated treatment works for you. I used stress guard in the past while treating fin rot, and I did it for a week with Patriot (during a second salt treatment round I had to do I’m going to note in part 4, as it worked again). My thought process in using Stress Guard - stress guard is an antiseptic so it weakens and slows the growth of bacteria (or it’s supposed to). I thought maybe it would further weaken the bacteria so it’s easier for the salt to get it. Or at least help slow the bacteria’s growth while the salt is getting it. It’s hard to quantity or prove that it did that, But stress guard certainly won’t hurt anything. 😀. I feel like it could only help. However, definitely dose the tank daily with beneficial bacteria while doing to salt treatment to keep your beneficial bacteria colony up. I would also dose every other day for the week after you finish the salt treatment. Hope all that helps! Hope Herb pulls through!
@@dmichaelsfishden thank you so much, I’ll make sure to add some stress guard. I have Seachem stability so I’ll add that as well to keep the tank as safe for Herb as possible. Once I’m done this treatment I’ll move him back to his original home which is a 9G he has to himself. I did a major clean of it today and will cycle it while Herb is in his hospital tank. While I don’t think my tank was the issue as I got him with fin rot from the pet store I figure it won’t hurt just in case. Thank you for sharing you experience and your support I really appreciate it and I sure hope Patriot is doing well!
I had a question if the use broadspectrum antibiotics like Erythromycin (since they have worked for you in the past) would it affect the beneficial bacteria? The current fish tank is fully cycled with 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites, but does have some nitrates that I lower with water changes. Should I just move my betta to a hospital tank to avoid messing with the home tank's beneficial bacteria? Thank you.
Hi Anna - Great question. Yes, Erythromycin absolutely can affect the beneficial bacteria colony. E-Mycin will kill the bad stuff but it can kill the good stuff too - E-mycin has definitely crashed my tank in the past, years ago, so now anytime I use it, I dose beneficial bacteria (Fluval Biological Enhancer, Seachem Stability, etc...all of the brands are pretty good) a few days before medicating, daily while I'm medicating, and for about a week after medicating. So you still can treat in the home tank, but I would highly recommend adding beneficial bacteria a few days before, during medication, and for about a week after. I would also closely monitor water parameters, testing the water daily. Of course, the best and safest way to go is the hospital tank, so if you do have a hospital tank, that would certainly be my number 1 option :) Hope that helps?
So whenever you say that it would irritate the fish's slime coat if I do the one tablespoon for every gallon does that mean it's going to get rid of ghe slime coat? will I have to add something back in to the tank after?
I’m just gonna hop on here an say that aquarium salt In the tank like this is a Terrible idea. It should only be used in a bath (cup/bowl) for 15-30 minutes at a time. Bettas can’t expel salt! If it’s added directly in the tank, an especially at this high of a dose you are using..This dehydrates the fish, which can lead to death. Also, to treat bad fin rot, kanaplex, furan 2. The beginning stages of fin rot, (nipping/tears/poor water conditions causes this) only requires daily water changes of 50% with prime water conditioner, an every 3rd day vacuum or spot clean the bottom of the tank! Please take this into consideration before you dose your fish with salt. It’s a freshwater fish, not saltwater -
Can you help me please because I’ve been struggling the past 2 days with my betta. I had a female sorority tank and I noticed that one of my fish had fin rot. I put her in Tupperware for a salt bath (I used half a tablespoon) for 10 mins. Then today I kept her in for 20. I don’t see any changes and I feel really bad and I don’t know what to do.
I’m also buying her a tank tomorrow because I’m pretty sure she was stressed and possibly attacked by one of the other females which caused the fin rot. I’ve had her quarantined for now.
So where has Michael gone? noticed he hasn't posted in some time now. Hope he's ok.
any updates? he said he was going to do another Patriot video cause he wasn't out of the woods....then poof! worried! hope all is okay with Mike and Patriot!
I hope he is ok too, these were the best videos i seen so far, and I have seen a lot. RUclips is stresssssssssful and maybe he just didn't get to that final video. no worries if thats the case, as long as he is doing ok
@@stephaniecasper3180 the fish only live 2 years now a days, so its forsure dead.
