# Help! Need some advice..



## Cruise's mom (Jul 16, 2013)

My betta fins are looking worse. Notice a red dot on his fin yesterday. I have aquarium salt, but don't have a QT. he's in a 5.5 tank. So do I need to change all his water everyday with the salt to heal it or half everyday? And do i need to keep the light off at the same time? 

Here's cruise's tail








I ordered Indian almond leaves yesterday. Read that it will help. But need some advice on what to do at this moment. Thanks!!


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

try some "mela fix"...make sure you have good aeration and surface movement.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

No melafix. Melafix is an oil. snake oil in my opinion, but oil period. Oil is not good for labrynth organs. Just go with methylene blue. It's way better. I have used both. My betta died of fin rot while using melafix. My fish survived and healed with methylene blue.


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## Cruise's mom (Jul 16, 2013)

Thanks for the advice. 


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i am glad that our world authority came in with an answer your problem...i am kinda lost about these things.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

keeping the lights off is for meth blue, erythromycin, and some other meds. Read the label on what you use. Keeping lights out in a tank with live plants, means dead plants and extra ammonia, so take care.

Clean water is a sick fish's best friend. But if don't see improvement, you may have to treat for fin-rot. red spots or lines can mean a bacterial infection, but it can be hard to tell in a fish with red coloration.

mela-fix and betta fix are anti-septic but oily. Use with care in betta and gourami, use a much lower does of melafix than directed on the label and add aeration. They are tea-tree oil and it's good for fin regrowth, but won't cure a hard-core fin-rot.

Changing a lot of water in a medicated tank can get expensive, but you can not let the water quality go down. Ammonia will erode fins and make all illnesses worse. 100% is a necessity in a small container, but in a 5, you can get by with less if you only have a single fish and you don't ridiculously overfeed. 

I try clean water first, what med is handy second, and expensive meds third. Watch the daily change in fin length to determine severity. Once fins stop shrinking, stop panicking. It can take weeks or months to regrow fins, but most fin damage is only cosmetic and doesn't threaten the fish once it stops getting worse. 

Big water changes must closely match in temperature and salt (if you use any) level. A sudden change can be shocking. If you are not sure if you are matching it, add the new water in slowly, in stages, watching the fish.


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## GoldenGirl11 (Nov 9, 2014)

If you feed your betta color-enhancing food, the red could be natural coloring. also, my fish is dying of fin rot. Wish i had known about this site before! learning a lot from it.


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