How long does it take betta fins to grow back?

I got my betta in November, but I didn’t know anything about cycling. I started cycle in February because that’s when I realized I was doing so many things wrong. I started getting ammonia spikes and unfortunately it caused my betta to get fin rot. The fin rot mostly caused my bettas fins to split and some parts got infected.

This is how he looked like before he got fin rot:


(He was flaring in this picture)

And this is how he looks like now:


(He was not flaring in this picture)

I noticed the fin rot in April, so it’s been 6-7 months since he had it. I started to do water changes twice a week, to hopefully help encourage new growth. I know that fins don’t grow back the same after fin rot, but is there anything else I should be doing to help him? In a lot of posts I see that other betta’s fins grow back a lot quicker and I’m worried I might be doing something wrong

 

Have you tried giving him a salt bath? Ive heard that it can kill the bacteria which causes the fin rot. Also keep up with your water changes it will also encourage growth of the fins. I hope this helps you and your amazing betta

 

The best you could do is keep the tank "clean" and make sure the parameters are good. There is also no set time for bettas fins to grow back, it could be a few weeks or months just be patient.

 

Have you tried giving him a salt bath? Ive heard that it can kill the bacteria which causes the fin rot. Also keep up with your water changes it will also encourage growth of the fins. I hope this helps you and your amazing betta

Yes, I gave him a salt bath back in May I think. I really regret it though. It was really stressful for him and it caused his fins to tear even more. I should of added salt into his tank instead

The best you could do is keep the tank "clean" and make sure the parameters are good. There is also no set time for bettas fins to grow back, it could be a few weeks or months just be patient.

The parameters are stable.
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrites: 0 ppm
Nitrates: 5-10 ppm
Like I said, I’ve been doing frequent water changes since February, and I recently started doing them again, but I’m not noticing much of a difference.

 

I have heard stress coat can maybe help. Never tried it myself.

 

Yes, I gave him a salt bath back in May I think. I really regret it though. It was really stressful for him and it caused his fins to tear even more. I should of added salt into his tank instead


The parameters are stable.
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrites: 0 ppm
Nitrates: 5-10 ppm
Like I said, I’ve been doing frequent water changes since February, and I recently started doing them again, but I’m not noticing much of a difference.

Then just give him time, he will get better do you have any Indian almond leaves? That could also help. One more thing do you have any live plants in your tank? Edit: yes you do haha my brain aint working

 

I have heard stress coat can maybe help. Never tried it myself.

Maybe, but i dont think that would help if the fins were already damaged. I think of stress coat as more of a preventive rather than a solution.

 

Maybe, but i dont think that would help if the fins were already damaged. I think of stress coat as more of a preventive rather than a solution.

It would help with stress though and it may help with the fins a bit.

 

It would help with stress though and it may help with the fins a bit.

True if i was to you use it, i would use IAL with it.

 

I have heard stress coat can maybe help. Never tried it myself.

Then just give him time, he will get better do you have any Indian almond leaves? That could also help. One more thing do you have any live plants in your tank? Edit: yes you do haha my brain aint working

I have a fully planted tank besides his betta leaf lol. I mostly have anubias, moss balls, a small batch of hornwort, and an Amazon sword. I’m planning on rescaping to change my substrate and adding more plants soon.

It would help with stress though and it may help with the fins a bit.

True if i was to you use it, i would use IAL with it.

I’ll try reply to everyone at once lol.
I’ve used stressguard before and it did sort of seem to help. I think I used it for about a month and then I tried using rooibos tea since it’s more accessible to me than IAL.

The rooibos tea seemed to help him build bigger bubble nests and flare more, but it was not helping his tail at all.

I need to order some other things for his tank, so I’ll buy some IAL as well. I’ve already added many things to his tank, so I don’t really want to add even more.
I guess I’ll have to stick to IAL and frequent water changes then?

 

I might be wrong but don’t the tannins for Indian almond leaves help with fin rot? Might be worth a shot? Also correct me if I’m wrong. Anyways I hope he gets better!

 

As far as time....would think they would have grown back already unless sonething else is wrong. Have had a couple cases in the past of really bad finrot that the fins were close to that bad and grew back in about 3 months or so. All i did was frequent water changes, like 3 40% WCs a week or so if i remember right. So yeah, it takes some time, but not super long...

 

I might be wrong but don’t the tannins for Indian almond leaves help with fin rot? Might be worth a shot? Also correct me if I’m wrong. Anyways I hope he gets better!

Yes, they should help. I just read that rooibos tea has the same effects and it was more accessible to me, so that’s what I used. Unfortunately, it didn’t really do much. And ty!

