Floppy fins in betta also sluggish

hello! i just learned my betta is a male half moon! thanks to this forum. anyways. the last two months i’ve had this gut feeling that soemthing is wrong but my betta wasn’t showing anything other then not exploring as much as he usually does. today his fins look a little chopped up and floppy. i’ve had him for bout 10 months. he’s such a cool fish and he’s still eating like regular. but just spends his days near the top or in his cave. not exactly sure is wrong but i will add pics. also his heater is set to 80, ammonia nitrite is 0 nitrate is 5. he is in a 6.7 gallon tank. i have the flow almost at zero i do have an air pump and a filter going, i modify them to make the flow slower. i will add pics of his tank and his fins. i’ve already added some salt and i’m not leave my fish tank light off for the day to hopefully help me calm down if he’s sick or soemthing is wrong. please help! i’ll do anything

 

Looks like a bit of fin rot, don't worry just keep the tank water pristine and it should heal up nicely

 

Looks like a bit of fin rot, don't worry just keep the tank water pristine and it should heal up nicely

okay not good but it’s something that is fixable thanks! would the best thing to do is daily water change and salt?

 

Daily water changes, yes. Not sure about salt.

 

okay will do. he’s still super sluggish. he been having trouble swimming. i only feed him two pellets every other day. his movement is he will float them slowly turn on his side but it looks like he has no control then after laying on his side for 2 seconds he will quickly jolt away. such a weird thing i can’t even describe it.

Daily water changes, yes. Not sure about salt.

 

I was going to mention that he looks a little skinny and his color is a bit washed out. If you're only feeding 2 pellets every other day then that would explain it. That's only 6 pellets per week; my betta can easily eat 6-8 per day. Imo malnutrition could be contributing to his lethargy. He simply might not have the energy to swim with those heavy fins. Although the inability to control his swimming sounds like he's having issues with his swim bladder too.

Btw if you keep the rhizomes of your java ferns buried in the gravel they will rot/start to die. I would suggest replanting or attaching them to driftwood.

 

I was going to mention that he looks a little skinny and his color is a bit washed out. If you're only feeding 2 pellets every other day then that would explain it. That's only 6 pellets per week; my betta can easily eat 6-8 per day. Imo malnutrition could be contributing to his lethargy. He simply might not have the energy to swim with those heavy fins. Although the inability to control his swimming sounds like he's having issues with his swim bladder too.

Btw if you keep the rhizomes of your java ferns buried in the gravel they will rot/start to die. I would suggest replanting or attaching them to driftwood.

wow i’m starving him :/ that’s terrible so should i feed twice a day? i feel SO BAD omg and yes i will change that java wood ! thanks for ur comment
omg you guys I FEEL TERRIBLE. wow thank you for telling me. just gave him so food i hope that helps him feel better

 

wow i’m starving him :/ that’s terrible so should i feed twice a day? i feel SO BAD omg and yes i will change that java wood ! thanks for ur comment

I mean.. fish don't need a lot of food in general but imo yes you are feeding him too little. You could start to slowly increase his food to every day to help get his digestive system used to the new amount. Then you could move onto twice daily feedings to help get his weight up. If he has issues with bloating with the increased food you could look into a better quality pellet with minimal fillers and/or try soaking his pellets before feeding him. Just take it slow, try not to feed too much at once and work up to more food.

Another good thing to add to his diet is variety. You could try adding live or frozen foods such as brine shrimp, daphnia, blood worms, or white mosquito larvae to his diet.

Don't feel bad, we've all made mistakes. Heck, I had to do a fish-in cycle when I got my betta because I had no idea about the nitrogen cycle. The important thing is that you want to take good care of him and want to learn.

 

I mean.. fish don't need a lot of food in general but imo yes you are feeding him too little. You could start to slowly increase his food to every day to help get his digestive system used to the new amount. Then you could move onto twice daily feedings to help get his weight up. If he has issues with bloating with the increased food you could look into a better quality pellet with minimal fillers and/or try soaking his pellets before feeding him. Just take it slow, try not to feed too much at once and work up to more food.

Don't feel bad, we've all made mistakes. Heck, I had to do a fish-in cycle when I got my betta because I had no idea about the nitrogen cycle. The important thing is that you want to take good care of him and want to learn.

Very true! the best thing to do is learn from my mistakes. also what do you feed ur better! i’m feeding him fluval bug bites. and yes i will take things slow. i have a feeling this was probably his big issue poor little guy was hungry but now i know and it will be fixed. thank you so much i appreciate it.

 

Very true! the best thing to do is learn from my mistakes. also what do you feed ur better! i’m feeding him fluval bug bites. and yes i will take things slow. i have a feeling this was probably his big issue poor little guy was hungry but now i know and it will be fixed. thank you so much i appreciate it.

On the bright side, increasing his food and WCs will both help with healing his fin rot!

My betta's staples are Fluval s/m cichlid bugbites and Northfin betta bits. He also gets frozen food on the weekends either brine shrimp or blood worms. If you can find some daphnia, white mosquito larvae or tubifex worms are also great to add to their diet too.

I'm actually looking into cultivating my own live food this summer! Hopefully I'll be able to get some nice mosquito larvae for him to add to rotation.

