Thanks, everybody!  I appreciate your advice, encouragement, and prayers.    

I will keep you posted as he improves, and hopefully get another picture up soon showing him as beautiful as before!

    

Hey guys, looking good!  He's back to his old self again.  His color is even returning and looking good, although he's more turquoise now and not as greenish-blue as he was before.  But he still my beautiful boy! Thanks again for the help!  I wanted you to see his improved self!

(apparently my space is taken up on this post for my picture attachments, so you can see his latest picture here:)

www.aquaticamigos.blogspot.com

 

What wonderful news!  I'm so happy to hear this

Great job, Queen!

I am so glad he is doing so much better!  Keep up the good work. He looks wonderful!  

Awww--he looks great! Prisma, I'm so happy you're feeling like your old self again!
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Everything's better with penguins.

I love the picture of Prisma (wonderful name btw fits him perfectly!) when you first brought him home with his nosey nose looking for something in the rocks! They're so funny! Hey there might be food in there and he sure couldn't afford to miss any of that. I'm so glad he's better!

Kathleen
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" There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."

Beverly Sills

I'm so glad he's better, too!  I believe he's pretty much at 100% now, back to normal.  I'm glad you like his name, too--we tried to think of something that reflected his awesome coloring.  I'm so glad to see it back.  

Well, as I said, Prisma has been doing great.  He still is active, eating well, no clamped fins, color remaining, etc.  But today I just noticed that nearly half of one of his tail fins is gone!  It was FINE on Saturday, when I took pictures of him.  I assume this is tail rot, so I guess I need to medicate him again.  I have Melafix, Fungus Clear, and Maracyn, which all say they treat fin rot.  Please let me know if that is what he has (I don't know how he got it!), and which medication to use.  I just got him a 2.5 gallon aquarium I was going to get started tonight or tomorrow.  He can't seem to stay well!!!  Please advise.

See pictures of him here:

http://aquaticamigos.blogspot.com/2006/03/i-cant-get-break.html

That's shreddy-butt, yup, but doesn't look like fin rot. See the split in his tail? That suggests physical damage rather than damage from bacteria; bacterial infections generally take rays and all rather than just the (uber-delicate) tissue between them, and there'll usually be a distinct edge, often brown/black or red.

This guy has fin rot:



So does this one:



This guy doesn't. His fins are definitely damaged, but it's injury, not infection:



Is there anything in Prisma's house upon which he might have torn his fin? Once there's some damage, ordinary "boys will be boys" activity can easily do the rest. Is there anything at which he might be flaring for longer periods of time? Fins "blown" from tension put on fins while flaring often have split(s) and tissue damage, but rays are intact. Any fluctuations in temperature or pH? That'll do it, too.

I wouldn't medicate him, just keep his water super clean (because damaged fins are more vulnerable to infection) and watch. If there's no infection, you should see some evidence of healing within a few days. New growth is transparent at first, then the colour fills in as the fin grows, like this:


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Everything's better with penguins.

Thanks, Fishie Mama!  I'm glad to hear that it's not fin rot--it is just between the rays as you say.  It just seemed to happen so suddenly and drastically. His home has been the same for a month or so, so I'm not sure why they're just now damaged.  I only had him flare in the mirror once for a picture to see his fins and to show how much better he was doing.  There is nothing else around for him to get aggressive about.  He does get excited when it's feeding time and does his "happy dance," but he's done that since I got him and didn't tear up his fins.  

I was going to move him to the 2.5 gallon because the bubbles in my 1 gallon are quite strong, and I can then put a heater in that size tank also.  Do you think I should go ahead and move him over now to a better filtered/heated tank?  Perhaps that will help him heal.

Ah, aeration--that'll do it for many guys if it's too strong, especially if they like to play in it (some bettas do). While he's healing, no current at all would be easiest for him, and very clean water. As long as he doesn't lose his rays or get an infection, he should heal up good as new. If he does lose his rays, expect a rockier road to regrowth fraught with "two steps forward and one step back", but it can happen. Even if it doesn't, he won't mind. Pooky and Keji lost most of their fishie butts almost two years ago to a rapid drop in pH (they share a divided tank) and have never been able to really grow them back well. They said to tell Prisma that a betta boy is more than just a fancy butt.
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Everything's better with penguins.

Thanks!  I will turn off the bubbles, and get the other aquarium ready (it's much calmer).  I will also pass along Pooky and Keji's message!   Hopefully it won't get worse.  Even so, he's still my pretty boy!

FM, what about the plastic plants? Those often have edges that aren't too kind to a betta's flowing fins.

QS, are there any other tank decorations - hidey rocks, etc. that might have sharp edges?

