Salt is the answer in your case. Tablesalt is fine, yes even iodized. What ever salt available will work 1 tsp. per 5 gallons of water. You can make the solution in the 5 gallon quanity or even 1/2 tsp per 2.5gal and so on, this way you have some on hand. Salt will help as well as improving the water parameters. Salt also won't hurt your biofilter if the tank is cycled.

Was your fish solo in the tank to begin with? Not sure why you needed to isolate the betta?

Try this link - it has some good info

Here is a link that might be useful: fin rot discussion

Wait, isn't the iodized salt harmful? Any anti-caking agents in the table salt could also har the fish. I think the best way to go is with aquarium salt. For a betta in a small tank you don't need that much so the smallest carton is all you need and is pretty cheap. I don't think the 100% daily water changes are necassary and may stress him further. Give him some plants etc to hide in.

Are there any other signs of illness? Ragged fins can occur when something more serious than fin rot is going on.

Watch the betta closely for the first 20 minutes after medicating with salt. Its rare, but some bettas can not tolerate salt in their water.

Thanks everyone for your advice!

Sounds like I need to do some more research on which salt to use. I'd hate to kill him by using iodized, or having him not tolerant to any type.

The betta was in a 2.5g divided tank. I got carried away and overloaded it, so there's this betta's now empty section, a frog in the next, and a second betta in the third section. I also have an otto that travels between the three sections to keep the algae down.

If 100% daily water changes is too stressful, how much and how often should I do them? He is in one of the betta vases that come with a plant in the top (decorated in a *very* minimalist manner: nothing). I do have some freefloating elodea I can drop in there for him to snuggle up in.

I'm fairly certain I know how this all started. The shop I bought the tank from said that if I put the filter in the center section, the water from the other two would bypass the glass dividers enough to keep all sections filtered. It was almost two weeks before I realized that this wasn't happening at all. This particular betta is also very very picky about his food and will only eat live tubifex, or (just recently) frozen bloodworms. So I think the combination of lack of food, and really poor water did him in.

Hmm, sorry for the chatter, I must be talkative this morning! I look forward to hearing more on the salt issue, as well as any other advice.

Thanks,
Lexie

Ps, does anyone know where I can get tank dividers that are somewhat perforated to help water flow better? Or is is possible to have small holes put into my glass ones?

Try making your own dividers with plastic canvas. They allow better circulation than store bought. Lemme see if I can find instructions...

The fin rot was probably caused by poor water quality. Keep his water as clean as possible. Its hard to say how often to change the water without knowing how much water there is. If its about a gallon, try water changes once every 3 days, alternating between 50% and 100%. Buying a water conditioner like Prime that detoxifies ammonia will help inbetween water changes a lot, or if he seems too stressed for a water change at some point.

Stop feeding tubifex. Those worms are grown in sewage and sporozoan and parasitic infections are associated with feeding it. There was an article about it in "Practical Fishkeeping" Magazine. Hopefully there are no hidden problems from the tubifex going on.

And for salt, please use designated aquarium salt. Its better to be safe than sorry. Here is a link about salt, what kinds are okay, and how to use it. I don't recomend salt dipping the betta..this sheet was designed mostly for treating goldfish, just try a .1% solution for now :) http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=8382

I forgot to add this in my other post. But I have never ever had any luck using salt with bettas. You may want to consider getting OTC meds - as suggested in that link I put up. Water changes if you catch fin rot early will help - but if other things start, like secondary infections, then you need stronger medicine (like a full-spectrum med).

And if you have the betta in a small container, it's going to be difficult to figure out dosage of OTC meds.

I definitely agree - you overloaded that very small tank. My single bettas are kept in tanks no smaller than 3 gallons.

Generally healthy fish won't be "picky" about food. It's really a matter of recognition along with "smell". There are very good quality betta pellets put out by Hikari or HBH. When you noticed your betta not eating, I would have taken that as a sign that something was going on.

Hey all!
Just wanted to pop in and say how much I appreciate your help. I just woke up and am a little scatterbrained, so I'll be back with a decent response later.

One quick question, though... are dried tubifex just as bad as the live ones?

Thanks!
Lexie

Freeze dried is usually a bit less risky than live or frozen, but many eggs of the parasites can live through the freeze drying process. Check the container to see if it says where it was collected or bred, and if it was sterylized. Its really better to just not feed them all together.

Another good food is mosquito larvae. Set a bucket outside and you can grow your own. No betta can resist them. Just be careful and make sure they are all fed or killed before they grow up into mosquitos.

Wait, isn't the iodized salt harmful? Any anti-caking agents in the table salt could also har the fish. I think the best way to go is with aquarium salt.

