My First Time Dealing with Fin Rot

"What's going on??? Why are you deteriorating???"

Everybody meet Spook.

I bought Spook In October of 2017 from Petco when he was mostly white (top photo). He was not my first betta fish, but he was my first betta I ever put in a proper environment (filtered tank with a heater). As you can see, he carried the marbling gene and once he was put in a proper home he started coloring up a ton!

Tank Backstory

Flashback to when I was at Petsmart (yes, Petsmart and not Petco because I usually find they have better equipment) buying my very first tank. I had NO idea what made a good tank and what made a bad tank. But I did do a small amount of research on what sizes were good and decided I would buy a 3.5 gallon home for Spook. I was a little confused about the whole filter situation because I had never had one before. So I asked one of the associates for some help. He assured me that the one it came with would be good as is for two to three months, to just leave it alone until it looked like it was basically falling apart. (Yikes!) He also saw that I had a log decoration/hide for Spook and he told me bettas don't like hiding in things. I'm glad I ignored him on that one because Spook LOVED his log hide.

Late December 2017

I noticed Spook's fins looked like they were deteriorating.

I didn't know what was going on and assumed since I was a couple of weeks late on doing his water change that it was because of the water quality, so I immediately did a water change, put some Bettafix in the tank (yes, with the filter still in there *facepalm*) and hoped he would start getting better.

He only got worse.

Six days had passed and he looked like this.

I was in tears when I took that picture. I felt like an awful fish mom because I had no idea what I was doing wrong and didn't have the slightest clue what to do next. The only thing that gave me a small glimmer of hope was that he was still eating, acting the same, and happily swimming as if nothing was wrong. I immediately took him out of the tank and put him in a small hospital tank. From there I continued Bettafix treatment (which I now know isn't good for them, but I didn't know at the time) and also started soaking his food in garlic juice to boost his immune system.

The very next day I saw a noticeable difference. His fins weren't rotting anymore, and they were getting a black outline. I kept him in the hospital tank for a little over a week before I put him back in his tank. His tail was smaller now, but I could see small growth. When I put him back in his tank, I changed out the filter for a new one and had my "aha" moment. The associate had me so sure I didn't have to worry about the filter so it never occurred to me that that might be the problem.

The first picture in this collage was taken in January and the last picture was taken in March. When I put him back in his regular tank I stopped the Bettafix treatment and only occasionally dipped his food in garlic juice (if you've done this, you know about the smell). As you can see, he made a full recovery but WOW did it take a lot of patience. I was expecting to see instant growth over night, but that's not how it works.

Out of the Woods

I'm glad I had this experience at the beginning of my fish-keeping journey because it taught me so much and to this day, has been my only fin rot experience. *knocks on wood*

Spook is no longer with us, but I'm so thankful to him and everything he taught me. He's the whole reason I bought a tank to begin with. He was so active in the vase I put him in and I felt awful that he didn't have more room to explore. He stayed in a vase for two days before I pulled the trigger and bought him his forever home ❤️

Here's one of the last pictures I took of him before he passed. You wouldn't have even known he was the same fish I bought, he looked completely different! I'm so glad I had the opportunity to take care of you, Spook, thanks for swimming sporadically in your little Petco cup when you saw me to get my attention. Swim In Peace little guy.