Things You'll Need
- New water
- Extra/hospital tank
- Extra filter
- Antibiotics
Instructions
Fixing the Environment
Change 20 to 50 percent of the water with clean water. Check the tank for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and temperature. Make sure the ammonia and nitrite levels are at 0 ppm and nitrate should be under 20 ppm. The pH levels and water temperature should remain stable from day to day.
Clean debris out of the tank. Clean all of the filters and gravel in the tank.
Remove tank bullies. Bullies nip at the other fish, causing fin damage that can lead to fin rot.
Antibiotic Treatment
Remove the affected fish from the community tank. Place the fish in another tank, sometimes referred to as a hospital tank.
Add over-the-counter antibiotics to the tank water. The antibiotic should be gram negative. Some antibiotics used to treat fin rot are minocycline and kanamiacyn.
Observe the fish for signs of further infection. Check to see if the fish is healing properly and if the fin tissue is growing back.
Remove the fish from the hospital tank and return it to the home tank. Do this when all signs of infection are gone and the fin tissue has grown back.