Help! Betta fin rot??!!

Just woke up to my bettas fins like this! He was completely fine yesterday, what’s wrong?! He is still active and eating. Help!

 

It definitely looks like Fin Rot or Fin Biting.

Have you introduced any new fish/plants?

Can you fill out the Emergency Template - Aquatic Emergency Template | Freshwater Fish Disease and Fish Health Forum | 376562 ?

The most important thing is to not panic and start medicating prematurely.

We should try and figure out what has caused it first, so filling out the emergency template will give us the water parameters etc.

 

It definitely looks like Fin Rot or Fin Biting.

Have you introduced any new fish/plants?

Can you fill out the Emergency Template - Aquatic Emergency Template | Freshwater Fish Disease and Fish Health Forum | 376562 ?

The most important thing is to not panic and start medicating prematurely.

We should try and figure out what has caused it first, so filling out the emergency template will give us the water parameters etc.

No new fish or plants, all live plants



Tank
What is the water volume of the tank?
10 gallons
How long has the tank been running?
3 weeks
Does it have a filter?
Yes sponge filter
Does it have a heater?
Yes
What is the water temperature?
80 degrees
What is the entire stocking of this tank?
Just the betta
(Please list all fish and inverts.)

Maintenance
How often do you change the water?
water change once a week
How much of the water do you change?
50%
What do you use to treat your water?
TankFirst water conditioner
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water?
I vacuum it and rake the sand

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish?
No I didnt, used QuickStart and did lots of water changes
What do you use to test the water?
API freshwater master test kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia:0 ppm
Nitrite:0 ppm
Nitrate:5.0 ppm
pH: 6.6 is that bad?

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish?
Everyday
How much do you feed your fish?
5 pellets
What brand of food do you feed your fish?
Betta Bio Gold
Do you feed frozen?
Yes frozen bloodworms once a week
Do you feed freeze-dried foods?
Yes once a week
Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish?
4 weeks
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms?
Today
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms?
His fins looked like they are chopped off
Have you started any treatment for the illness?
No
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase?
No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all?
Only his fins look different, acting normal besides that
Explain your emergency situation in detail.
I just woke up today and saw his fins looking like that. He was completely fine yesterday but he is acting normal and fine. No sharp objects in the tank, no other fish in the tank. I just want to know what to treat him with

 

If he did not look like that yesterday, and there is nothing that he could have gotten stuck in to make that happen, then he bit his own tail. Often when you see that pattern, kind of like the ends of an old lady's shall, that means fin nipping.

You can do some small daily water changes for the next couple of weeks, and his fins should grow back with no problem. The best medicine is super clean water.

If your ph has been 6.6 for the entire time that you have had him, then that is not an issue. That is on the lower end of what the "experts" say they can tolerate, but when it comes to ph, a stable ph is better than trying to move it up or down.

The real problem is finding out the trigger for his behavior. What is your light cycle for the tank? Does he get a good 12 hours with the lights off? Is he flaring a lot at his own reflection? Are there places for him to hide?

If you see him swimming around and around in a tight circle, that is when he is going to bite. He is frustrated with something. Sometimes, they get frustrated with their own tails!

When my yellow boy had this behavior, I would change the stuff around in his tank. I don't know if you have anything in there that you can move, but that would give him something to check out. When I caught mine, he was going into his betta cave to bite. I removed it, and I put some cheap ceramic rock-looking aquarium decor that I got from Wal-Mart on the bottom of the tank, to prevent him from doing the circle thing. It eventually worked, and he stopped.

I hope this helps!

 

If he did not look like that yesterday, and there is nothing that he could have gotten stuck in to make that happen, then he bit his own tail. Often when you see that pattern, kind of like the ends of an old lady's shall, that means fin nipping.

You can do some small daily water changes for the next couple of weeks, and his fins should grow back with no problem. The best medicine is super clean water.

If your ph has been 6.6 for the entire time that you have had him, then that is not an issue. That is on the lower end of what the "experts" say they can tolerate, but when it comes to ph, a stable ph is better than trying to move it up or down.

The real problem is finding out the trigger for his behavior. What is your light cycle for the tank? Does he get a good 12 hours with the lights off? Is he flaring a lot at his own reflection? Are there places for him to hide?

If you see him swimming around and around in a tight circle, that is when he is going to bite. He is frustrated with something. Sometimes, they get frustrated with their own tails!

