Betta Fish Forum banner

Fin Nibbling?

1K views 18 replies 4 participants last post by  MorganC2010 
#1 ·
Hello all! I recently adopted a sick betta from my work and I want to make sure I am doing the right things to help him heal. Here are some pictures to start...





He has been at my work ( I obviously work at a pet store lol) for about 2 weeks and his fins have been in terrible shape nearly the whole time. Now I don't think it's fin rot because he hasn't had any discoloration or such on his fins. His fins are just shredded to the point of missing. He is a crown tail and the other crown tail I had always tried nibbling his own tail when I wasn't looking. So is this a crown tail thing or am I just lucky?

Any way back to his symptoms...all of his fins are shredded to the point of missing and when I first brought him home he was almost lethargic. But I now believe it was just because of the trip home and new environment because today he has been acting happy and healthy. So other than the fin issues and a bit of bloating he has been fine. I will post that form with all of the info in my next post.
 
See less See more
2
#2 ·
Sorry for the poor quality of pictures, they were taken with my ipad and a flash light.


Housing
What size is your tank? Currently in a 1gal sick tank
What temperature is your tank? 75F
Does your tank have a filter? No (its a qt tank)
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No ( can I put a heater in a 1 gal?)
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None, unless he has imaginary friends.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Omega one pellets rotated with freeze dried blood worms
How often do you feed your betta fish? 4 pellets daily 6 days a week

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 10% every two days
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 10%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?
API stress coat
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
No, but I can in a few days if needed

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Shredded fins
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He was shy and almost lethargic when I first brought him home (he wasnt like that while he was still in the store) but he is back to normal now.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Shortly after he came in on a shipment so about 2 weeks ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Yes, when I first brought him home I put a small amount of Epsom salt in his tank and today I used some stress coat.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Unsure ( just met him 2 weeks ago)
How old is your fish (approximately)? Came in on a shipment 2 weeks ago. He looks some what small to me so I'm assuming he is still fairly young.
 
#3 ·
While I wait for some help would anyone like to help me pick a name? My coworkers and I named him Mackerelmore (we were just talking about the rapper mackelmore lol) but I'm not a huge fan of it. It just stuck with him though. Now I'm kinda thinking Ziggy Stardust. So I'm torn. Any thoughts? On either one of my problems lol
 
#4 ·
I'm going to try and get some better pictures today but it is currently storming so I have really bad natural lighting right now. But I hope that in the mean time someone will post their opinions and thoughts.
 
#5 ·
Fin rot could be either black or red. Based on your betta's colors, it could be hidden, so no discoloration can't rule out rot. Regardless you should start with a salt treatment (aquarium, to be sure there are no added dyes or fragrances) I'd start with 1 teaspoon and see where that gets you. Remember to dissolve it before you put it in the tank.
 
#6 ·
Ok here are some more pictures, and in the first one I caught him as he was turning so ignore his funky shape, he's not bent or curved at all. All tho there is some bloating.






And this last one shows what I think is the start of his first bubble nest, which surprised me.

 
#7 ·
Arg! Sorry for the picture sizes! I edited them on photo buck but apparently it didnt save. anyway! I was confused when you told me to use AQ salt because thats what I am using, then I looked at my post, apparently I wrote epson salt for some reason *facepalm*. But Yes I am using AQ salt and api stress coat for the current treatment. He is more bloated again this afternoon but I fed him a pellet or two this morn so apparently he just wasnt quite ready for food so I am going to fast him again for a day or two.
 
#9 ·
Ok, yeah that's what I've heard I'm just afraid ill get epsom salt that is in some way perfurmed or something that I couldnt detect so I stick to aq salt. So do these pictures help you any?
 
#10 ·
I am leaning towards rot because his dorsal fin is ragged and I don't think he would be able to reach that with his mouth /: although what you are already doing sound pretty good except I would change all the water every day for a week and get a small heater for the sick tank.
 
#11 ·
Ok, i was just hesitant to change 100% dailiy since it stresses him out so but if it's fin rot It sounds like I really need to. His doral fin damage is what made me iffy on if it was just tail biting. So thanks for your imput!
Both of the crown tails Ive had has had tail problems. Is this normal for crown tails or am I just lucky?

Ill probably pick up another heater from my work tomorrow. we have one that says its good for up to 5 gallons so I assume it will work for the 1 gal bowl. But Ill take him out while I put the heater in and let it set for at least 24hrs to make sure its working properly.

Thank you so much for your advice!
 
#12 ·
I wouldn't use epsom salt, it helps draw out fluid, unless he needs it, I stick with just normal aq. salt.

It doesn't look like finrot to me. Here is a good blog post I read about it.

It just looks like biting to me. I think 1/2 tsp of aq.salt should be okay. I would try getting him some heat. I got my betta a while ago and he was in really bad shape but after I put the heat to 80, he really perked up.
 
#13 ·
I just thought it was fin rot because of the dorsal fin. Are they able to reach their dorsal fin? I could be wrong...I certainly wouldn't want the OP to over treat their fish /:
 
#14 ·
Ok, good 1/2 of AQ is about what I used, how often do I need to add it? And I'll check my finances and get him a heater tomorrow hopefully. He was kind of an unexpected addition to my fin family. My manager and coworkers talked me into adopting him from work since he is ill.
 
#16 ·
good job on adopting him! he might have died if you didn't take him in!
----------
Aw thanks! I work at a chain pet store and we have SO many gorgous bettas right now, I mean we have everything from white ones to yellows, to oranges. I told myself I didn't have room for more bettas but then Eugene (a crowntail I had for 2ish years) passed away. I still wasnt going to get more since working was giving me less time to take care of my boys. But Mackerelmore came in with torn fins and he just wouldnt get better. So after checking on him and caring for him every day since he came in everyone in my department told my manager that I needed to adopt him. So, 1 cent later I have a new crown tail betta lol.

My next problem is that there is a halfmoon still there that seems to be ill as well. :/ I REALLY dont have room for him so im going to moniter him closely and try to keep him as healthy as possible. if not I may just have to get him, heal him, then give him to a friend for a gift.
 
#17 ·
If you change the water, than you will need to re-add it.
----
Oh and I wanted to ask, even if I do 100% daily? Which honestly seems like a little much to me still. So what do you recommend I change for a 1 gal bowl?
 
#18 ·
Well unless your like feeding like 10 pellets and your fish is pooping like crazy, if you change the water every other day than its probably fine. Most people say 2-3 days is okay.

I would stick to just doing 100%, there is really no point for doing partials for a small tank. You might as well just empty all of it rather than trying to figure out how much aq. salt to put back in.

Sorry to hear about the halfmoon! Maybe you can try changing his cup everyday so his water is clean and putting him in front so people see him?
 
#19 ·
Yes I have been and will continue changing his water every day. Do you think I could put a little and I mean very little stress coat in his cup or are the cups just too small to treat?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top