(P.S. I laugh about the "Spoo" part of your name... that was our nickname for my youngest while I was pregnant with him... just read Spoo backwards and you'll know why. )
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Sadie

Hi SmrfChic...I do have plastic plants, but he's had these same ones for about a month without having this problem.  Nothing else in his tank is that sharp.

I also looked at him when I got home, and it looks like a couple of rays are missing from his tail now.    His bubbles are off, and I'm trying to heat up the new aquarium to move him over there. Should I place him in his 1/2 gallon bowl again without any objects so he will be sure to heal?

P.S.  I'm glad you like my handle..."Spoo" actually did come from "Oops," and here is the link to the story from whence it came:

http://www.meyerweb.com/other/humor/spoo.html

I can see why you called your youngest Spoo.    It looks like you have quite the menagerie as well.

He'll heal as long as he doesn't get an infection and there nothing to damage his new growth (think betta fins are delicate? Nothing on new growth!) I think he'd probably be bored in a 1/2g with nothing to do; if he were mine, I'd just make sure everything in with him is very smooth and there's nothing upon which he can get his fishie butt snagged.
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Everything's better with penguins.

Hey guys.  I think Prisma does have fin rot because he's losing his rays as well.  I took some pics last night and today, and you can easily see the progression.  What is a good medication for him?

http://aquaticamigos.blogspot.com/2006/03/another-health-challenge.html

It's hard to tell from the pictures (and also partly due to his darker coloring), does it look like there are black or bloody edges to the damaged parts of his fin?  He does look like he's lost more from one day to the next though.  What tank is he in now, and what do you have in the tank for decorations/hides?

If the remaining rays look as much like baby hair as they appear in the picture (sorry--"baby hair" is best description I can offer), then I'd say he does have an infection. I usually use Jungle Fungus Clear for bettas with fin rot that does not appear to be complicated with a more serious secondary infection. If there is a secondary infection or the fin rot is aggressive, then kanamycin, but I don't use kana unless necessary because it can be hard on a fish's kidneys.
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Everything's better with penguins.

It's hard to tell if there are any black or red marks at the end of his fin, because he's mostly dark red in that area.  It actually looked a little lighter around the edge, but I'm not certain.  He has been losing more of his fins daily, though.  In his tank I have gravel at the bottom, a ceramic clam shell with holes to help mitigate the strong bubbles, and a couple of plastic plants which have been there since I moved him to the aquarium.  It seems to only affect his tail fin at this point, not his others.

Hi Fishie Mama---Prisma's rays are becoming like "baby hair" and then disappearing altogether, in a matter of a couple of days.  I did put Fungus Clear in last night in hopes that it might do something if it is fin rot, so I will see how this treatment goes.  

I have Maracyn that I was thinking about using, but another forum user said that it is for only gram-positive bacteria and fin rot is usually gram-negative.  He suggested using Tetracycline...But I thought I'd try the Fungus Clear first since I had it on hand.  I will keep the Kanamycin in mind too.

Thanks for all the feedback!!

Tetracycline is a pretty harsh antibiotic, and wouldn't be my first choice.  I'd either combine Maracyn and Maracyn II, or use Kanamycin.

Sorry about Prisma's fins.

Hi Guys!  I have given Prisma a dose of Fungus Clear, but it doesn't appear to be helping so far.  I haven't found the Kanamycin yet, but I will look more this weekend.  If I can't find that, then I'll get the Maracyn II to mix with the Maracyn I have.  He continues to act normally; it's just his butt keeps getting smaller.    The latest pictures:

http://aquaticamigos.blogspot.com/2006/03/im-melting.html

(he's a hard booger to get with the camera--he won't stay still!!)

Naughty fishie!  

You can dose the JFC every two days until you find the Kanamycin.

Poor little Prisma! He's in my prayers.

Kathleen
_________________
" There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."

Beverly Sills

Hey guys...Prisma died today.  

He was still suffering from fin rot, but what killed him is that he somehow jumped out of his tank while I was getting ready for church this morning, and I didn't find him until some time later.  I don't know how long he was out, but I put him back in immediately.  He started breathing and rehydrating, and even swam around a little bit.  We were late, but we decided to go on to church anyway and to an oboe lesson I had scheduled, hoping that he would rest and recover while we were gone, but when we got back home, he had crawled behind the shell to die.  It looked like he might have still been breathing, but before long, he was gone.   I'm so sorry I didn't catch him sooner.  

I will miss your great fishie personality, Prisma.  RIP!  At least you are now in a place with no velvet, ick, or fin rot.

Thanks to everyone on the forum for all of your help in the meantime through treating his velvet and fin rot.  I am now well-advised and well-equipped for my next fish, whenever I might get another.