# Still struggling with bad fin rot.



## Fishnoob78 (Oct 30, 2005)

Since the day I bought my betta it has lost anywhere from 30-50% of its fins. The other two bettas ive had were the same. Sometimes it gets a little better then back to to bad again.

I thought I had it solved when I discovered that there was a large difference in PH, 6 to little over 7, from my tap water compared to the water in the tank. Since I was doing water changes every few days I thought that he was getting PH shocked and stressed causing the fin rot.

Well now I age my water till the PH is the same as in the tank, plus I have bought a filter and used filter media from my cichlid tank to get it started.

So now I age my water, have a filter, temp is 80, using a dechlorinator and I still am having problem with rot. 

The only thing left that I can think of is that our water hardness could be the culprit. But when it comes to that I have no idea what bettas can tolerate.

Any suggestions would be helpfull. I have had cichlids for 3 years now without so much as a single sick fish. My luck with bettas has been the complete opposite.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

According to Aquarium atlas, water hardness to 25 degrees dGH, pH 6-8. So I guess you could try hardening the water with cichlid salts. It sounds like you need to treat for "fin & tail rot"


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## xFaithx (Aug 9, 2007)

-slowly raises hand- I didn't read anything that sounded like you were medicating your betta. The rot will not go away without medication. Try Melafix, dilute it and use less than the suggested amount - it's worked wonders for my fin rot issues. Also Maracyn 1+2 work great for fin rot, just make sure you take out a cup of water from your tank and dissolve the dosage in that first, otherwise the darn medication sits on the top of the water and annoys the fish. xD


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