When my yellow boy had this behavior, I would change the stuff around in his tank. I don't know if you have anything in there that you can move, but that would give him something to check out. When I caught mine, he was going into his betta cave to bite. I removed it, and I put some cheap ceramic rock-looking aquarium decor that I got from Wal-Mart on the bottom of the tank, to prevent him from doing the circle thing. It eventually worked, and he stopped.

I hope this helps!

Ok, I did just get some algae and someone said to lower the light on for 8 hours and 14 hours off. That could have triggered it! Maybe I should just go back to 12 hours? How much water do I change everyday ?I do have a betta cave and I can take it out. Here is a pic of my tank.

 

That is a very pretty tank you got there!!!

Eight hours of light is good, if you are fighting off algae. I was just checking to make sure that the light does go off, and he gets some good dark time for his fishy sleep-cycle (not really sleep...just slows down metabolism enough to resemble sleep).

You can try taking his cave out to see how he does without it...

You could try adding a couple of floating plants. They would look really nice and pique his interest, too!

And if you can stand brown tinted water, bettas do love tannins. You could try adding some Indian almond leaves, which will turn the water brown. Some people don't like the look of having brown water, but bettas do love it. The more leaves you add, the darker the water gets. Tannins are beneficial for betta health.

 

That is a very pretty tank you got there!!!

Eight hours of light is good, if you are fighting off algae. I was just checking to make sure that the light does go off, and he gets some good dark time for his fishy sleep-cycle (not really sleep...just slows down metabolism enough to resemble sleep).

You can try taking his cave out to see how he does without it...

You could try adding a couple of floating plants. They would look really nice and pique his interest, too!

And if you can stand brown tinted water, bettas do love tannins. You could try adding some Indian almond leaves, which will turn the water brown. Some people don't like the look of having brown water, but bettas do love it. The more leaves you add, the darker the water gets. Tannins are beneficial for betta health.

I do have some floating frog bit, but it’s still growing. To be honest I don’t really like the brown water, so I don’t think I’m going to do that. But I will keep that in mind if I ever change my mind.

 

I do have some floating frog bit, but it’s still growing. To be honest I don’t really like the brown water, so I don’t think I’m going to do that. But I will keep that in mind if I ever change my mind.

Just ordered some tannins actually. I think he bit off more, how do I stop him?

 

Nice tank and I love yellow Bettas.
Can you please clarify, you stated you have the tank three weeks, but you got the Betta four weeks ago?
I would agree with Rose of Sharon as to do more frequent smaller water changes. Say you do a daily 20% WC for a week, see if that helps a bit with his fin loss. Then adjust a bit and see how his fins are doing.
Bettas react very positive to a higher frequency of waterchanges. I could not get away with once a week waterchange.

 

Nice tank and I love yellow Bettas.
Can you please clarify, you stated you have the tank three weeks, but you got the Betta four weeks ago?
I would agree with Rose of Sharon as to do more frequent smaller water changes. Say you do a daily 20% WC for a week, see if that helps a bit with his fin loss. Then adjust a bit and see how his fins are doing.
Bettas react very positive to a higher frequency of waterchanges. I could not get away with once a week waterchange.

thank you! Yes I had a different tank then got a bigger one for him that’s why this tank has been running for 3. Ok I will do 20% water change a day. Thanks a lot!

 

Keep us posted

 

Hello. He is all better!

 

From what I can see, it looks like a raised scale. Is that what you think as well? Like he stuck his head somewhere he shouldn't have, and it was too tight of a space?

 

From what I can see, it looks like a raised scale. Is that what you think as well? Like he stuck his head somewhere he shouldn't have, and it was too tight of a space?

Yeah possibly. This is his tank now. I wouldn’t see anywhere he would get stuck maybe the new wood I put in?

 

I guess that's possible...I see that smallish looking hole in the wood that he could have tried to check out. Can he squeeze behind the sponge filter, or is it flush with the back of the tank? That's the only other thing that I can see unless he scratched it on top of the cave some how.

 

I guess that's possible...I see that smallish looking hole in the wood that he could have tried to check out. Can he squeeze behind the sponge filter, or is it flush with the back of the tank? That's the only other thing that I can see unless he scratched it on top of the cave some how.

He could have gone in that tiny hole. He has gotten stuck on the sponge filter before but only once. I’ll just put in some IAL and see how he heals.