🌺Thank you Michael for the update on Patriot. Poor Patriot, he went through a lot & probably still is, due to his age. I must say, you're so good at taking care of Patriot. I bet he's so glad he lives with you. Stay safe 🐠
Hi Wanda - Good to hear from you! I'm trying my best! I want to make sure that when his time comes, it is from natural causes and nothing that I did or didn't do. And I don't think, besides the pellets and not seeing them as well as he used to, that he has any idea he is getting older. Lol. He is still active and has been in his little condo for almost a year now. Stay safe in paradise, and I hope you and the family are well!
Really looking forward to #4!
I'm glad it was finally able to help Patriot. I know he's likely gone now either way, but he seemed to have had a good life, which is more than the vast majority of Betta's, the most abused pets in the industry, can say.
mate your content is really thorough and that is what I like about your channel!!
Thanks for the kind words, Kurt! Glad the videos are helpful and thank you for the support!
I have a betta that is at least 2.5 years old now and a few months ago I noticed he was struggling to make the trip from the bottom of the tank to the top. Then, he stopped eating. For four days, he refused to eat a single bite. And the end of the second day, given the trouble he was having with the vertical swim up, I moved him into a very small tank (one gallon) with only 5 inches of vertical, and he could manage that distance well enough. I also put in a plant with leaves right near the surface and he ended up spending almost all his time resting on those leaves, I guess to minimize the effort for breathing.
Regardless, after he resumed eating, I kept him in the mini tank for an extra week even after he seemed to be fully recovered, but it turns out he wasn't fully recovered. He still couldn't make the swim from bottom to top in his normal tank. But as best I can tell, the problem is only one of old age - no obvious signs of illness or injury, no problems with the water parameters, nothing I could figure out. (He can't even maintain a vertical position when resting on the bottom unless he has something to lean against. It's a very sad sight to see him on the bottom not leaning against a rock or plant and as a result, listing at 45 degrees...) So in the end, I just lowered the water level in his big tank down to 6 inches. He can make that vertical swim well enough, and still has all the floor space he expects and wants, and seem as content as he can be under the circumstances. Getting old doesn't just suck for us humans, apparently it sucks for fish too :-/
Running the max salt treatment on my little guy at the moment! Fingers crossed it helps!
It's such a terrible illness.
Aww sweet little baby
Hi Debbie! Great to see you. Patriot is still hanging in there - I don't think, other than the pellets, he has any idea he is getting old ;)
I almost watched this 5o times lol or listened. Sooo informative ❤ thank u..
Thank you
I NEEDED THIS VIDEO thank you so much ! I watched all 3 parts they were all very informative.
Thank you for the detailed information, this was extremely helpful and has given me hope for my betta.
Thank you for this. I’ve been dealing with a very similar fin rot problem in a very similarly middle aged betta fish. He’s been living in a stripped down tank for months and I finally stopped all the medication, keep a low salt dose in there with weekly water changes and pretty much gave up. It’s been 5 months and he’s no worse and no better. I’m going to try this 7 day high salt dose treatment. It’s pretty much a Hail Mary.
Hi Sonya - My pleasure, and I hope it helps! What we are doing here is essentially sucking all the water out of the bacteria, dehydrating it and killing it. The higher salt content is more effective at doing that, since more water has to be sucked out of the bacteria as it tries to balance the salt concentration inside it vs. the salt content in the water around it. While I did mine for 7 days, you could go to 10 days if needed. I would just monitor your betta as you go along. I think the issue with medications now is that some bacteria has more of a resistance against these same medications that have been out a while. Good luck! Hope it works for you!
Sonya - as a follow up, with a higher concentration of salt, add beneficial bacteria to the tank daily or every other day to keep your beneficial bacterial colony up. Higher concentrations of salt kill the bad bugs, but it can also take out the beneficial bacteria as well.
I would love an update on Patriot!