If you look at the ingredients on a package of aquarium salt, like Doc Wellfish by API, it will only list "dehydrated sea water". Sea water has trace iodine and iodide. Corals need a source of iodide. Some reef aquariums have to be supplemented with iodine/iodide because there isn't enough supplied from the sea salt additive to last long enough. Freshwater fish also need iodine. If you look at a list of trace elements found in rivers and lakes where freshwater fish found, it to will have iodine. Freshwater fish require a source of iodine to help prevent goiters and growths, just like humans (Seinfeld episode comes to mind). There is also concern that the iodine will harm your bio-filter because it kills bacteria. This is true, but the amount of iodine is the factor. The amount of iodine added to tablesalt is thousands of times smaller then that needed to kill bacteria. Also the bacteria has to have contact time of 15 minutes at the thousand time higher level.
There was once an anti-caking agent that was used that did cause some sort of medical problem, but it hasn't been used for about 15+ years, and again its a concentration thing. The amount is not high enough to cause any harm. Agents used now for anti-caking don't have this trouble.
Other good sources of salt are Kosher salt, water softening salt, and food grade sea salt and rock salt. Don't use rock salt for melting ice, that stuff is real dirty, god only knows what else besides salt is in there.
One thing about sea salts, even the dehydrated ones, they "could" buffer your pH a little. Sea water also could have calcium carbonate (seashells) which will harden your water and raise pH.
Whatever salt you choose will work fine. I have had luck with salt for bettas myself. I have used it to treat ICH and restore slimecoats/healing. I don't add it all the time though. I only use it for medicinal reasons.

Hey all!
Sorry it's been so long.

Hippy- I would love instructions for those dividers, if you can find any. They sound perfect.

From the sounds of it, it would behoove me to avoid tubifex in any form. Since I have enough bloodworms to last me the rest of my life (!) I'll just feed that. \
Are there any problems with the Daphnia? The shop also sells those, and I think they would make a fun treat for the bettas if they are safe.

I think I'm going to try not using the salt for now. It sounds like there's quite a bit of mixed experience, and the studies I found suggest that the salt doesn't do anything except make it easier for the fish to perform osmosis in their gills. Since my little guy seems to be regrowing a little bit of fin, and doesn't have any labored movements in his gills, I think I'll just let him be.

Update: as mentioned above, I think I'm seeing just a little bit of new fin growing back in, and he seems to be back in color except when he gets really bored. I did about a 90% water change on his little isolation tank and the poor guy thought the walls would expand with it- he kept running his nose into the glass.

I think I've got all of my questions on the table. I look forward to any more advice if there's any more to be had. I'll keep you updated on how he progresses in his recovery!

Thanks,
Lexie

That's great that his fins are already re-growing :) It turns out all he needed was clean water.

Woeisme, I did some deeper research on the salt issue. One of my sources was a very experienced moderator from Koko's Goldfish World. He is the god of diagnosing and treating illnesses along with a lot of chemistry and mircobiology. This is what he has to say:

"The only salt that should be considerded for use in "freshwater" aquariums is pure NaCI. Nothing else. No binding agents, no anti-caking agents, nothing. Both of these agents "can" cause gill problems. Especially in a high salinity "dip". Certain additives in salts could prove a problem in a high salinity dip.

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A Perfect Example; Yellow Prussiate of Soda, alternately Sodium Ferrocyanide (most commonly used anti-caking agent in table salt) is akin to cyanide and under certain conditions, can be a serious threat to aquatic organisms. Read on:
Studies on the effects of sodium ferrocyanide date back at least a half-century. A 1950 report showed that when the chemical is exposed to sunlight, it can break down into free cyanide, which is highly toxic to aquatic organisms even in small doses.
Can ANY of use be sure that those circumstances, where this can happen, is not apparent in our tanks????

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Pure NaCI can be found in freshwater aquarium salt, ice cream salt/rock salt and some other sources as well. Water softening salt is not too good to suggest because many contain binding agents to keep it in pelletized form. However, there ARE non-pelletized formulas wich are essentially solar salt or kiln dried salt and are safe to use in aquariums.

Now, I am well aware that MANY folks have used all kinds of salts in a "pinch" or "all the time" and without any adverse reactions to boot. BUT, it is highly recommended to exhaust all avenues for a pure salt. Then and only then would I EVER suggest using non-pure sources of salt.

Always remember that there are as many ways to keep fish as there are fishkeepers. No one single way is the correct way. However, keeping things pure and simple is the best policy............."

In the future, I think you should stay away from table salts, especially with iodine and anti-caking agents. Its better to be safe than sorry, right?

Lexie, the only other thing I can recomend to you is to get another fish tank to keep the rest of your fish in. That is a whole lot of fish for a 2.5 gallon tank. Personally, what I would do, would be to let one betta or the frog have the 2.5 gallon to itself, and buy a ten gallon for the rest. With the betta, african dwarf frog (thats the kind I'm assuming that you have) and the oto in the bigger tank, you still have room for a few more fish, like a couple more otocinclus or some cories, possibly some white cloud minnows. That would make a lovely tank.

Daphnia is great :) If you are feeding live foods there is always a tiny risk, but if it is not blackworms or tubifex, that risk is pretty negligible. Freeze dried, sterylized foods (not the blackworms or tubifex) are very safe. If you can, frozen sterylized foods are the best thing. Freeze dried are also good, but they usually don't retain as much nutrition. Either way, most fish will accept all kinds. I have the hikari FD daphnia and my fish love it. If you can find a smaller container go with that though. Daphnia has the same consistancy as sawdust and there is too much more most people to finish before expiration. Daphnia is very good for fish though. It is high in protein, and is also known to help eggbound females release eggs and to help constipated fish 'move alone' :)