What does/did he have? [Pictures Included]

[Lyshymo]

Alright so I've had a couple mishaps with Ozwald, my male Elephant Ear Betta. I absolutely do not know what's wrong with him. I'll fill out some questions and then will add photos so you can see what's happening with him.

Housing
What size is your tank? He's currently in the 1.5g QT
What temperature is your tank? It stays between 77-80 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? Has one however I'm not using it.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? TetraBetta Pellets and as of last week I gave him a couple of freeze-dried bloodworms (as a treat).
How often do you feed your betta fish? Twice daily. 3 pellets in the morning and 3 in the evening.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Normally every 3-4 days, but as he's in QT I plan on doing one every 2-3 days.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 75%-100% changes
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? BettaSafe Water Conditioner by Tetra

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? I haven't today, but everything was in the safe yesterday when I did.

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? At first his pectoral fins started becoming transparent. After his fins went from being normally large and circular to long and rectangular and his body color became dull. I went to move him into the QT and his color went from a dull blue and red to almost entirely white.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He seems to rest a tad bit more, but he still eats normally and for the most part (except the resting) swims normally.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? The fins started a few days ago, the color fading started just yesterday.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Last night I moved him to QT and put a half teaspoon of Aquarium Salt in his tank.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? This is the first since I've owned him.
How old is your fish (approximately)? Bought him from Petco a month ago.

Alright, so I'll summarize everything stated above.
I've owned Ozwald for about a month now and previously he didn't have any problems. A few days ago his fins began to look much more transparent than normal and I assumed fin rot. I wanted to immediately do a light Aquarium Salt treatment for a couple days, but people kept telling me his fins were growing or that they were entirely normal. Yesterday I woke up and his fins weren't his normal large, circular fins...but instead they were long and rectangular (missing pieces, but they were "clean cut") and the ends seemed a bit jagged (the jagged ends seemed "clean cut", too) and his body seemed dull in color. Later that night I decided to start his Aquarium Salt treatment in the QT tank and he's dull coloring was now almost entirely white. After placing him in the QT tank (after conditioning him for it, of course) his colors slowly started coming back and he seems to be improving (from what I can tell).

Perhaps I should've just cleaned his water a bit more? I thought it was clean, but of course ammonia is clear so I wouldn't have noticed it--and I've never had bettas in the city I live in now so the water make-up might be entirely different?

Anywhoo. Time for photos to help give you an idea of what I'm dealing with.

The first night I owned him. Note his large, circular pectoral fins.


This is just so you can see his normal fins.


This is when his fins seemed to start becoming more transparent.


This is the other day when I woke up and his color was fading and his fins were rectangular (and yes the tops and bottoms were missing).


This is when I was preparing to place him in the QT tank. Notice his color was almost entirely gone (you can barely see a hint of blue).


And this was last night before I went to bed. His coloring was coming back a tad bit. Also, does he look bloated or...?


Sorry for the lengthy post, but thank you for any advice.
And one last question, since he does seem to be becoming a bit more active and color is flushing back, should I keep using Aquarium Salt to treat him? I'm changing his water (100%) every two days and using a half a teaspoon when I do so. I plan on doing this for 3-7 days if he continues improving.

[sainthogan]

It looks like his pectoral fins are clamped. If he's getting more color and more active, I'd keep doing what you're doing. But remember that you can only do the aquarium salt treatment for 10 days.

[callistra]

He appears very stressed. How are you doing water changes and how are you acclimating?

Aquarium salt should be dosed at 1 tsp per gallon. Half a tsp in 1.5g tank is not going to help.

[Lyshymo]

I actually went back in to check on him and he's literally almost back to normal (minus the smaller fins). He's extremely active, color is back, etc.

And I don't see his fins being clamped? Perhaps it's in the pictures where he's swimming? He wasn't sitting still in any of these pictures...and I know he was using his fins. Also his fins are fanned out much better now.

I acclimate him by having him in a cup, placing it in water to let the temperatures (they're close, but just to be sure there isn't shock) match and then slowly introducing water to the cup so it isn't a jump in pH.

And the Aquarium Salt I bought recommends 1/2 teaspoon per gallon--and I didn't want to overwhelm him with salt since he's never been introduced to it (in my care) so yes, I used a lower dose than recommended.

[callistra]

Sounds like you're acclimating fine.

He's clamped in the last three photos.

The dosage on the container is not the recommended dosage for fin rot.

[sainthogan]

Originally Posted by Lyshymo

And I don't see his fins being clamped? Perhaps it's in the pictures where he's swimming? He wasn't sitting still in any of these pictures...and I know he was using his fins. Also his fins are fanned out much better now.

I meant that his pectoral fins look clamped because of their shape. He actually didn't lose any of his fins, he's just clamping them giving them that shape. As he gets better, you'll see his fins fan out and take on the rounder shape again.

[Lyshymo]

Originally Posted by sainthogan

I meant that his pectoral fins look clamped because of their shape. He actually didn't lose any of his fins, he's just clamping them giving them that shape. As he gets better, you'll see his fins fan out and take on the rounder shape again.

So that's why his fins seem to be getting a bit bigger already?

Do you think perhaps it was because I moved him from the 1.5g to a 10g? Maybe the transfer was too stressful? His fins did that only when I transferred him (and yes, the 10g was entirely safe). :S

*Sorry I don't know why that photo attached and of course it won't allow me to remove it. XD It's getting late for me, I think.

[callistra]

Maybe he was shocked a bit, he's still clamped there but not as bad

[Lyshymo]

I'd like to thank both of you for posting (as well as teaching me some new information!). He's improved dramatically overnight as his fins are -almost- back to normal, his coloration is entirely back and he's as active as ever. (:

I'm going to continue the small salt treatment for a couple more days (2-3 more, if even that many) as well as cleaning his tank every 2-3 days as that has seemed to help him quite a bit!

Again, thank you both! I really appreciate it!