Thank you!!!! Treating my betta Jasper for fin rot he looks like your betta as well
My pleasure!! I hope the videos are helpful to you. I'm trying to share as much of my experience as I can, in the videos and in the cards attached on the videos. Good luck with Jasper! Sending positive thoughts!
Been a while since I caught up with your videos glad everything going good! As always love your content! Thanks for the help you have given me in the past!
Wow! I am really happy with your fish's progress, mine is starting to have a discoloration just last night, he was so beautiful last night but when I wake up the water was so cloudy, I have to go to work that's why I wasn't able to change the water right away. I will definitely try this 1 table spoon per gallon and Indian almond leaves. Hoping mine to get better same with yours.
Where is part 4? Is he okay? I have to say there's a myth that betta are easy fish to keep. in my experience I've never had good luck keeping them. I find they are very sensitive to water chemistry and temperature. My bettas are constantly battling mild fin rot even with twice weekly water changes. Normally Iet the water sit a few days but this one instance I just le it get to room temp, added my water conditioner and my betta was gasping and flashing, it was downhill from there. What I didn't realize is tha my tap water must have high levels of ammonia. So my poor betta has ammonia burns, rot, scales falling off. I'm trying a strong salt bath treatment for the next few days. I have some API products coming, kanaplex and furan 2 to try. But the salt seems to be helping, he actual ate today and pooped. I love the little critter. I hope he can recover.
this going to be my first time treating a fish, i am so worried 😞
For next time table salt works just as well and much cheaper
Fin rot is so frustrating to deal with! My guy is just over a year old and has fin rot on just one part of his tail. I tried the frequent water changers first, then salt, then Pimafix (I know that has mixed reviews). I am on to Almond leaves at the moment...and I was recommended Malachite Green by a local fish store. Haven't put it in yet, as I am so scared of stressing him out more.
Are you not able to do the salt treatment with plants and other fish? My daughter has a old betta and his fins have gotten a lot worse and also has sores he's with guppies and a rubber nose. I have tried other treatments and his fins are now shorter.
What is that small siphon you used for the water change? I need something like that for my Nano tanks!
Happy Patriot is on the mend ❤️
Hi Monique - The siphon is just a little DIY siphon I "built" because I couldn't find one small enough for these nano tanks (I know you can relate!). I did a video on it awhile back: ruclips.net/video/U5n1GiduP8s/видео.html Hope that helps a little! And thanks! Patriot is still hanging in there. I'll do a video update on him soon. He has certainly aged quite a bit more, but he's a tough little guy :)
Do you still have the coldwater tank? Can you make a update video?
My aquarium salt doesn't dissolve fully....like several days.
Please help, I'm not really sure what to do. My betta recently got his dorsal fin torn overnight. I suspected it to be from his hide that had a sharp edge on it. When I noticed the tear in his fin, I took out the hide, sanded all the sharp edges, rinsed it with tap water, distilled white vinegar and water solution and then rinsed it again with tap water and wiped it with a paper towel. I put the hide back in the tank and ordered some Seachem stressguard (still waiting on it to arrive) after watching one of your other videos, thinking that it could help my betta heal from his wound. The next day (today as of writing this) I noticed that some fuzz is growing where his wounded fin is. I saw that one of the live plants in the aquarium had a rotting leaf. I removed it, thinking that maybe it was contributing to higher ammonia levels in the water. It's a 3.5 gallon tank with a filter and heater and he is the only fish in the tank. I'm not sure what to do, as far as treating whatever the fuzz is on him. I'm going to do a 25% water change tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I should try aquarium salts or medication, or should I just wait and try the stress guard. Any advice would help. Your videos are really helpful by the way.
Has the aquarium salt crashed your tank?
Please help. My fish isolates himself either at the bottom of the tank or the water heater and he swims far from me when I come to the tank. his mouth is constantly open. He gasps for air at the top. He still eats but he sleeps all day and barely moves from by the heater. His scales are pine coning. And his body looks normal from far but there is a little bit of swelling. I cry for my fish to hear he might be going through kidney and liver problems. My parents haven’t cleaned the fish tanks fo 2 months is this normal? please help.
you should definitely clean the tank
Sounds like your fish has dropsy, unfortunately. A quick google search will get you all the info you need
Do you recommend adding salt after regular water changes even when the fish is healthy (no fin rot)? Thanks.