As far as time....would think they would have grown back already unless sonething else is wrong. Have had a couple cases in the past of really bad finrot that the fins were close to that bad and grew back in about 3 months or so. All i did was frequent water changes, like 3 40% WCs a week or so if i remember right. So yeah, it takes some time, but not super long...

I was following a thread a while ago, where someone rescued a betta with really severe fin rot and within a week, you could see the new growth...
I also forgot to mention, our tap water is pretty hard. I don’t remember if it was always this hard or not. Could that be something that might be affecting my betta?

These are the recent readings I got:
Tap water:
GH - 120
KH - 180

Tank water:
GH - 60 ppm
KH - 120 ppm

 

Any time that my bettas got fin rot I did a water change every other day and I would notice the fins starting to grow back after about 3-4 days

 

Wish i could say it was that quick on my purple betta. His tail grows about halfway back then he decides to eat it again.

 

Wish i could say it was that quick on my purple betta. His tail grows about halfway back then he decides to eat it again.

Maybe try to get something for him to play with. I’ve heard of people floating a ping pong ball for their betta to play with

 

Wish i could say it was that quick on my purple betta. His tail grows about halfway back then he decides to eat it again.

I agree....idk why they bite their fins? They have such pretty fins and then poof it's gone.

 

Maybe try to get something for him to play with. I’ve heard of people floating a ping pong ball for their betta to play with

I have tried about everything. Re-arrangement, extra stimulation. Everything except skipping fasting day. So i will give that one a try next. I think the first time i noticed a bunch of tail missing was the next morning after a fasting day...i don't remember too clearly that far back.

 

I agree....idk why they bite their fins? They have such pretty fins and then poof it's gone.

Apparently behavioral and physiological factors. They bite because they're bored/lack of environmental stimuli and/or their unnaturally heavy fins weigh them down making it difficult to swim.

 

Apparently behavioral and physiological factors. They bite because they're bored/lack of environmental stimuli and/or their unnaturally heavy fins weigh them down making it difficult to swim.

My betta is a delta so not huge fins maybe he is just bored out of his mind...lol

 

My betta’s tail never grew back in his one year lifespan. It takes a lot of time in my experience.

 

My betta’s tail never grew back in his one year lifespan. It takes a lot of time in my experience.

Do you have a picture of him?



I was looking at some before and after pictures of betta fin rot and I don't know if it was the pictures I was looking at, but the majority of the pictures had bettas with fin rot that was eating away at their fins. My betta's fins look more tore apart. Could that be why they aren't healing properly?

 

The before picture is my profile pic. These are some of the last good pictures I took.

This is when he was tail biting, though I don’t have any pics of his fin rot. I do know his fins looked exactly like yours though.

 

My betta is a delta so not huge fins maybe he is just bored out of his mind...lol

Delta isn't a natural tail type, it was bred into existence. Maybe if there's not enough in the tank for him to interact with that could be the case. It could also be the weight of his tail too. There's a reason shorter tail types are faster, "better" swimmers, and much less prone to fin rot.

 

Delta isn't a natural tail type, it was bred into existence. Maybe if there's not enough in the tank for him to interact with that could be the case. It could also be the weight of his tail too. There's a reason shorter tail types are faster, "better" swimmers, and much less prone to fin rot.

Well,if its the weight of the tail such as super-delta or feathertail you cant really do anything to stop him from nipping.

 

The before picture is my profile pic. These are some of the last good pictures I took.

This is when he was tail biting, though I don’t have any pics of his fin rot. I do know his fins looked exactly like yours though.

Thanks for the pictures! I thought maybe your betta might have similar tail problems as mine is having, but I don’t think it’s the same.
Sorry to hear he isn’t doing better
I hope you figure how to help him heal as well, soon.
Do you think he might constantly be biting his fins and that’s why they aren’t growing back?

 

Sorry to hear he isn’t doing better

He died on October 6th

He very well might be chomping his fins. There are multiple different types of fin biting.

Tail Biting: A Troublesome Self-Infliction



Just the photo not the article.

 

He died on October 6th

He very well might be chomping his fins. There are multiple different types of fin biting.

Tail Biting: A Troublesome Self-Infliction



Just the photo not the article.

I’m so sorry to hear that I had no idea
The article unfortunately isn’t loading.

Edit: The link started working now.
I’m not quite sure who’s betta you’re referring to, but I don’t think my betta is biting his fins. It mostly looks like ripping.

 

He died on October 6th

He very well might be chomping his fins. There are multiple different types of fin biting.

Tail Biting: A Troublesome Self-Infliction



Just the photo not the article.

