My Betta Tore His Fins Last Night!

I’ve had him for well over a month and he has never done this. When I got him, part of his fins were no good and they fell off and since then they have been growing back a lot. His fins have grown about half an inch since then. He stills have some new fin coming in(the thin, clear looking fin) that is finally getting its color.

However, this morning I came out to see that the new part of the fins were torn in about 4 different places.

A couple things, I have fake plants. Don’t say anything bad about it! I already know and have a 10 gallon planted tank more than halfway through cycling. I’m 100% sure that he did it on the plants. The question is why?

Three more things, I just gave him frozen bloodworms for the first time AND my single shrimp just molted. After both of those, he kept acting weird searching along the bottom of the tank and moving around the shrimps plant(fake hornwort) which he had never done before. Then for maybe a minute he started swimming around really fast and doing this weird jumpy thing(not up but to the side). Almost like shrimp do when they get scared or something tries to touch them. Also, his ammonia went up to .5 yesterday and so I set aside water last night so it could gas off to do a water change today.

What is going on?

 

Are they plastic or silk plants? Silk shouldn’t hurt his fins unless there is rough plastic stems. Are you sure he isn’t fin nipping? If you think it’s because of the plants, I would remove them. Do you have a water conditioner additive that you can use instead of waiting for you water to distill overnight?

 

Are they plastic or silk plants? Silk shouldn’t hurt his fins unless there is rough plastic stems. Are you sure he isn’t fin nipping? If you think it’s because of the plants, I would remove them. Do you have a water conditioner additive that you can use instead of waiting for you water to distill overnight?

They are plastic. I only have the one and the reason I keep it is for my shrimp. He hides in it and especially because he just molted needs it. I use Prime, but I’ve heard a lot of mixed directions on whether or not you can put the water in immediately or have to wait 24 hours so to be safe I wait. My betta, for almost two months now, has never gone near it but last night he was acting weird and kept trying to go through the plant. Do you think he’s looking for the shrimp? The shrimp barely molted yesterday morning.

 

Water conditioners are designed to make the water safe almost immediately. Before water conditioners one had to allow the water to sit over night for the chlorine to dissipate. With modern water conditioners that is no longer necessary.

You of course can do what ever you are comfortable with but is it better to let the water sit 24 hours after adding the conditioner or allow your Betta to sit in water with an ammonia reading while waiting for the new water to be safe?

 

Water conditioners are designed to make the water safe almost immediately. Before water conditioners one had to allow the water to sit over night for the chlorine to dissipate. With modern water conditioners that is no longer necessary.

You of course can do what ever you are comfortable with but is it better to let the water sit 24 hours after adding the conditioner or allow your Betta to sit in water with an ammonia reading while waiting for the new water to be safe?

I think your two examples are the same thing? Both have the betta waiting. Is Prime safe enough to be able to add the water immediately to the tank? I don’t want my betta to wait, but a lot of people say you have to wait 24 hours. If Prime is safe to use immediately then I’m not worried about immediate water changes.

 

They are plastic. I only have the one and the reason I keep it is for my shrimp. He hides in it and especially because he just molted needs it. I use Prime, but I’ve heard a lot of mixed directions on whether or not you can put the water in immediately or have to wait 24 hours so to be safe I wait. My betta, for almost two months now, has never gone near it but last night he was acting weird and kept trying to go through the plant. Do you think he’s looking for the shrimp? The shrimp barely molted yesterday morning.

Probably is hunting around for the shrimp because he can smell that he’s just molted in the water. And Prime works in seconds so you can use it immediately, I always have and have never had any issues with it. I would use it immediately because Prime detoxifies ammonia for around 24 hours and if you’re just letting it sit for a day, it’s not going to do that for you.

 

Probably is hunting around for the shrimp because he can smell that he’s just molted in the water. And Prime works in seconds so you can use it immediately, I always have and have never had any issues with it. I would use it immediately because Prime detoxifies ammonia for around 24 hours and if you’re just letting it sit for a day, it’s not going to do that for you.

Ok. Then I’ll stop the 24 hour waiting and do immediate water changes. I feel really bad because when I got my betta I knew 0 about fish. I’ve learned a lot since getting him and feel miserable that he doesn’t have a cycled planted tank to live in yet. But I’m trying to do the best I can until it’s ready and he can be his happiest.

