Fish rot? Or simply a tear?

Hi,
Yesterday, I noticed that my betta fish had a major chunk missing from his top tail. I checked the water and there is no ammonia or nitrate/nitrite. I was wondering if anyone could tell me if this is fin rot, or if he simply tore it on something. He has high energy and has a strong appetite. I just want to make sure so that if it is fin rot I can take care of it before it gets worse.
thanks!

 

It looks like he either tore it on something or bit it off. Bettas can get annoyed or bored dragging long tails around and try to bite them off, and they can get torn on plastic or sharp plants. Keep his water very clean and try to provide more enrichment to distract him.
Drawing on the tank with a dry erase marker, betta logs, and floating plants are good ‘toys’.

 

Ok thank you! He’s very active and I’ve been trying to keep him entertained, but I definitely will get some more toys. I just wanted to make sure it isn’t fin rot.
And I know the water is fairly cloudy… I do clean it every week with 25% water changes. But it seems that it’s in a bit of a bacterial bloom. I think I will stop using tap water, since where I live has a very hard and metal-y water

 

That is for sure fin rot. You can tell because there are black edges on his caudal fin too and he appears clamped. The dorsal fin has been eaten away almost to the body. Def not an overnight occurrence. Perhaps a tear caused the initial rips in the fins but it has now become infected. It doesn't look like tail biting to me, it's not circular enough.


This is usually due to poor water quality. What even is the volume on the tank? How often do you change his water and how much?

Regardless start doing much larger WCs more frequently to help him heal. At least 50% WC 3-4 x per week.

 

It is a 5 gallon tank, and I change the water every week (a 50% water treatment)

 

It is a 5 gallon tank, and I change the water every week (a 50% water treatment)

Seems like you have good parameters then, but his fins imo still appear infected. Most concerning is his dorsal fin. Do you have live plants in the tank?

 

I have no live plants, only silk plants, and I have no other fish or snails (etc) in the tank. Should I start an aquarium salt treatment? I also have a heater in the tank and the water is always at 78 degrees F.

 

I have no live plants, only silk plants, and I have no other fish or snails (etc) in the tank. Should I start an aquarium salt treatment? I also have a heater in the tank and the water is always at 78 degrees F.

Your temp is perfect, no need to adjust. I personally would recommend salt treatment for sure since you have no live plants. I would start with doing a 50% WC and adding 2 tbsp of salt (mix it in and dissolve it). Then do another 50% WC every 2 days adding another 1 tbsp of salt dissolved to keep that concentration. This is a fairly low concentration of salt and will not stress your betta much. You should see improvement within days, but keep up treatment for at least 1 week and no more than 2 weeks. To remove salt do 2 large WCs with fresh water.

*edit if you have any plastic plants or sharp hardscape they need to go. They most likely tore his fins.

 

Ok! Thank you so much!!