Help! My beta fishs tail looks like it’s missing

Hello I had my beta for about a year now and I’ve never had this problem where my betas tail looks like it’s been chomped off. I’m overwhelmed because, today I tested the water everything came out to 0ppm. Ph was round 7.5, the heater is at 78 degrees and filter flow is slow and steady. I feed him twice a day. My tank is 6.5 gallons and is shared with a snail.
Before getting my beta, I made sure to cycle the tank for a month and 2 weeks. I do water changes and media changes once a month.
please help ((

I also have aquatic plants and fish decor. Lately he’s been eating well and making bubble nests, which I’m thinking he is okay? He is just bored??

 

What does the decor look like? Anything rough his tail could snag on? Anyway you could take a clearer picture? (I know it's hard with fish.)

Your parameters should not be reading zero with a ph that high in an unplanted tank (correct me if it is planted). The ammonia and nitrite should be zero, yes, but not the nitrate. By throwing away the media monthly you are also throwing out the nitrifying bacteria that grows on it, which will force the tank to re-cycle. It never needs to be replaced unless it is literally falling apart. In an uncycled tank, the fish is more susceptible to disease; finrot being one of them, which if your beta snagged his tail on anything, or bit it off himself, it could easily lead to rot.

Edit: You can determine if the beta is tail biting or if it is finrot by the way the missing part looks. Typically chunks and nips missing are tail biting; they are also cleaner around the edges. Finrot is often ragged, and can be white or black on the edges, sometimes it can even be fuzzy if it leads to a secondary fungal infection. You can try to help tail biting by rearranging decor, adding new things to the tank, or interacting with the fish more, but doing those things is not a given the fish will stop. Sometimes once they start they will continue to tail bite till the day they die. Finrot can usually be cured by clean water; in severe cases medication may be needed. My go to medication for rot is methylene blue, although sometimes something stronger is needed.

 

it probably has finrot

 

I see a bit of fin rot going on. It usually starts with some sort of an injury and then is often made worst if you don't have the best water conditions. I'd make sure there is nothing he can get injured on. Take panty hose and put your hand in it and run it all over the decorations and everything in the tank. Anything that snags on the panty hose will snag a bettas fins.

As for the fin rot, I'd look into doing daily water changes to keep the water pristine and that will encourage fin regrowth. If it doesn't start getting better you may need a medication but usually this can be cleared up with water changes. You can also get Indian Almond leaves to put in the water. The tannins on them really benefit our betta friends.

 

Just from what I can see, it looks like some fin nipping that may be turning into fin rot, unless he got caught is some decor. I agree with cdwag29. I would only add that if you don't have any invertebrates in the tank, or fish that are sensitive to aquarium salt, you can try dosing the tank with aquarium salt for no more than 2 weeks. Aquarium salt can help with the healing process. Extended use can lead to the aquarium salt becoming ineffective so you wouldn't want to over use it.

Hope this helps!

 

What does the decor look like? Anything rough his tail could snag on? Anyway you could take a clearer picture? (I know it's hard with fish.)

Your parameters should not be reading zero with a ph that high in an unplanted tank (correct me if it is planted). The ammonia and nitrite should be zero, yes, but not the nitrate. By throwing away the media monthly you are also throwing out the nitrifying bacteria that grows on it, which will force the tank to re-cycle. It never needs to be replaced unless it is literally falling apart. In an uncycled tank, the fish is more susceptible to disease; finrot being one of them, which if your beta snagged his tail on anything, or bit it off himself, it could easily lead to rot.

Edit: You can determine if the beta is tail biting or if it is finrot by the way the missing part looks. Typically chunks and nips missing are tail biting; they are also cleaner around the edges. Finrot is often ragged, and can be white or black on the edges, sometimes it can even be fuzzy if it leads to a secondary fungal infection. You can try to help tail biting by rearranging decor, adding new things to the tank, or interacting with the fish more, but doing those things is not a given the fish will stop. Sometimes once they start they will continue to tail bite till the day they die. Finrot can usually be cured by clean water; in severe cases medication may be needed. My go to medication for rot is methylene blue, although sometimes something stronger is needed.

Thanks for the reply!
i have 2 anubias plants and 2 moth balls
So for water changes, I shouldn’t replace the media every month? A water change only? It makes sense the way you explain it, just curious.
his fin at the tips look transparent…is that normal?

I see a bit of fin rot going on. It usually starts with some sort of an injury and then is often made worst if you don't have the best water conditions. I'd make sure there is nothing he can get injured on. Take panty hose and put your hand in it and run it all over the decorations and everything in the tank. Anything that snags on the panty hose will snag a bettas fins.

As for the fin rot, I'd look into doing daily water changes to keep the water pristine and that will encourage fin regrowth. If it doesn't start getting better you may need a medication but usually this can be cleared up with water changes. You can also get Indian Almond leaves to put in the water. The tannins on them really benefit our betta friends.

Thank you! I already placed in order for the Alondras leaves <3

What does the decor look like? Anything rough his tail could snag on? Anyway you could take a clearer picture? (I know it's hard with fish.)

Your parameters should not be reading zero with a ph that high in an unplanted tank (correct me if it is planted). The ammonia and nitrite should be zero, yes, but not the nitrate. By throwing away the media monthly you are also throwing out the nitrifying bacteria that grows on it, which will force the tank to re-cycle. It never needs to be replaced unless it is literally falling apart. In an uncycled tank, the fish is more susceptible to disease; finrot being one of them, which if your beta snagged his tail on anything, or bit it off himself, it could easily lead to rot.

Edit: You can determine if the beta is tail biting or if it is finrot by the way the missing part looks. Typically chunks and nips missing are tail biting; they are also cleaner around the edges. Finrot is often ragged, and can be white or black on the edges, sometimes it can even be fuzzy if it leads to a secondary fungal infection. You can try to help tail biting by rearranging decor, adding new things to the tank, or interacting with the fish more, but doing those things is not a given the fish will stop. Sometimes once they start they will continue to tail bite till the day they die. Finrot can usually be cured by clean water; in severe cases medication may be needed. My go to medication for rot is methylene blue, although sometimes something stronger is needed.

 

Nope! You don’t need to replace it every month. The reason they tell you to replace it is because the filter media has activated carbon in it, whcih only works for so long before needing to be replaced. Activated carbon serves no purpose other than getting rid of excess medication in the water or strong oders.

Usually clear tissue on the end of fins is a sign of new growth, although from the picture I don’t see any of what you are mentioning. If the edges are white, that can just be another sign of rot.