 

I think your two examples are the same thing? Both have the betta waiting. Is Prime safe enough to be able to add the water immediately to the tank? I don’t want my betta to wait, but a lot of people say you have to wait 24 hours. If Prime is safe to use immediately then I’m not worried about immediate water changes.

Prime works instantly so is safe to use right away.

I think some folks are getting two different things confused. When one is using some of the bottled bacteria's they need to wait 24 hours after adding prime before adding the bacteria because Prime locks up the ammonia for 24 hours. The bottled bacteria needs that ammonia.

 

Prime works instantly so is safe to use right away.

I think some folks are getting two different things confused. When one is using some of the bottled bacteria's they need to wait 24 hours after adding prime before adding the bacteria because Prime locks up the ammonia for 24 hours. The bottled bacteria needs that ammonia.

Oh ok. That makes a lot of sense! As long as it’s safe for the betta then I’m glad I don’t have to wait anymore.

 

Ok. Then I’ll stop the 24 hour waiting and do immediate water changes. I feel really bad because when I got my betta I knew 0 about fish. I’ve learned a lot since getting him and feel miserable that he doesn’t have a cycled planted tank to live in yet. But I’m trying to do the best I can until it’s ready and he can be his happiest.

sadly so much stress is put on having to have a cycled tank folks like yourself are being overwhelmed with conflicting information. I know it has to be so difficult to know which way to go and what to do.

Where is your Betta right now? Is he in a cycled tank or just an uncycled holding container waiting for his forever home?

I can help you but don't want to add more confusion at this point.

 

sadly so much stress is put on having to have a cycled tank folks like yourself are being overwhelmed with conflicting information. I know it has to be so difficult to know which way to go and what to do.

Where is your Betta right now? Is he in a cycled tank or just an uncycled holding container waiting for his forever home?

I can help you but don't want to add more confusion at this point.

Ok. So while his forever home is cycling, he is in a 2.5g tank that I originally bought for him before realizing that that is quite small and sad. The tank he is in isn’t cycled and even though he’s been in it for a while, has had no changes in parameters. It’s always: ammonia 0 - .25(when I water change), nitrites 0, and nitrates 0. I don’t know how to cycle a tank with fish in. I worry too much!

 

Ok. So while his forever home is cycling, he is in a 2.5g tank that I originally bought for him before realizing that that is quite small and sad. The tank he is in isn’t cycled and even though he’s been in it for a while, has had no changes in parameters. It’s always: ammonia 0 - .25(when I water change), nitrites 0, and nitrates 0. I don’t know how to cycle a tank with fish in. I worry too much!

You are basically doing what folks call doing a fish in cycle right now since the small tank your betta is in right now isn't cycled. See, you are doing it right now and didn't even realize it so there is nothing to be worried about.

As long as you have just the one little fish and a shrimp or two even if the tank never cycles your Betta will be safe. As long as you do water changes to keep his water clean the tank either will or won't cycle and even if it never does your one little guy will be alright. Some folks I am sure will question what I am saying but as long as you keep his levels at o-.25 ammonia 0 nitrites and 0 nitrates he will have a perfect home. Prime will handle that tiny bit of ammonia but a water change with Prime will make it perfect.

How are you attempting to cycle the larger tank?

I am not saying cycling a tank isn't important in a lot of cases but a betta can be safe and happy in an uncycled tank as long as his water is kept clean.

 

What type of tail does your betta have? If it’s a Halfmoon or rosetail he may be nipping at it because it’s too heavy for him. I had this problem. Another member suggested I put a lot of plants in the tank to give him lots more things to rest on. This has stopped the problem.

 

What type of tail does your betta have? If it’s a Halfmoon or rosetail he may be nipping at it because it’s too heavy for him. I had this problem. Another member suggested I put a lot of plants in the tank to give him lots more things to rest on. This has stopped the problem.

He’s a veiltail. He could be nipping, not sure what that would look like. I’ll try to get a picture.

You are basically doing what folks call doing a fish in cycle right now since the small tank your betta is in right now isn't cycled. See, you are doing it right now and didn't even realize it so there is nothing to be worried about.

