10 Gallon Tank Betta Tail becoming withered

Good Afternoon all.

I have 2 nano aquariums right next to each other with both main inhabitants being Plakat Bettas.

The first tank is a 12 Gallon with a Betta, 8 Ember Tetras and an Otocinclus. This tank has been running for two years with the current stock without any issues or loses.

My second tank is an 8 Gallon aquarium with a single Male Betta. My previous giant betta had a bad case of fin rot in this tank and I eventually gave him to a family member but he died a few weeks later. Before getting another betta for my 8 gallon I removed all the gravel and replaced it, re scaped the tank and did a fishes cycle for 6 weeks before looking for a new Betta.

I bought a beautiful Plakat male with PERFECT fins and skin. When placed in the tank he was scratching himself a lot so I treated him with fluke medication and everything went back to normal. Now I bought the fish on 30/09/22 and he has been eating and behaving like normal, however I've noticed his tail is a bit chipped and withered.
Now I admit I might just be paranoid because of what happened to my last beloved betta but I am unsure if this is a mild or starting case of fin rot or if the fish has just scraped it and it will heal. He is acting normal and feeding normal however its been 2 weeks and those little chips aren't healing unlike my other betta who heals within a few days whenever he scratches or damages his fins. I am also using some Betta fix which says it heals betta but I do not see any difference being made.

Should I wait and see if its becoming worse to treat for FinRot or just go ahead and treat just incase? I do have live pants but the fish is my main priority.
Now I did a water test (API) and their is 0 Ammonia and Nitrite, very low Nitrate as I have plants and do a 40% water change every week on both tanks. The only difference in the tanks was the PH. My 8 gallon has a PH of 7.6 where my other tank has a PH of 7.2

Ill attach pictures of how my fish looked when I bought him and now he looks now. Let me know if you guys see anything odd or what you would dpi in this situation. Thank you !!

 

I would add a couple more water changes to that tank every week. Should keep the tail from getting bad and should start growing back before long.

 

I would add a couple more water changes to that tank every week. Should keep the tail from getting bad and should start growing back before long.

Thanks for the response mate, I’m thinking of doing more frequent but smaller water changes like 25% every second day.

 

The body of any animal will heal with good living conditions and proper nutrition.

You should only need meds when disease occurs.

what are you using as water conditioner? how old is the tank? do you vacuum?

It looks like you have live plants, but hard to tell.

You may have old tank syndrome where the fish tank just goes sideways due to build up of biological material or die off of good bacteria

my 38 gallon tank is 4.5 years old and i'm doing 50% water changes now because the water just didn't look right, as nice as it should. tanks are a closed environment and we can never replicate nature as perfectly as outside.


I also think garlic is the best thing ever. bettas love it and it really helps the immune system. I add it 1x a week to my king Betta food. But when I first got him, every feeding had garlic juice because he was so ill.

Good luck! He's a beautiful betta. marbled bettas are weaker genetically , so I feed mine the glowfish food as well because it supposedly boosts their immune systems.

 

The body of any animal will heal with good living conditions and proper nutrition.

You should only need meds when disease occurs.

what are you using as water conditioner? how old is the tank? do you vacuum?

It looks like you have live plants, but hard to tell.

You may have old tank syndrome where the fish tank just goes sideways due to build up of biological material or die off of good bacteria

my 38 gallon tank is 4.5 years old and i'm doing 50% water changes now because the water just didn't look right, as nice as it should. tanks are a closed environment and we can never replicate nature as perfectly as outside.


I also think garlic is the best thing ever. bettas love it and it really helps the immune system. I add it 1x a week to my king Betta food. But when I first got him, every feeding had garlic juice because he was so ill.

Good luck! He's a beautiful betta. marbled bettas are weaker genetically , so I feed mine the glowfish food as well because it supposedly boosts their immune systems.

Thanks for the detailed reply mate I really appreciate it

Im currently using API water conditioner with every water change.
The tank has been running for about 1.5 years.
I do gravel vacuum but only in the frontal areas of the tank without plants. I do this because before I would vacuum the root tabs and my live plants would suffer.

All my plants are live in both tanks but this tank has a WRBG light but its set low to prevent algae.
I have never heard of old tank syndrome but will definitely look into it.

You add garlic to your fish food??
I feed both my Betta boys a mix of insect flakes, bloodworms and Hikari gold pellets that I soak in water before feeding.
The pellets that I feed them apparently have garlic in it for fish to consume without issue so im not sure if I should add garlic or maybe feed the pellets more often than the flakes.

He is still doing perfectly and I hope extra water changes and a switch up in food will help him grow his fins back.