Sick betta. Please help

Hello all. I am really asking for some help here with my little guy. I have a paradise male betta fish. I adopted him in October 2019. He had been very happy and healthy until about a month ago. I noticed about a month ago that he clamped his top fin. We think this happened when our electricity went out with a storm and his heater turned off. Other than his clamped fin, he was acting completely normal and eating great. I noticed a few weeks later that his clamped fin was bleeding on the very tip. I think this happened when he maybe got stuck on an ornament in the tank. I have since removed the ornament just to be safe. I then noticed one eye became cloudy. The eye does not appear to be swollen and looks the be the same size as the other eye. He has increasingly gotten paler and hides in one of the ornaments but continues to eat well every meal. He has the same housemates he has had since I got them which are two snails. He’s in a 6 gallon tank that is heated and has a filter. I’ve had the water tested once a week since I noticed him being off and every time they say the water parameters are perfect. I do a 25% water change once a week and change the filter once a month. The snails are acting completely normal. I don’t see any signs of velvet or white fuzz. He just looks pale and sort of lethargic. He hasn’t flared since he clamped his fin and now the fin just looks very tattered. Every time I go to the closest fish husbandry store (reputable...not a typical pet store) they say he looks fine or that he’s just stressed and keep watching him. I just feel like I’m watching him get worse and that I should be doing more. Prior to this he seemed very happy and healthy. Any advice? Below I’ll attach three pictures. The first of him when I first got him. The second of his bloody and clamped fin. The third of how pale he is tonight.

 

Yeah he doesn’t look well and I’m not sure I’d trust your local shop.
What exactly are the parameters of his tank?
If it were me...
I’d add aquarium salt for electrolytes and slime coat, and tannins (Indian almond leaves or rooibos tea) for antiseptic benefits. Immediately add them.

 

The colour change could be a natural part of aging - since it doesn’t seem patchy or puffy I doubt if it is a skin condition. Do you have a lid on your tank? Is there a possibility that he tried to jump out the water and banged into it? This could explain the upper fin damage and cloudy eye if he’s given himself a concussion . I would suggest trying a salt bath in aquarium salt to help heal the wound on his back - it may even help with his eye as well, and if it is a disease or parasite that is not obvious it could help with that as well!

Salt Baths

I am no expert but do have Betta fish and have had the same problem when they miss the gap! Not as bad as cloudy eye but definitely out of sorts and sulking after! Then again, he got a girlfriend soon after and lost all interest in leaving his tank!

 

Yeah he doesn’t look well and I’m not sure I’d trust your local shop.
What exactly are the parameters of his tank?
If it were me...
I’d add aquarium salt for electrolytes and slime coat, and tannins (Indian almond leaves or rooibos tea) for antiseptic benefits. Immediately add them.

I’m worried about adding aquarium salt because of my two snails. I don’t really have anything to separate them.

 

I’m worried about adding aquarium salt because of my two snails. I don’t really have anything to separate them.

Most snails are fine with aquarium salt, I believe it’s Mystery snails that have trouble with it. I have trapdoor, rams horn and bladder (pond) snails in tanks that are all dosed with salt and are a ok.
A half dose or low dose of salt pre-dissolved in water you then add to tank should be fine.
If you have mystery snails you could try a salt bath for your betta but removing him from the tank will likely be incredibly stressful at this point.
He’s not well and honestly given those pics if you don’t do something for him swiftly... I’d be surprised if he lives much longer. He’s lost most of a major fin, has lost color and is lethargic. That’s bad. He’s very sick.
You can do some very basic things like salt and tea or Indian almond leaves to help him out right away.

The only good news is that he’s eating. Once that stops it’s difficult to bring them back.

And get your own water test kit to be sure of numbers in that tank.

 

Yea Tartarsauce is a gold Inca mystery snail. I removed him and the other snail today and added aquarium salt

 

Yeah he doesn’t look well and I’m not sure I’d trust your local shop.
What exactly are the parameters of his tank?
If it were me...
I’d add aquarium salt for electrolytes and slime coat, and tannins (Indian almond leaves or rooibos tea) for antiseptic benefits. Immediately add them.

It’s a store that is solely an aquatics store not like a generic pet store. I don’t remember what the exact parameters were last weekend when I had them checked but there weren’t any concerns and they were tested with drops and not strips. I added the aquarium salt today and removed my snails to do so. He ate really great tonight and has started getting some color back in his face. He’s hanging out at the top of the tank more since adding the salt compared to before. He was hiding a lot before adding the salt. Should I be concerned? I’m working on getting some tannins for him but couldn’t find any locally.

 

try feeding brine shrimp dipped in garlic juice for 2 weeks and treat with methaine blue in your tank and use an indian ammond leaf in your tank

 

It’s a store that is solely an aquatics store not like a generic pet store. I don’t remember what the exact parameters were last weekend when I had them checked but there weren’t any concerns and they were tested with drops and not strips. I added the aquarium salt today and removed my snails to do so. He ate really great tonight and has started getting some color back in his face. He’s hanging out at the top of the tank more since adding the salt compared to before. He was hiding a lot before adding the salt. Should I be concerned? I’m working on getting some tannins for him but couldn’t find any locally.

Sadly I don't think that it being solely aquatics means much depending on the store itself. I have one locally that claimed a female fish was male and that a certain type of fish was one thing when it wasn't close. All they do is aquatics.
A lot of times experts start the stores and hire employees that really don't know as much as would be helpful to the customer.

Very good to hear he's improving. Add in the leaves or tea or whatever you ordered and see how it goes.