Post date: Apr 22, 2011 5:33:51 PM
While I probably should have been keeping a log of my problems and progress on this issue, I suppose now that the entire ordeal is over I need to just tell the whole story. It starts with aggressive fin rot and ends with a happy, healthy fish!
A little more than a month ago I noticed that my female betta Sunshine's fins were a little bit ragged at the end. I'm not sure why it didn't immediately occur to me that she could have fin rot, but I kept aquarium salt in her water. I noticed that the fins and tail continued to get shorter and I panicked a bit. I keep my water very clean and I didn't think the fin rot was due to bad water. We had just had a huge snowstorm and sometimes the water quality goes a bit wonky after a storm, so I bought water to use instead of using tap water for treating the fin rot.
I went to Petsmart in search of an antibiotic to kill the bacteria that causes fin rot but was told that antibiotics would be too strong for the small amount of water I was treating. I took that advice and researched my other options. I read in many places that treating fin rot had two steps: the first is to kill the bacteria. The second is to heal the now bacteria-free fins. At Petsmart someone had recommended BettaFix, a liquid medication whose active ingredient was 0.2% Melaleuca oils (tea tree oil). I had remembered reading that the tea tree oil only helped encourage the fins to regrow, not kill the bacteria. In the Doctors Foster and Smith catalog I came across Melafix, though, which advertised that it killed fin rot. Once I had some Melafix though, I saw that the active ingredient was also Melaleuca oil, but it was 1% instead. It was only a stronger version of the Bettafix, which made me figure that it wouldn't actually kill the bacteria. I called Doctors Foster and Smith and explained all of this, asking if the Melafix would kill the bacteria, and they said yes. I also asked if I should be feeding an anti-bacterial food, and they said no.
They proved wrong on both accounts. I was still using my treated water, aquarium salt, regular food, and hoping they were right that Melafix would kill the bacteria. Like I had suspected the fin rot got worse. I finally trusted my instincts and bought some API Tetracycline antibiotic, which came in packets of powder that treat ten gallons. Of course I had to be extremely careful while dosing it, but I followed the medication directions exactly. I had read that the way you know that the bacteria is gone is that the edge of the fins no longer looks dark, which is what happened after about five days. All this time I also fed Jungle Anti-Bacterial pellets exclusively to this fish (a word to the wise: the pellets are a little bit big, so if you're using them, especially with a small fish, search out the smaller pellets in the bottle so that they can get it down). About mid-way through treatment I also began using the Melafix again to encourage fin regrowth.
Now, you can easily see the fins coming back. I had expected them to come back discolored (she has bright red fins and a yellow body) but they actually came back a stronger color than ever. She's happy as a clam. :) So I guess the conclusion is this: Melaleuca oils really don't kill fin rot bacteria. Leave that to an antibiotic like Tetracycline, but just make sure you're dosing carefully since it's so strong. Then use Melaleuca oils to help the fins regrow. I also thought it was interesting that in terms of mood, Sunshine didn't show any laziness, lack of swimming, loss of appetite, or even that much loss of color. It was the fins that obviously gave it away. It was almost as if she didn't know it was happening. I thought the fin loss might make it hard for her to swim, but that didn't appear to be the case. Either way, she's healthy now!