You can add a small amount of aquarium salt; however when your doing a treatment you'll have to do about 1 Tbsp/gallon. When I set up my 3.5 gallon I used 1 Tbsp. total. However when my goldfish got fin
rot then I used 2 Tbsp. and did a 25% water change after 3 days. After each water change I only added a small amount of salt (1/8 tsp) because salt never evaporates from the tank; it can't be filtered out; it has be taken out thru water changes. I hope that helps. Again I continued to do water changes every 5 days until thr fish responded to the treatment.
Where is part 4?
Looks like he quit RUclips 2 years ago. A shame really, because his content was good.
If you have a filter, do you have to do daily water changes?
Really interesting series. One question about the salt: do you think the high concentration affects the beneficial bacteria in any way?
Hi Anthony - Good to hear from you! Yes, I do believe it does. In the same way that the salt dehydrates the bad bacteria, it can definitely do the same to the beneficial bacteria. When I did the 1 tablespoon per gallon treatment, I noticed ammonia rise, as well as nitrites, so I started adding beneficial bacteria daily - I was doing daily water changes, but I did see it affect the beneficial bacteria. After several days of dosing the BB, the colony stayed stable, but I kept adding it for a week after treatment. I think it is really important, if treating with salt at higher doses, to also begin dosing beneficial bacteria right away. Hope you and the family are doing well and staying safe down south!
@@dmichaelsfishden That's good to know; it would never have occurred to me.
Hey Mike! I'm wondering if you can give any guidance on how to tell when you should stop a round of salt treatment? I got a betta from the store with fin rot. I tried just clean water changes for the first bit and a lot of the black tips went away but the recession continued so I decided to try salt treatment. I started with 1 tsp/gallon for 5 days in a quarantine tank. I wasn't sure if that was enough so at days 6, 7 and now 8 I've added 2tsp/gallon. I've also added Seachem Stress Guard daily. The quarantine tank is 3G. I'm not sure it is still progressing but his fins certainly still look tattered. I know I shouldn't go over 10 days but with the higher dose I'm wondering if 8 days is enough and I should move him back to his regular tank to see how it goes. His regular tank is 9G and there are only 2 snails in it. Unfortunately in Canada we can't get a lot of antibiotics. I've ordered some Jungle Fungus Clear from the US and hope it will come through in case the salt treatment doesn't work and the rot progresses. Any guidance is greatly appreciated and thank you so much for your videos. They have been super helpful so far.
Hi Heather! Glad the videos have been helpful! Our goal with the salt is to kill of the bacteria by, essentially, dehydrating it, killing it off. So our goal is to get the fins to stop receding. If we can stop that, the fins will grow back, in time. I don't like to go more than 10 days on a salt treatment at higher doses. It is usually 7 days, but no more than 10. Are you using teaspoons or tablespoons? I think teaspoons? If teaspoons we are still at a pretty low dose, but it wouldn't hurt to give him a break for a week in his regular tank. After that, you can do a treatment of 1 tablespoon per 3 gallons, so 1 tablespoon in the 3G quarantine. You could even leave it at that ratio for a few days then increase to 1 tablespoon per 2 gallons for a slightly stronger dose. That should get the fin rot. If that doesn't work, I would give him another break, and you can always try 1 tablespoon per gallon. But in any salt treatment, I never go past 10 days, and most treatments are for 7 days, then you want to give your guy a rest. Does that help a little bit?
@@dmichaelsfishden thanks so much. I’ve moved him back to his regular tank and will see how this week goes. Hopefully the receding stops, he’s definitely feistier. Appreciate the info as I wasn’t sure how long to wait between treatments so that is helpful also. You rock! I hope Patriot is holding his own and feeling better.