As long as you have just the one little fish and a shrimp or two even if the tank never cycles your Betta will be safe. As long as you do water changes to keep his water clean the tank either will or won't cycle and even if it never does your one little guy will be alright. Some folks I am sure will question what I am saying but as long as you keep his levels at o-.25 ammonia 0 nitrites and 0 nitrates he will have a perfect home. Prime will handle that tiny bit of ammonia but a water change with Prime will make it perfect.

How are you attempting to cycle the larger tank?

I am not saying cycling a tank isn't important in a lot of cases but a betta can be safe and happy in an uncycled tank as long as his water is kept clean.

With the 10 gallon, I was using raw shrimp but will be getting pure ammonia. The ammonia is being processed too quickly and the shrimp isn’t giving off enough ammonia.

My paramaters for the bigger tank have been: ammonia 0 - .25, nitrites 5ppm or +, nitrates 160ppm. I have done a 50% water change daily for this tank and the nitrates are always crazy high. They reached 80ppm yesterday and then just went straight back up today.

Edit: My tank has a waterfall type filter and a air wall to keep good airflow.

 

With the 10 gallon, I was using raw shrimp but will be getting pure ammonia. The ammonia is being processed too quickly and the shrimp isn’t giving off enough ammonia.

My paramaters for the bigger tank have been: ammonia 0 - .25, nitrites 5ppm or +, nitrates 160ppm. I have done a 50% water change daily for this tank and the nitrates are always crazy high. They reached 80ppm yesterday and then just went straight back up today.

Edit: My tank has a waterfall type filter and a air wall to keep good airflow.

You are probably not going to want to do this but think about what is happening with your small tank with a Betta and a shrimp living in it. You may want to consider backing up and rethinking the cycling process you are going through and take care of this bigger tank just like you have been taking care of the small one.

You see a small rise in ammonia that can easily be taken care of with a dose of Prime along with a water change in your small tank. And then here you have a tank that has no fish in it and your are getting really crazy high readings with what seems like no end in sight.

Personally if it were me I would break that tank down. Clean it out and start over. I would get this tanks perimeters down to 0,0,0 by cleaning everything in it down to where it was when you first set it up right down to brand new media in your filter and then move your Betta and shrimp over to this tank. Does the little tank have a filter on it? If yes, move this filter over to the 10 gallon tank when you move your Betta and shrimp over to it.

You are already doing a fish in cycle in your small tank. Why not do the same thing in this tank. Like I said before, even if it never cycles as long as you keep the water clean it isn't that big a deal. the thing is, the tank will cycle. It has no choice as long as you have a filter and an ammonia source. The cycle will happen naturally.

If you plan on adding more fish in the future a cycled tank is a good thing to have but for one little betta it isn't something that has to happen quickly as long as you keep his water clean.

A Cycled tank when there are going to be a number of fish is a good thing because the cycle (bacteria) will eat the ammonia fish produce but isn't as critical when there is just one.

I know there are a lot of folks here that will think I am off my rocker. I don't know much about fish illnesses and I leave stocking questions to those that know a lot more about it than I do but I know how to successfully cycle a tank and what is happening in yours is something you shouldn't have to be dealing with.

If you don't want to break down the tank and start over I do suggest you do several massive water changes to try to get some balance going on. If you can get some pure ammonia you can control how much you have in there and can more easily get things back to close to balanced.

You need to get those nitrates down. The water changes should also get the nitrites lower. If you still have something in there producing ammonia such as the shrimp or fish food you need to clean it out before you start using pure ammonia. There is something in there causing the nitrates to go sky high over night. Have you checked your filter? Is there a lot of leftover food in the tank that was added as an ammonia source?

How long have you been trying to get this tank cycled? If it has been a month or more it is very possible that it is close to cycled and the water changes could very well jump start the cycle and it could be finished in just a matter of a few days. If that is the case my suggestion of breaking it down isn't something you will want to do.

Please let me know If I have given you more info than you want to hear. I just hope I haven't confused you even more than you already were.

 

You are probably not going to want to do this but think about what is happening with your small tank with a Betta and a shrimp living in it. You may want to consider backing up and rethinking the cycling process you are going through and take care of this bigger tank just like you have been taking care of the small one.

You see a small rise in ammonia that can easily be taken care of with a dose of Prime along with a water change in your small tank. And then here you have a tank that has no fish in it and your are getting really crazy high readings with what seems like no end in sight.

