Fin Rot

Fin rot, the first signs.

Fantail goldfish with fin rot

    Fin rot... The first signs are milky white areas appearing in the fishes fin, particularly around the
edges. Then the fin will develop a ragged appearance, similar to a torn sheet. Red streaks or spots may appear, or a whitish fuzz will develop around the affected area.

What causes fin rot? Knowing is half the battle.

     Essentially fin rot is a bacterial infection, however bacteria does not actually cause fin rot. 

• Poor water conditions.

     Water quality plays a major part in the health and well being of all fish. If the water is not maintained properly it can lead to toxic ammonia and nitrate levels in the water, poor water quality is the biggest contributor to sick fish.

•  Physical damage to the fin.

     This can be caused by the fin snagging on something sharp, possibly being sucked into the intake on a filter, or even from another fish being aggressive. 

• Weakened immune system

     Bacterial and parasitical infections can weaken the immune system, leaving the fish susceptible to fin rot.

Treating fin rot 

     A clean environment is a healthy environment, there is no curing a sick fish in dirty water. With that being said the first step is to do some big water changes, changing 75% of the water twice will about guarantee completely clean fresh water in the tank. 

     Adding aquarium salt to the tank will help inhibit bacterial and fungal growth, the recommended dose is 1 tablespoon for every 5 gallons of water. Please note scaleless fish can be quite sensitive to salt. And please under NO CIRCUMSTANCES use Iodized salt, sea salt can be used as long as there are no preservatives in it.

     Cleaning the water and adding salt are a great start, when fin rot is caught early it maybe all that is needed. But for more advanced stages adding an antibacterial like Melafix to your water, will help with any bacterial infections. 

     For the more severe cases water changes, salt, and Melafix may not be enough and you may need to use an antibiotic. Tetracycline being one product, there are some downsides though. The Tetracycline will discolor your water and overdosing could lead to the bacteria becoming resistant.

I hope this article was helpful, Please feel free to share with your friends

or anyone who may need some information on fin rot. 

Thank you for reading.