@@dmichaelsfishden Herb’s fin rot kept progressing so we are starting the one tbsp/gallon treatment today -fingers crossed. I’m thinking he’s a bit older as well as his eyesight isn’t the greatest. One question, and maybe I missed it, but did you use any stress guard during the heavy salt treatment?
@@heathermass2276 sending good thoughts to Herb. 🙏. Hope the more concentrated treatment works for you. I used stress guard in the past while treating fin rot, and I did it for a week with Patriot (during a second salt treatment round I had to do I’m going to note in part 4, as it worked again). My thought process in using Stress Guard - stress guard is an antiseptic so it weakens and slows the growth of bacteria (or it’s supposed to). I thought maybe it would further weaken the bacteria so it’s easier for the salt to get it. Or at least help slow the bacteria’s growth while the salt is getting it. It’s hard to quantity or prove that it did that, But stress guard certainly won’t hurt anything. 😀. I feel like it could only help. However, definitely dose the tank daily with beneficial bacteria while doing to salt treatment to keep your beneficial bacteria colony up. I would also dose every other day for the week after you finish the salt treatment. Hope all that helps! Hope Herb pulls through!
@@dmichaelsfishden thank you so much, I’ll make sure to add some stress guard. I have Seachem stability so I’ll add that as well to keep the tank as safe for Herb as possible. Once I’m done this treatment I’ll move him back to his original home which is a 9G he has to himself. I did a major clean of it today and will cycle it while Herb is in his hospital tank. While I don’t think my tank was the issue as I got him with fin rot from the pet store I figure it won’t hurt just in case. Thank you for sharing you experience and your support I really appreciate it and I sure hope Patriot is doing well!
I had a question if the use broadspectrum antibiotics like Erythromycin (since they have worked for you in the past) would it affect the beneficial bacteria? The current fish tank is fully cycled with 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites, but does have some nitrates that I lower with water changes. Should I just move my betta to a hospital tank to avoid messing with the home tank's beneficial bacteria? Thank you.
Hi Anna - Great question. Yes, Erythromycin absolutely can affect the beneficial bacteria colony. E-Mycin will kill the bad stuff but it can kill the good stuff too - E-mycin has definitely crashed my tank in the past, years ago, so now anytime I use it, I dose beneficial bacteria (Fluval Biological Enhancer, Seachem Stability, etc...all of the brands are pretty good) a few days before medicating, daily while I'm medicating, and for about a week after medicating. So you still can treat in the home tank, but I would highly recommend adding beneficial bacteria a few days before, during medication, and for about a week after. I would also closely monitor water parameters, testing the water daily. Of course, the best and safest way to go is the hospital tank, so if you do have a hospital tank, that would certainly be my number 1 option :) Hope that helps?
What temperature should I set? 26 or 28? Everywhere it says 26, i noticed you set 28
So whenever you say that it would irritate the fish's slime coat if I do the one tablespoon for every gallon does that mean it's going to get rid of ghe slime coat? will I have to add something back in to the tank after?
I’m just gonna hop on here an say that aquarium salt In the tank like this is a Terrible idea.
It should only be used in a bath (cup/bowl) for 15-30 minutes at a time. Bettas can’t expel salt! If it’s added directly in the tank, an especially at this high of a dose you are using..This dehydrates the fish, which can lead to death.
Also, to treat bad fin rot, kanaplex, furan 2.
The beginning stages of fin rot, (nipping/tears/poor water conditions causes this) only requires daily water changes of 50% with prime water conditioner, an every 3rd day vacuum or spot clean the bottom of the tank! Please take this into consideration before you dose your fish with salt. It’s a freshwater fish, not saltwater -
Can you help me please because I’ve been struggling the past 2 days with my betta. I had a female sorority tank and I noticed that one of my fish had fin rot. I put her in Tupperware for a salt bath (I used half a tablespoon) for 10 mins. Then today I kept her in for 20. I don’t see any changes and I feel really bad and I don’t know what to do.
I’m also buying her a tank tomorrow because I’m pretty sure she was stressed and possibly attacked by one of the other females which caused the fin rot. I’ve had her quarantined for now.