Fin rot? Please help?

[Lupetta]

My Betta has fin rot (or is it tail rot? are they different? it so far, thankfully, seems to only be on his tail) which I noticed 3 days ago and straight away panicked (I love my fish) - I've only had him for 2 weeks, and noticed it on day 10! He isin't being kept in good conditions, through ignorance I went on the bad advice and assurances from friends who have these fish, and set him up the way they keep theirs (6.5 litre tank, no heater/filter)...Yes, I realized within a couple of days that this was NOT good, so please nobody yell at me for it because I'm taking steps to rectify it. I'm getting him a new tank tomorrow, 20 litres so I can get a filter and heater. I don't know what the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels are, no testing kit >.<

Because of the size of his tank and lack of filter, I was doing a partial water change daily (around 30%). Since the start of the fin rot I was advised to do 2 partial changes a day, which I have been.

On the advice of Animates I bought tonic salt and Wundertonic and started him on both the best I could, it turned the water blue and since he is a blue fish it made it really hard to check on the progress of his tail but as of yesterday (2 days into Wundertonic, 3 days into tonic salt) it seemed like it was a little better...Alot of the clear edge was gone, and the lower half that was all raggedy (like the membrane had melted away leaving just the spike part, I don't know what it's called) seemed to be almost sealing over as it wasn't nearly as bad, although part of the spike part was black on each of them, though the membrane was still blue..

But this morning...He is raggedy again, top AND bottom! Please can someone give me some advice on how to help him survive/heal his fins? (and also what to keep doing once I get his tank set up tomorrow? will it be better to just start cycling it with him in there so at least he is heated/filtered?) Should I leave out the stones etc until he is all better?

[Adrienne]

Pop him into the new tank when you get it, once the temperature is heated to 26 degrees celcius. Make sure you use water conditioner (chlorine remover). He does not need to be in a filtered tank if you are prepared to do total daily water changes but as this is time consuming and expensive on both water costs and conditioner costs give him a filter that is gentle. Some filters i.e. aqua one are too strong a current for beta as they struggle to remain upright due to the current pushing their long fins.

From your description of the progress of tail rot it does sound to me that it may be bacterial. The way for you to tell if it is bacterial or not is to take a very close look at the affected areas. If you can see red streaks/pinky tinges above where the tail or fin has rotted off to then it is bacterial and the next time some of the tail or fin rot off it will rot to this line. If this is the case then you will need an antibacterial medication such as furan 2. Be warned that this is a carcinogen (proven to be cancer causing in mice) so care is required using it. You will need to follow the instructions on the packet and once you have used a full course of the medication you will need to keep perfect water conditions for some time. While you are medicating remove any carbon from your filter.

If you can not see any red streaks keep up with daily water changes - 50% a day in a filtered tank will suffice - and continue with the medication for tail rot until the tail starts to regrow.

Where in the country are you located?

[Lupetta]

I've been using API Betta water conditioner with him since I got him (it has green tea and aloe in it)

It's hard trying to figure out filters, most of the tanks I've been looking at come with one already but I'm hoping to maybe swap it out for one that is more suitable while I'm actually at the store, to save me the hassle of getting home, setting it all up and then realizing that it's no good...But I don't know how to choose bad from good >.<

Indian almond leaf was suggested to me, is that any good to use? Could I use that in conjunction with the tonic salt etc?

When I put him in the new tank, until I get this fin rot sorted, should I leave out the stones, etc, and keep him to the bare minimum? I guess theory being keep it as clean as possible? Should I put live plants in with him or wait till it's healed up?

The Wundertonic turned the water blue, and he is a blue fish so it's making it hard to keep a check on it but the best I can tell, no red buts...Just black bits and clear bits :tears:

I'm in Auckland, so won't need a powerful heater since it doesn't get super cold here. How do I make sure he doesn't burn himself on it?

Thank you so much for your advice