anyone know anything about fin rot?

[pellek5]

my betta's fins look clumpy to me. The ends of them look sticky, like a wet paper towel, kind of bunched together. I haven't noticed whether his fins have been shrinking and the edges of his fins aren't discolored. Is this the beginning of fin rot? And what would you recommend for him? He lives in a bowl by himself, he's lively, he eats well, and seems to otherwise be behaving normally. Any thoughts?

[cstrohmeyer]

Have you been changing water regularly?

Do you know what your water parameters are?

I ask these questions as many diseases have their causes rooted in water parameter problems and even with treatment, the disease may not go way if the causes are not corrected.

Here are a few parameters and what they should be for your Betta:
*Ammonia/nitrites- 0
*pH – stable
*KH – 80+ ppm for pH stability
*GH- 100+ ppm for very important electrolytes such as calcium and magnesium (water changes can help as well as adding mineral blocks such as Wonder Shells)

Your description definitely seems like if may be a fin rot, probably by the bacteria Aeromonas from your description (which is a gram negative anaerobic bacteria that is very opportunistic).
For mild Aeromonas and fin rot infections you might try Pimafix or Melafix (Pimafix is more effective against more strains of bacteria).
Other treatments include Triple Sulfa and for serious cases I would consider Nitrofurazone and/or Kanamycin.

Please make sure of your parameters before and during treatment, also the addition of 1 tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons is helpful as well.

Please read this article about Aeromonas:
Treatment and Identification of Aeromonas; fin rot, etc. (http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Vibrio_Aeromonas.html)

And this article about disease prevention (make sure and read the out side references inside these articles as well):
AQUARIUM DISEASE PREVENTION; basic principles of disease prevention in aquariums (http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Disease.html)

Carl