Personally if it were me I would break that tank down. Clean it out and start over. I would get this tanks perimeters down to 0,0,0 by cleaning everything in it down to where it was when you first set it up right down to brand new media in your filter and then move your Betta and shrimp over to this tank. Does the little tank have a filter on it? If yes, move this filter over to the 10 gallon tank when you move your Betta and shrimp over to it.

You are already doing a fish in cycle in your small tank. Why not do the same thing in this tank. Like I said before, even if it never cycles as long as you keep the water clean it isn't that big a deal. the thing is, the tank will cycle. It has no choice as long as you have a filter and an ammonia source. The cycle will happen naturally.

If you plan on adding more fish in the future a cycled tank is a good thing to have but for one little betta it isn't something that has to happen quickly as long as you keep his water clean.

A Cycled tank when there are going to be a number of fish is a good thing because the cycle (bacteria) will eat the ammonia fish produce but isn't as critical when there is just one.

I know there are a lot of folks here that will think I am off my rocker. I don't know much about fish illnesses and I leave stocking questions to those that know a lot more about it than I do but I know how to successfully cycle a tank and what is happening in yours is something you shouldn't have to be dealing with.

If you don't want to break down the tank and start over I do suggest you do several massive water changes to try to get some balance going on. If you can get some pure ammonia you can control how much you have in there and can more easily get things back to close to balanced.

You need to get those nitrates down. The water changes should also get the nitrites lower. If you still have something in there producing ammonia such as the shrimp or fish food you need to clean it out before you start using pure ammonia. There is something in there causing the nitrates to go sky high over night. Have you checked your filter? Is there a lot of leftover food in the tank that was added as an ammonia source?

How long have you been trying to get this tank cycled? If it has been a month or more it is very possible that it is close to cycled and the water changes could very well jump start the cycle and it could be finished in just a matter of a few days. If that is the case my suggestion of breaking it down isn't something you will want to do.

Please let me know If I have given you more info than you want to hear. I just hope I haven't confused you even more than you already were.

You have given me a lot of useful information. I do want to add some other fish to the 10 gallon after I get my betta over. But I want to get him used to the tank first before I do anything. The tank has been cycling for close to three weeks so it has been going for a while. I’m doing big water changes to try to get the nitrates down so the nitrites can go over. Is it possible to do more than one water change in a day on a fishless tank or is that too much? If so, I can do another water change.

I don’t use fish food, only the shrimp at the moment. Once I get the ammonia I won’t need the shrimp. I’m just using it so the cycle doesn’t die.

As long as the parameters for the fish tank are ok, I’m ok with my betta being in there for now.

 

I can't see doing more than one water change hurting anything but I am at a loss as to where those high nitrates are coming from. I feel sure is isn't from your source water since it isn't happening in your Betta tank and it seems you don't have an over abundance of ammonia from just the shrimp. Hopefully once your nitrites drop the nitrates will stop spiking so quickly but that may not happen.

I guess it is just a waiting game at this point and hopefully things will balance out but if those nitrates continue rising once the cycle is complete we need to find out where they are coming from.

 

You said your plants were plastic and that is why. You want to get silk because they are basically as smooth as real plants and won't tear the fins of your betta.

 

I can't see doing more than one water change hurting anything but I am at a loss as to where those high nitrates are coming from. I feel sure is isn't from your source water since it isn't happening in your Betta tank and it seems you don't have an over abundance of ammonia from just the shrimp. Hopefully once your nitrites drop the nitrates will stop spiking so quickly but that may not happen.

I guess it is just a waiting game at this point and hopefully things will balance out but if those nitrates continue rising once the cycle is complete we need to find out where they are coming from.

I don’t know where they are coming from either. As soon as I got the API master test when I got my betta I tested my tap water. Ammonia .25, nitrites and nitrates 0. Is it possible that there are just so many nitrites turning into nitrates with nowhere for the nitrates to go?

 

I don’t know where they are coming from either. As soon as I got the API master test when I got my betta I tested my tap water. Ammonia .25, nitrites and nitrates 0. Is it possible that there are just so many nitrites turning into nitrates with nowhere for the nitrates to go?

