How to Fix a Freshwater Catfish Fin

Freshwater catfish often fight over food in an aquarium, and their sharp barbels can lead to fin injury. Catfish fins re-generate without any intervention under perfect aquarium conditions, but fin rot may set in as a secondary problem when fish are stressed or are living in unhealthy water. You can heal a damaged fin and prevent fin rot by using a commercial treatment and aquarium salt. Fin rot fish treatments kill bacteria, and also usually contain active ingredients to speed up tissue healing. This will enable you to treat an injury and prevent a fin rot infection with the same treatment.

Things You'll Need

  • Bucket
  • Siphon
  • Water dechlorinator
  • Floating thermometer
  • Commercial fin rot solution
  • Aquarium salt
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Instructions

    • 1

      Empty your aquarium's water. Fin rot is caused by aeromonas and pseudomonas bacteria, which lie dormant in all aquariums, and the bacteria infect vulnerable fish when their immunity is low from dirty water or injury. If your tank water is clean, your fish will be in better health and more likely to re-generate fins effectively.

    • 2

      Clean the gravel and substrate at the bottom of your tank. Excess fish waste and uneaten food decompose in gravel and make your tank water unhealthy. Always use a siphon to carry out water changes, so you can easily clean substrate at the same time.

    • 3

      Prepare new water with dechlorinator in a bucket, following the guidelines on the bottle for the correct dosage.

    • 4

      Place a floating thermometer into the bucket, and make a note of the final temperature. It is important that each time you repeat this step, you do so with water of relatively the same temperature.

    • 5

      Pour the dechlorinated water into your aquarium, and repeat as needed until the aquarium is nearly full.

    • 6

      Add a commercial fin rot treatment solution to the final bucket of water. Different brands of fish medicine have different dosage methods, so follow the guidelines on your chosen brand for the correct procedure. If the fin rot medication recommends additional aquarium salt to enhance effectiveness, add the required amount to the last bucket of water with the medicine.

    • 7

      Carry out partial water changes at least once a week, administering the fin rot medication at appropriate dosage levels for the recommended treatment time.