I am so very sorry. Bettas are amazing fish and it's hard to lose one.

Delta isn't a natural tail type, it was bred into existence. Maybe if there's not enough in the tank for him to interact with that could be the case. It could also be the weight of his tail too. There's a reason shorter tail types are faster, "better" swimmers, and much less prone to fin rot.

Wow. That's pretty crazy. I mean he has 3 marimo moss balls, 1 big rock hiding spot, and 3 plastic plants. Don't worry the plastic plants are not sharp. He is in a 5.5 gallon that is filtered and heated. I just didn't cycle the tank properly. I added api quick start waited a week and then added him. I was so dumb that I didn't test the parameters before I added him. People says if you don't add an ammonia source you're just running water. First a ammonia and nitrite spike. Then he got fungal fin rot. Added aquarium salt. Started to heal a bunch. And then he started biting his tail. Ammonia and nitrite spike again. Did some WC's and it went down. Now he is still bitng his tail I tried aquarium salt, teaching him tricks, trying to distract him.

Well,if its the weight of the tail such as super-delta or feathertail you cant really do anything to stop him from nipping.

He's not a super tail and doesn't have extremely long flowing fins. He actually doesn't have a huge tail. In the pet store he wasn't biting his tail. So, now he has a nice tank and he's biting his tail....

 

I am so very sorry. Bettas are amazing fish and it's hard to lose one.

Wow. That's pretty crazy. I mean he has 3 marimo moss balls, 1 big rock hiding spot, and 3 plastic plants. Don't worry the plastic plants are not sharp. He is in a 5.5 gallon that is filtered and heated. I just didn't cycle the tank properly. I added api quick start waited a week and then added him. I was so dumb that I didn't test the parameters before I added him. People says if you don't add an ammonia source you're just running water. First a ammonia and nitrite spike. Then he got fungal fin rot. Added aquarium salt. Started to heal a bunch. And then he started biting his tail. Ammonia and nitrite spike again. Did some WC's and it went down. Now he is still bitng his tail I tried aquarium salt, teaching him tricks, trying to distract him.


He's not a super tail and doesn't have extremely long flowing fins. He actually doesn't have a huge tail. In the pet store he wasn't biting his tail. So, now he has a nice tank and he's biting his tail....

We all make mistakes, I know I did. I added sharp décor when I first got my betta so I had to do WCs almost everyday for his missing scales and I was doing a fish-in cycle. I bet if he actually had room to move in the cup he came in he would've also bit his tail in store.

 

We all make mistakes, I know I did. I added sharp décor when I first got my betta so I had to do WCs almost everyday for his missing scales and I was doing a fish-in cycle. I bet if he actually had room to move in the cup he came in he would've also bit his tail in store.

ohhh....okay. It's sad bettas are in cups. The least stores can do is keep them in planted and cycled bowls. You are probably like bowls?! Bettas need 5.5 gallon tanks. I agree completely. But big box stores won't spend money like that. They don't want to spend money or room so some fish can have room. I really do not think bettas should be kept in anything less than 5 gallons and fish stores are abusing so many bettas everyday. Sorry I went on a rampage about betta tank size. But next time lol, I think I am getting my first plakat betta.

 

ohhh....okay. It's sad bettas are in cups. The least stores can do is keep them in planted and cycled bowls. You are probably like bowls?! Bettas need 5.5 gallon tanks. I agree completely. But big box stores won't spend money like that. They don't want to spend money or room so some fish can have room. I really do not think bettas should be kept in anything less than 5 gallons and fish stores are abusing so many bettas everyday. Sorry I went on a rampage about betta tank size. But next time lol, I think I am getting my first plakat betta.

Yes, it's awful the condition and size of cups they are kept in. I have a hard time looking at the betta section now that I have one, it's depressing. I agree, but I believe for the shorter finned bettas like plakats 10 gal should be the minimum. Right now my plakat is in a 5 gallon but I think he would really like extra room for his patrols so I plan on upgrading him when I can. 10/10 recommend plakats over the longer finned bettas.

 

Yes, it's awful the condition and size of cups they are kept in. I have a hard time looking at the betta section now that I have one, it's depressing. I agree, but I believe for the shorter finned bettas like plakats 10 gal should be the minimum. Right now my plakat is in a 5 gallon but I think he would really like extra room for his patrols so I plan on upgrading him when I can. 10/10 recommend plakats over the longer finned bettas.

I agree. It would be the best thing ever if all stores in the world kept bettas in cycle planted 5.5 gallon tanks. Plakats will not bite their tails and I think i am going with plakat bettas most of the time now.