Unwell Betta, Please Help

Hello, I recently noticed my betta fish hasn’t been feeling well. He’s been laying around much more than usual, and I think his gills are more red, but I’m not sure. He also has been struggling to eat and I noticed tears in his tail. Does anybody have any idea why this is and what I could do to help him? I’m thinking that one possibility might be that I accidentally waited too long for the last aquarium change as I noticed some white clumpy algae?

I attached a few images of him now, as well as him 2 months ago and when I first got him. Any advice is very appreciated



Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 5 gallons
Does it have a filter? A bubble filter
Does it have a heater? Yes
What temperature is your tank? About 78 degrees Fahrenheit
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? I use a bubble filter
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? No tank mates

Food:
What food brand do you use? Aqueon Betta Food
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Pellets
Freeze-dried? No
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? Usually every morning about 4 pellet dots

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? I try to once a week/ 2 weeks
What percentage of water did you change? 50% 3 days ago
What is the source of your water? My tap
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? It depends, I haven’t vacuumed in the past 2 changes
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner? API Aquarium salt. I use API Stress coat+ Conditioner

Water Parameters:
Im testing the parameters right now, 3 days after the water change

Ammonia: about 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: about 5 ppm
pH: 6.6

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? 3 days ago
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? I noticed that his tail fin appears to have 2 unusual tears in it
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? He’s become more lethargic and lays on the gravel. He also struggles to swim and kind of jerks when swimming.
Is your Betta still eating? He is trying, but has a hard time aiming and he seems to often misses.
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? No, I’m not sure what the issue is but I did a water change
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? No
How long have you owned your Betta? Since February 2020, so a year and 6 months
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? No

 

I would change water in a 5 gallon more often than every week or two especially if he is ill you want really clean water. I would try to fatten him up also maybe try some frozen blood worms or change up his diet soak his food in garlic juice he looks very thin. I’d let him eat as much as he can in a five min period and then just clean out the leftovers. You could try some Indian almond leaves. Does he have cover from the light or can you turn it down so he can relax a little or does he have some plants real or silk to lay on? He looks like he has some fin rot or something.

 

I would change water in a 5 gallon more often than every week or two especially if he is ill you want really clean water. I would try to fatten him up also maybe try some frozen blood worms or change up his diet soak his food in garlic juice he looks very thin. I’d let him eat as much as he can in a five min period and then just clean out the leftovers. You could try some Indian almond leaves. Does he have cover from the light or can you turn it down so he can relax a little or does he have some plants real or silk to lay on? He looks like he has some fin rot or something.

Thank you for the reply, I noticed that he seems skinny too and will definitely get some blood worms for him. I do give him half a large Indian almond leaf every water change, and yes he does have a variety of plants in his tank. I also attached 2 pictures of his tank for better viewing.

 

I would probably turn the light off and let him rest a bit and work on feeding him whatever he will eat. I would wait for others to reply too, I’m sure they may be able to help. BigManAquatics may have an idea?

 

I would probably turn the light off and let him rest a bit and work on feeding him whatever he will eat. I would wait for others to reply too, I’m sure they may be able to help. BigManAquatics may have an idea?

I’ve turned the light off so he can relax a bit and I am waiting for more ideas, thank you again!

 

The tears make me wonder, what is in there for decor?

 

The tears make me wonder, what is in there for decor?

I don’t think there’s anything that would tear his fins in the decor, here are photos of his tank

 

How is your betta doing? I wanted to suggest that maybe that purple plant in his tank is what is tearing his fins? Looks a little hard and sharp?