Does my betta have fin rot or something else?

hello! ive had my betta for 3 months and this is my first ever fish. to start out, he has a ten gallon tank with live plants as well as everything a betta needs + more. he also lives with a mystery snail and a controlled amount of shrimp(he gets along with them well) . he is a spoiled little guy. his tank is completely cycled and ive tested the water multiple times and his water is good in all aspects. about two or more weeks ago i saw that his fins looked torn (check photo). he is a halfmoon betta. i believe he is a black orchid double tail halfmoon betta to be exact. i read that halfmoons can have their find naturally tear because of breeding or they bite their fins as well(idk how true that is). anyway, i ended up getting really nervous because after i came back from a trip, his fins got worse so i immediately put him in a hospital tank and have been treating him with the right aquarium salt and his fins do seem to be getting better. but as i read more about it, the symptoms dont match up. so i want to know your guys opinions on his fins. thank you

 

Are there other fish in the tank? Have you watched to see if he bites his tail? Yes, it's true male betta will sometimes bite their tail. I think they get sick of lugging the extra weight around, Those long fins are gorgeous but very unnatural. But It seems more like an all-over thing, and therefore it could be fin rot.
I don't know which treatment is best, I hope someone will answer soon. Please don't use Betta fix or mellafix!

 

Are there other fish in the tank? Have you watched to see if he bites his tail? Yes, it's true male betta will sometimes bite their tail. I think they get sick of lugging the extra weight around, Those long fins are gorgeous but very unnatural. But It seems more like an all-over thing, and therefore it could be fin rot.
I don't know which treatment is best, I hope someone will answer soon. Please don't use Betta fix or mellafix!

there is no other fish except the shrimp and snail. i havent seen him bite his tail but he does struggle to swim a bit because of how long they are. i read that betta fix and mellafix are harmful so i stayed away from those. thank you very much for replying

 

Hello, yes.. those gorgeous fins.
How often do you change water, and how much each time?

 

Hello ! i change the water once every week with 25% water change

 

Hi,

What kind of shrimp do you have? Just curious...

He definitely could be fin nipping. If you see him swimming in a tight circle, then that is what is going on. When they nip their fins, it can look like tassels hanging on an old lady's shall, or you can see bite sized chunks taken out.

I have found over the years that this starts when the males reach maturity, or breeding, age. Not a lot that you can do other than to keep an eye on it, and maybe change up the tank a little bit every now and then so he can explore, or add something to pique his interest.

The only other thing that it could be is if he is getting caught behind something in the tank, or maybe behind the filter. I've seen that pattern of fin loss when one of my bettas got caught behind a rock. He was ok when he was small, but as he grew larger, the decor didn't work any more.

So, I would check any decor that you might have to make sure there are no sharp edges. If you don't have any decor, or a filter intake (hang on back filter) that he could get sucked into, then he is fin nipping.

I would go ahead and put him back into his tank after you have treated him for 10 days, and do small water changes every other day for a couple of weeks to keep his water pristine. It won't take a lot of time or effort to change out a couple of gallons every other day, and it will help him a lot. And those tannins that you already have in the tank will help, too!

(Don't use aquarium salt for more than 10 days in a row, as it becomes ineffective with overuse, like antibiotics.)

I do hope this helps!!! And I would love to see a pic of his entire body, as I am sure that he is absolutely beautiful!!!

 

Hi,

What kind of shrimp do you have? Just curious...

He definitely could be fin nipping. If you see him swimming in a tight circle, then that is what is going on. When they nip their fins, it can look like tassels hanging on an old lady's shall, or you can see bite sized chunks taken out.

I have found over the years that this starts when the males reach maturity, or breeding, age. Not a lot that you can do other than to keep an eye on it, and maybe change up the tank a little bit every now and then so he can explore, or add something to pique his interest.

The only other thing that it could be is if he is getting caught behind something in the tank, or maybe behind the filter. I've seen that pattern of fin loss when one of my bettas got caught behind a rock. He was ok when he was small, but as he grew larger, the decor didn't work any more.

So, I would check any decor that you might have to make sure there are no sharp edges. If you don't have any decor, or a filter intake (hang on back filter) that he could get sucked into, then he is fin nipping.

I would go ahead and put him back into his tank after you have treated him for 10 days, and do small water changes every other day for a couple of weeks to keep his water pristine. It won't take a lot of time or effort to change out a couple of gallons every other day, and it will help him a lot. And those tannins that you already have in the tank will help, too!

(Don't use aquarium salt for more than 10 days in a row, as it becomes ineffective with overuse, like antibiotics.)

I do hope this helps!!! And I would love to see a pic of his entire body, as I am sure that he is absolutely beautiful!!!

hello! thank you for replying! i have cherry red shrimp. i saw that bettas get along with ghost shrimp more but i took my chance with cherry red shrimp and he has never bothered them. he hovers near them and never chases them so thats nice. they all live in perfect harmony.

and i definitely will change his tank up a bit. the last time i moved his decor around his tank was a month and a half ago so i think its time for a switch up.

for the decor, i have driftwood, live plants and that three hole rock home thing (i dont know how to describe it lol) so the only way i can see him getting torn on that is he will go into the smallest rock so that could be a possibility.

i'll definitely move him back because its actually been exactly ten days so thank you very much!

and here is a picture of his color and his fin size which has grown a little bit more since i took this picture but i got him because i love halfmoon fins so seeing his fins torn made me so sad

 

He's a beautiful boy!!!!

I would check the driftwood to make sure it is smooth, if you have not done that.

Fin damage is very normal in long finned bettas, so you may see some type of hole or tear often. Keeping his water clean will be the very best medicine.