It is possible but with the daily water changes you have been doing both nitrites and nitrates should be going down 'specially with the small amount of ammonia you are registering. How much water are you changing out with each water change? oops, I just back read and see you are doing 50%. I would up that to 75% and see what happens.

 

It is possible but with the daily water changes you have been doing both nitrites and nitrates should be going down 'specially with the small amount of ammonia you are registering. How much water are you changing out with each water change? oops, I just back read and see you are doing 50%. I would up that to 75% and see what happens.

I’ll try 75%. I just did another 50% change on top of the 50% change I did a few hours ago. I’ll give my water a few hours to mix and then I’ll test the water again.

It is possible but with the daily water changes you have been doing both nitrites and nitrates should be going down 'specially with the small amount of ammonia you are registering. How much water are you changing out with each water change? oops, I just back read and see you are doing 50%. I would up that to 75% and see what happens.

I was thinking. I’ve had the same filter pad in my filter the entire time it’s been cycling, could it be that that’s what is causing the high nitrates. I know I can’t just put a new one in there since that’s where the bacteria is, but can I do a light rinse if I put some of the tank water in a bowl?

 

I’ll try 75%. I just did another 50% change on top of the 50% change I did a few hours ago. I’ll give my water a few hours to mix and then I’ll test the water again.

I was just reading on another thread where someone was having readings kinda like yours. She finally did massive water changes and got her tank back on track. Here it is in case you want to read it 50 Gallon Tank - Fishless Cycling - Impossibly High Nitrites? It is post #33

I was thinking. I’ve had the same filter pad in my filter the entire time it’s been cycling, could it be that that’s what is causing the high nitrates. I know I can’t just put a new one in there since that’s where the bacteria is, but can I do a light rinse if I put some of the tank water in a bowl?

check it and if it is getting pretty bad go ahead and give it a good rinse in some of the water you take out while doing a water change.

 

I was just reading on another thread where someone was having readings kinda like yours. She finally did massive water changes and got her tank back on track. Here it is in case you want to read it 50 Gallon Tank - Fishless Cycling - Impossibly High Nitrites? It is post #33


check it and if it is getting pretty bad go ahead and give it a good rinse in some of the water you take out while doing a water change.

What do you think? It’s pretty dirty. I’m going to do another, bigger water change tonight. Also, is there something extra I can add to my HOB filter behind my filter pad? I don’t know a lot about media or filters so I don’t know what I can add to it so that I have some extra bacteria in there that I can pull out if needed.

 

I have some small ceramic rings in mine. I actually made a little container with plastic canvas (found in the craft section) to hang inside one of my HOB filters. The space isn't big enough to add much but anything one can add for bacteria to grow on is good. I no longer use the replaceable cartridges. I replaced them with cut to fit sponge. My other HOB has room for a media bag full of the same ceramic pieces. That filter just has the ceramic pieces and poli-fil in it (pillow stuffing that can be bought for next to nothing at wal-mart.

I also run 2 dual sponge filter in my big tank (55 gallon) to use when I need to set up another tank.

 

I have some small ceramic rings in mine. I actually made a little container with plastic canvas (found in the craft section) to hang inside one of my HOB filters. The space isn't big enough to add much but anything one can add for bacteria to grow on is good. I no longer use the replaceable cartridges. I replaced them with cut to fit sponge. My other HOB has room for a media bag full of the same ceramic pieces. That filter just has the ceramic pieces and poli-fil in it (pillow stuffing that can be bought for next to nothing at wal-mart.

I also run 2 dual sponge filter in my big tank (55 gallon) to use when I need to set up another tank.

I’ll look into what I can do to make a better filter alternative for the inside. I want the best for the tank and the filter works great, but if there are better filter pad options I’ll do it.

 

I’ll look into what I can do to make a better filter alternative for the inside. I want the best for the tank and the filter works great, but if there are better filter pad options I’ll do it.

Since you are in the middle of your cycle you want to go ahead and keep using the media you have in there right now. You can add more but you don't want to remove anything until the cycle is complete.

 

Since you are in the middle of your cycle you want to go ahead and keep using the media you have in there right now. You can add more but you don't want to remove anything until the cycle is complete.

Oh yeah, I’m not touching anything until then. I did switch out half the gravel to sand in my tank for a new set up design, but I read it would have little effect on anything. Readins haven’t changed so we’re good!