Help: Attacked Rescue Betta Fin Rot?

Hello! Okay, so I am a brand new fish momma and my betta fish is actually a rescue fish! I'm in college so I'm only working on the weekends and I came into work to find a poor fish in a tiny cup full of murky water. I quickly changed the water and couldn't help but feel heart broken. Later on in the day I called my boss and he explained he had gotten the fish at an event and there used to be 2 until the second jumped into the tank and attacked this one. Later on that day the other betta died. He said he did not want to keep the fish because it is turning out to be too much work and told me I could take him if I wanted.
I ended up doing loads of research and later that day went to Petsmart with the intent of giving this fish a fantastic life. (Until reading for hours and talking to a friend of mine I really knew nothing about bettas but did not want to rely on the pet store workers). I got him a 5 gallon tank, heater, low flow filter, silk plants, hiding rock, betta hammock, gravel, thermometer, omega one betta buffet pellets +blood worms, and water conditioner. He's super seems super happy and curious. Nothing in his behavior indicates he is sick.
I just have one concern. Some parts of his fins have grey and black tints. Additionally his dorsal fin is toppled, I'm assuming from the attack. I'm worried it is fin rot but it's hard to tell because I didn't see him before he was attacked. I'm also having trouble finding a betta fish that looks like him online. I got some aquarium salt and have been using that for a couple days since I figured it couldn't hurt clean the wounds anyways. Can you guys please help diagnose him. I would hate to use antibiotics unnecessarily. Additionally if you can indentify what type of betta he is that would be great too!

 

His fins are clamped which is not unusual to see in a fish that's uncomfortable, whether from illness or injury. I would stop using the salt now and just do frequent water changes with dechlorinator. I use Seachem Prime myself because it's super concentrated and helps out with a lot of things all at once!

You've picked up good foods for him and I've found that a high protein diet is essential to fin regrowth. I don't see any sign of fin rot in the pictures so I think just keep him warm and clean and he should be fine

If your bloodworms are freeze-dried it's a good idea to presoak them in a little tank water or spring water

And good job saving this poor fish and doing the research to help him! Welcome to the forum

 

Thanks for the advice and the warm welcome!
Is there a chance his fin will become "unclamped"? And okay, would you suggest doing a 100% aquarium change to get rid of the aquarium salt or do it over the course of a few days?
Once again thanks so much for the advice. I really appreciate it!

 

When he is comfy he will start to relax, he looks like a veil tail, but such an unusual color, he will be lovely once he recovers completely, salt won't help him and might actually irritate his wounds, he looks healthy despite the injuries, so clean, warm water should do him good.

 

You're welcome!

You can do it slowly. You probably didn't add very much so just carry on with daily water changes until he heals and the nitrogen cycle establishes.

If you're not familiar with that then click on the words in blue or just ask. We'll be happy to explain! Took me ages to wrap my head around it

 

Gotcha! Thanks guys! So do you think they grey/ black parts are just a part of his natural coloring or that they were caused by the attack?

 

I'm thinking from the attack, if it is fin rot keep his water clean as possible and he should heal quickly.

 

Start with clean water. I had a betta that had been ripped apart by another male, fins were chewed right back to the body! He healed fully and was a beautiful betta

 

Great!! So how much water should I be changing daily?

 

I'd go with 10-20%, so .5 to 1 gallon.

 

Do you guys think he would benefit from an air pump and/ or bubble wand?

 

Chances are it won't hurt, just keep an eye that he doesn't get blown around by the force of the bubbles. He may not like it. On the other hand, he may think it's the greatest new toy!

 

Alright!! Is there any way to slow the bubbles/make them less intense if the air pump doesn't have an intensity setting?

 

Good job saving this poor little fish. You did good getting a tank rather than one of those tiny betta torture chambers. You probably don't need additional air but it won't hurt unless it agitates the water too much. Bettas like calm waters, you can get an air valve to go between pump and tank to adjust air flow.

 

Thank you so much! All of you have been so much help and I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate it!
I will just bother you all with one last question: how long should I continue the daily water changes for?

 

As long as you need to. If you start to see improvement (regrowth will be colourless at first) then you can reduce the water changes a bit and see how he goes, maybe every other day. Gradually cut back the water changes until he's back on a normal schedule.

Some bettas just have a problem with chronic fin rot and need more frequent water changes to prevent it from reoccurring. I had one like that and I had to do water changes every 2 days. None of my other bettas were affected