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my female betta jumped back in august, found her completly dried out and crisy in the a/c vent. she actually lived, and made a slow recovery. i treated her with melafix at the time, as there was no signs of an infection. it was just 2 weeks ago before she was herself again, and her fins had regrown. they had all eventually crumbled away from being so dried out.
After looking healthy and getting her color back, and the regrowth almost complelty back to where she was before the jump, and having the same amount of energy, personality, etc... 4 days later i noticed fin rot.so ive been fighting this for 10 days now.
At firt i used a round of jungle buddies fungal fizz tabs which include antibiotic- it kept getting worse, after the recommended dosage of that, i switched to marycin 2 with melaix- its still getting worse, the whole tail fin is now gone, as is the anal, and dorsal, the the rot seems to be eating into her body.
Is there any hope, she has been threw so much, and i dont know what to try next. Im considering euthanizing, to end her suffering. what else can be done, if anything???
tank - she is still in my 10 gal Qt tank, filled to 5 galls, with numerous resting spots where she can get to the top for air. heated to 78 degrees, rigged up a drip system for water changes long ago for her, 100% change every 3 days, several wisteria clippings in tank,

h,mm, if her fins have completely gone then there is usually no hope. Has she started ulcerating on her body? If so, and the ulcers are large, I'd end it for her, I have never sucessfully saved an ulcerating betta.



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I like to think that whoever designed marine life was thinking of it as basically an entertainment medium. That would explain some of the things down there, some of the unearthly biological contraptions

Take her out of the QT, put her in a bowl or jar about 1 gallon (I find it easier to treat in a smaller container). Fresh water with declor. and 1/2 tsp of aqua salt per gallon. Jungle's fungal eliminator (JFE can be found at walmart) or if you have it a combo of Maracyn and Maracyn II. Keep doing 100% water changes every three days when remedicating.

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If at first you DO succeed, try not to look astonished.

If you elect to use the Jungle Fungus Eliminator, please consider picking up Jungle's new Medicated Feed, only available at PetSmart (if there's a store near you). Jungle has not yet released it to other stores, in an email I got from them.

External infections can quickly lead to internal infections very quickly. Internal infections, and even some external infections are best treated with oral antibiotic or a combination of both. The med in the feed is the same, in part, as that in the feed. The pellet will need to be crushed to betta-pellet size (Jungle says this is ok on the package). Feed for 7-10 days.

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i tryed the jungle, ive tried the marycin2 ( spelling?) yes there are ulcers where her dorsal and anal fin used to be.
She is in the qt because its to hard for her to swim up for air with no fins. If i put her in a jar or 1 gal shed drown, for sure.ive got the qt tank terraced so its never very far to the surface for air, and she can rest and breathe at the same time
The nearest petsmart is 3 hour one way.
Since there doesnt seem to be anything else to do, besides driving 6 hours,( and honestly i dont know if shell live that long) Im going to euthanize her. So that brings me back to the age old question- whick is best
decapitation, or clove oil( which is supposed to be an anestetic?)

I have used clove oil. I shake about 9 drops in about a 1/2 cup of water in a used water bottle (using tank water). Then I use a disposable container with tank water in it (at least 1/2 gallon or so) and I transfer the fish with his water. Then, I slowly add the solution after shaking vigorously.

Don't panic as they may react to the "taste". They don't like it, but in about 10-15 seconds he'll be on his side slipping into unconciousness. I leave them in the solution for a good hour, then transfer them in a small cup to the freezer to make good and sure they are gone.

I don't have it in me to decapitate.

Sorry it didn't work out.

Did these fins erode rapidly, or has it been an ongoing deal? Finrot can definitely be stubborn. If you keep other fish, you may consider ordering from PetSmart online to keep that medicated feed on hand. As long as they are eating, it is an outstanding approach.

Well i used the clove oil, ive heard the other way was better, but couldnt bring myself to do it.
It has been a long battle with her, first jumping and drying out, then nursing her back to health, the fins slowly breaking off from being dried out and crispy, then regrowing, then the fin rot, which just started less than 2 weeks ago. I think she had just been threw to much, to make it threw this.
Thanks for your help. RIP Precious.

- Awe, Rip Precious. I know the feeling. I haven't had one jump out, but with bettas....it's like there's somebody in there.

I hate to ask, but how was your experience with the clove oil? Would you use this method again?

What I like about it is that I know they anesthetize fish for surgery with this and bring them back out of it. If it was cruel, they wouldn't use it to knock 'em out for surgery, is the way I see it.

with the clove oil, she just drifted off to sleep, and that was that. there didnt seem to be any pain, jerking, etc... just slipped away.

Very sorry to hear. It sounds like you did all you could for her and ending it was probably the best you could do. I love my bettas, they are so easy to get attached to with their great personalities.

My condolences.

I watched my first betta, Bubba, for almost 9 days. He continued to eat, would get alert, but sat mostly on the bottom. I was hoping I would come home and find that he had slipped away or wake up and see that he had gone. It didn't happen. When he could no longer take food, I had to draw the line and euthanized him with clove oil right then and there.

There are times when it is a final act of love. I always feel good by paying tribute to my lost fish with a pic on the web, if I have one of their better days.