# Fungus treatment affects Beta badly



## JacMc (Jan 3, 2015)

I have a Betta with fungus just behind the top of his head. I have been treating the water with Interpet Anti Fungus / Finrot for about the last month. He had some fin rot which cleared but the fungus has got worse, and when I add the treatment to the water it affects my Betta quite badly. He hides down at the bottom of the tank and refuses to eat - this lasts about 3 days when I do a partial water change and shortly after this he goes back to normal.

I have a couple of little Corys and some snails which aren't affected by this treatment. I have no other tank to put the snails into and therefore can't use Aquarium Salt.

Does anyone have any idea why it affects my Betta in this way please? He really isn't happy when the treatment goes in but it also doesn't seem to be any good. Are there any other snail friendly treatments that I could use?

Thanks in advance.
Jac


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

Does he seem to react immediately when you dose the meds? If so, it does sound like this medication doesn't agree with him. I googled it and saw a few reviews with people saying this medication negatively affected their fish. I've also heard of bettas reacting negatively to melafix, which is usually a very gentle medication, so it does seem that bettas can be particularly sensitive to certain meds.

I have snails in my tank (nerites and MTS, and previously a ramshorn) and have previously used both eSHa 2000 and Seachem ParaGuard without any harm to the snails. On the websites for both of these meds it does advise removing snails before treating, but I think that's just a precaution. Both of these products are also filter bacteria friendly.

You'll need to do several large water changes and run carbon in your filter for a few days to remove the old meds before adding new ones. (Don't forget to remove the carbon before adding new meds - I assume you remembered to do this before adding the Interpet meds?) I'd also recommend testing for ammonia and nitrite, as the bacteria population may have been damaged by the old meds, compounding the problem. Dosing Seachem Prime daily will minimise the damage until the filter bacteria population recovers, as it detoxifies ammonia and nitrite (if you have nitrite present, you'll need to use a larger dose - see the product instructions). Personally, I always dose Prime as a precaution any time there's a chance my filter bacteria could have suffered - e.g. following a power cut, after any filter maintenance, or when using meds.


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## JacMc (Jan 3, 2015)

Hi Naomi, thanks so much for your help. Yes, he reacts near enough immediately (within 5 minutes each time) so I'll stop using that treatment and follow your other advice. Thanks again, appreciate it. Jac


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## Blaise in Surrey (Jun 10, 2014)

Just a small point - did you remember that Betta should have only a half-dose?


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## JacMc (Jan 3, 2015)

BlaiseinHampshire said:


> Just a small point - did you remember that Betta should have only a half-dose?


Heck no! I didn't know. Oh I feel so awful now. I just put the normal dose for a 30 litre tank in. I did a water change last night so hopefully he's feeling a little better now - albeit still with his cotton wool ball on his head! Thank you again. Feel so bad for my poor little Betta now.


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

BlaiseinHampshire said:


> Just a small point - did you remember that Betta should have only a half-dose?





JacMc said:


> Heck no! I didn't know. Oh I feel so awful now. I just put the normal dose for a 30 litre tank in. I did a water change last night so hopefully he's feeling a little better now - albeit still with his cotton wool ball on his head! Thank you again. Feel so bad for my poor little Betta now.


Lots of medications don't seem to state this, or don't state it clearly, but it is generally a wise precaution as bettas and other labyrinth fish, along with loaches and scaleless fish, do tend to be more sensitive to medications.


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## JacMc (Jan 3, 2015)

NaomiM said:


> Lots of medications don't seem to state this, or don't state it clearly, but it is generally a wise precaution as bettas and other labyrinth fish, along with loaches and scaleless fish, do tend to be more sensitive to medications.


Thanks, I never knew this. I'll be more careful in future.


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