 

My betta's staples are Fluval s/m cichlid bugbites and Northfin betta bits. He also gets frozen food on the weekends either brine shrimp or blood worms. If you can find some daphnia, white mosquito larvae or tubifex worms are also great to add to their diet too.

I'm actually looking into cultivating my own live food this summer! Hopefully I'll be able to get some nice mosquito larvae for him to add to rotation.

that sounds awesome! i heard brine shrimp is good too! i’m gonna do some research on where to find some good foods near me. Your betta sounds like he/she lives a great life!

 

that sounds awesome! i heard brine shrimp is good too! i’m gonna do some research on where to find some good foods near me. Your betta sounds like he/she lives a great life!

For some reason my betta prefers brine shrimp to blood worms. Goes crazy for it. Haha thank you, I like to think so! I've had him for just over 2 years now making him around 3 years old. The old man is still as active as he was when I got him.

 

For some reason my betta prefers brine shrimp to blood worms. Goes crazy for it. Haha thank you, I like to think so! I've had him for just over 2 years now making him around 3 years old. The old man is still as active as he was when I got him.

that’s awesome ! my little guy was too, with the info i know now my guy will get back to being the same way! heading to petco right now !

For some reason my betta prefers brine shrimp to blood worms. Goes crazy for it. Haha thank you, I like to think so! I've had him for just over 2 years now making him around 3 years old. The old man is still as active as he was when I got him.

also ! what are ur thoughts on those little exercise mirrors? i know they only for like 10 mins a day but is it worth buying?

 

that’s awesome ! my little guy was too, with the info i know now my guy will get back to being the same way! heading to petco right now !

also ! what are ur thoughts on those little exercise mirrors? i know they only for like 10 mins a day but is it worth buying?

Yeah increasing your WCs and his food should hopefully help a lot! Imo those mirrors aren't worth it. Especially if he's a shy betta then it could just stress him out more.

 

Yeah increasing your WCs and his food should hopefully help a lot! Imo those mirrors aren't worth it. Especially if he's a shy betta then it could just stress him out more.

okay thanks. some people love them some hate them so thanks.

 

okay thanks. some people love them some hate them so thanks.

It all depends on the betta. I personally think there are better ways to keep them entertained. If you're looking for something to increase enrichment then you could try a floating log or floating plants. I just notice that your tank is a little open around the top and bettas prefer more cover there. They also really enjoy shady areas.

 

It all depends on the betta. If you're looking for something to increase enrichment then you could try a floating log or floating plants. I just notice that your tank is a little open around the top and bettas prefer more cover there.

i do have the floating log, and the suction cup leaf. i did have one of those fake lily pad things but i ended up throwing it away it. i did buy a light dimmer so the light is nice a dim for the whole day he seems to enjoy that a lot and i’ll look into some floating plants. and i’ll out put the log back in.

 

It all depends on the betta. I personally think there are better ways to keep them entertained. If you're looking for something to increase enrichment then you could try a floating log or floating plants. I just notice that your tank is a little open around the top and bettas prefer more cover there. They also really enjoy shady areas.

hi guys! i have an update so feeding more which i think is helping seems to be more energetic! it makes me so happy there has been no more fin rot or any more tears. the only thing i’m noticing is he is still hanging around the top still, he just sits in the floating log all day pretty much. i don’t mind if he’s lazy i just want him to be healthy. wondering if there’s anything i can do for him. thanks

 

hi guys! i have an update so feeding more which i think is helping seems to be more energetic! it makes me so happy there has been no more fin rot or any more tears. the only thing i’m noticing is he is still hanging around the top still, he just sits in the floating log all day pretty much. i don’t mind if he’s lazy i just want him to be healthy. wondering if there’s anything i can do for him. thanks

Yay!! That's great news!

Might just be a betta thing. They like to rest all around the tank in between exploring, especially if they are shy. I would just try to provide multiple rest/hide areas all over the tank. If it seems like he likes the top best then you could always add some really tall plants that create some cover for him to hangout under. Or floating plants like amazon frogbit.

Btw this is what I mean by tall plants to chill under. My betta loves hanging out in the circled spots but he has like 8 other rest areas he rotates between throughout the day. There's also this shaded area of cover behind the silk plants that he really likes. Bettas generally enjoy shady/low light tanks so you could also try to add more shady spots for him to rest in. Also the more hiding spots he has the more secure he will feel to explore.

 

Yay!! That's great news!

Might just be a betta thing. They like to rest all around the tank in between exploring, especially if they are shy. I would just try to provide multiple rest/hide areas all over the tank. If it seems like he likes the top best then you could always add some really tall plants that create some cover for him to hangout under. Or floating plants like amazon frogbit.

Btw this is what I mean by tall plants to chill under. My betta loves hanging out in the circled spots but he has like 8 other rest areas he rotates between throughout the day. There's also this shaded area of cover behind the silk plants that he really likes. Bettas generally enjoy shady/low light tanks so you could also try to add more shady spots for him to rest in. Also the more hiding spots he has the more secure he will feel to explore.

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awe ur tank looks awesome ! we have the same bridge another update ! i got almond leaves and been feeding more. he’s doing awesome. he’s been swimming more, finally has checked out his decorations going under the bridge over the bridge. i’m just so happy rn thank you guys so much for the advice and help. i’m just so happy i wish i could upload a video!