10 Gallon Tank Number of problems with a betta fish tank

[Wiuev]

My betta fish lives alone in a 10 gallon tank. The temperature is 24-26 degrees Celsius, there is a power filter, a 50 watt heater, and 2 plastic plants. My dechlorinator is Seachem Prime. I do 20% water changes weekly. I've only had it for a couple weeks now.

So the first problem is its fins. In one or two days, its fins went from being a solid color, completely opaque, nicely shaped (Pointy ends) to being pale, see-through in some areas, torn at the edges, and just looking really unhealthy in general. I honestly have no idea why. It's acting completely normal. It's active, it's eating, nothing's weird.

The second problem is that there's always a biofilm / oil film at the top of my tank. And when I remove it it just appears right back there the next day.

Help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Heron]

Is your tank cycled? Do you have a test kit? It sounds like it could be ammonia poisoning. If you don't have a test kit you may be able to take a water sample to your local shop and have them test it.

 

[Wiuev]

I do not have a test kit.

 

[Heron]

Without a test kit it's impossible to say whether the tank is cycled. Best to assume it isn't and that your ammonia is too high and start to remedy the situation. I would do a water change every day to get the ammonia down. If you haven't already I would look into cycling the tank, ideally you cycle the tank before adding fish but as you already have fish you need to do a fish in cycle. There are hundreds of posts on fishlore about cycling but if you need extra advice just ask.
Cycling is the process of growing bacteria that transform the deadly ammonia the fish produce as waste into harmless nitrates. Cycling is crucial in any aquarium.
I would recommend getting a test kit as soon as possible. You want one that covers ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH at least and ideally KH and GH as well.

 

[Wiuev]

Thanks. Also, I've already been doing small water changes (~10-15%) every day due to having to removing the oil film.

 

[The_fishy]

I’d also check your plants for sharp edges. Plastic plants can easily rip betta fins.

 

[Wiuev]

The damage as it is really doesn't look the ripping that would be done by plastic plants. It looks more like fin rot, but it's just been done really fast. Also I have trimmed most of the sharp edges off just in case anyways.

 

[Heron]

The damage as it is really doesn't look the ripping that would be done by plastic plants. It looks more like fin rot, but it's just been done really fast. Also I have trimmed most of the sharp edges off just in case anyways.

Prime contains chemicals that convert ammonia to a less toxic form which works for about 24 hours so make sure you use it each time do your water changes

 

[Wiuev]

Prime contains chemicals that convert ammonia to a less toxic form which works for about 24 hours so make sure you use it each time do your water changes

Yes, read that on the label.

 

[Skrabbitskrabbit]

This might sound weird but my betta had some opaque fin edges that fell off and honestly I decided it was stress because of my cat who liked to lay next to him and he would flare up at the cat but the cat no longer lays there and the fish has been fine since. My tank was cycled and water was tested so I knew it wasn’t that. Other than the cat he is a lone fish boy.

 

[juniperlea]

My betta fish lives alone in a 10 gallon tank. The temperature is 24-26 degrees Celsius, there is a power filter, a 50 watt heater, and 2 plastic plants. My dechlorinator is Seachem Prime. I do 20% water changes weekly. I've only had it for a couple weeks now.

So the first problem is its fins. In one or two days, its fins went from being a solid color, completely opaque, nicely shaped (Pointy ends) to being pale, see-through in some areas, torn at the edges, and just looking really unhealthy in general. I honestly have no idea why. It's acting completely normal. It's active, it's eating, nothing's weird.

The second problem is that there's always a biofilm / oil film at the top of my tank. And when I remove it it just appears right back there the next day.

Help is greatly appreciated.

I'm a big believer is not doing water changes. I vacuum poop and replace what I vacuumed, plus evaporation. You have one fish in a ten gallon and it's a betta. They don't eat that much and therefore, don't poop that much. Why change the water?

Not sure what to say about the biofilm. It's sometimes just iron bacteria. I've read that it might also have something to do with filtration. However, I really don't know. Experiment.

 

[yeahsure]

yeah I would say check the water parameters and go from there