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Does Dobby have Fin Rot?

2K views 30 replies 13 participants last post by  Iziezi 
#1 ·
I woke up this morning to discover that large parts of Dobby's fins have turned grey with dark spots. I googled images of fin rot, and his fins aren't tattered at all. Here's a picture:



This is also in his dorsal fin. The grey areas are more see-through than they appear in the photo. I also don't think Dobby has really eaten anything since I put him in his bigger jar on Saturday. He acts like he's hungry, eats one of the flakes then spits it out, and won't touch the rest. (Maybe he's just decided he doesn't like BettaMin Flakes?)

He's still active, and there were lots of bubbles around the edges of the surface of the water this morning.

Housing
What size is your tank? 1 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 72* - stupid heater is malfunctioning, I have a new, better one ordered and on it's way.
Does your tank have a filter? no
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? BettaMin Flakes
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2x day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 3x week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 2x 25%-50%, 1x 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? AquaSafe, a pinch of aquarium salt, and Jungle "Plant Food Tabs 0-0-6 Plus Iron"

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Tested while writing this post

Ammonia: don't know
Chlorine: 0
Nitrite: 1.0
Nitrate: less than 20
pH: between 7.8 and 8.4
Hardness: 300
Alkalinity: 180? I'm not sure how to read Alkalinity because the colors on the test strip don't match the colors on the comparison chart. The color on my test strip is a bright medium blue, and on the color chart it runs from pale yellow-green to dark green/turquoise, no blue anywhere. If the blue were green, it would be less than 180.

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? See above
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? See above
When did you start noticing the symptoms? See above
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? 1 year +
 
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#2 ·
Just curious why no one is replying? Is it a stupidly obvious question I've asked? Or have I done something to Dobby that is stupidly obvious to all of you to make him sick, if he does actually have fin rot? Am I being obsessive to the point that no one wants to respond? :oops:

If it helps, I can only see the grey, translucent areas in his fins when he's backlit with the sunlight. In that light, the grey areas of his fins look very thin, almost like the spots on a flowers petals that are rotting. However, in direct light, his fins don't look discolored or unhealthy at all.

Any feedback is appreciated, even if it's "Hey, you worry too much" or "Isn't it obvious to you why he's sick?"

Thank you in advance.
~Isabelle~
 
#3 · (Edited)
Well since you want feed back the reason no one's answered yet is because nobody knows about whats happening to your Betta /=.... Yet. I'm a Betta newby So I can't really answedr your question and hopefully someone knowlagable about Bettas will come on.

I know, it's a useless answer, but now hopefully you wont wonder why no one's answering you.

BTW you're not being obsessive it's a good thing that you worry over your Betta. Also, most Bettas don't like flakes. They like brine shrimp and pellets and bloodworms that's why he doesn't eat possibly.
 
#4 ·
Thank you, Baylee. sigh. Someone else suggested to me that it was fin rot, but it really doesn't look like any of the photos of fin rot that I found. =\
 
#7 ·
Hey,
I can try giving a shot at repeating some things I've seen out and about, but I'm new to betta owning, so if a more experienced member corrects me, believe them. First, seriously consider a larger tank for you betta. Most people on this site will tell you a 2.5 gallon minimum. Without a filter, you should probably be doing water changes every day, and with fin rot, one of the most important things to know is how much ammonia is in your water, which you don't have up there on your numbers. .25 is the usual ammonia reading I've heard that requires a water change. I believe aquarium salt should not be used with every water change. I believe one of those reasons is that a fish can build a tolerance so that when you want to use salt to treat a problem, like fin rot, the salt won't have as much of an effect. The heat in your tank is important, especially with a sick betta. A warm tank will help you fish heal faster, don't go too warm, too fast. You don't want it too much above 80. The cold tank could be part of the reason he's not eating, I believe it can make them lethargic. What I've read on fin rot, it shows on the edge of the fins either black or white, so don't discount the black edging. I cannot tell you whether you fish has fin rot, honestly, I found this post, because I believe my betta has it as well, and I was seeking confirmation. In general, fin rot or not, I think the best thing for your betta would be to give him a warm tank with extra clean water... make sure you use a water conditioner to get out the chlorine in new tap water and consider getting a small filter. If he does have fin rot, I've read people suggesting aquarium salt be used, but once he's healed, I don't believe you should use it again unless he is sick. I hope this helps.

Hannah
 
#8 ·
That looks exactly like what my betta's fins have looked like over the past 2 or 3 months. I think it is finrot. I have kept up with frequent water changes and meds.

Ocasionally Tony (my male betta) will get small holes in his fins. They usually heal after a day or two (and a lot of changed water in between). My betta is in a small filtered tank, so water changes aren't as important (frequent) as they used to be when he lived in a bowl.

If your betta lives in an unfiltered enviroment, water changes are a MUST! I did 100% water changes everyday and occasionally (when I was lazy) every other day. Ammonia builds up very fast in small, unfiltered tanks/bowls. When Tony went 4 days without a water change, he got a serious fungal infection (everytime!), which might have lead up to the diesase he has now.

Good luck with your betta. If you find out for sure what the problem is, please post it. I think it looks like finrot but I don't know. Hope this helps!
 
#9 · (Edited)
I think you may have the start of fin rot .... poor thing ..... True, the not too warm tank could have contributed to it but I also think it could be the water. Nitrite and ammonia are highly toxic to fish and even if you have just the smallest amount, you need to change the water to detoxify it a bit. In my inexperience at the start, I cycled a tank with a betta in it and the ammonia caused his fin rot. He made a full recovery though. A good fin rot treatment in waterline myxazin. It's gentle and won't turn you tank an awful colour. Daily water changes will make a huge difference too. When you change your water, ,ake sure you are adding warm water, preferably the same temp as the aquarium water.

Oops I mean waterlife myxazin
 
#10 ·
Thanks everyone for your replies and advice! I really appreciate it.

SmallFry: Has your Betta's fins shown any improvement with the treatment you're doing? How long does it take for fin rot to get better?

I'm just wondering why Dobby's getting fin rot now? I just got him two weeks ago, and for the year before that he had been living in an unheated, undecorated 2 gallon vase. They would change the water maybe once a week, or when it began to look cloudy.

I've been scouring the net for info on fin rot, and I've come across several articles that say stress can also cause Bettas to get sick, even if the water is not dirty. Dobby has been through a lot of changes in the last two weeks. Moved from his previous owner's home to mine (different water?), moved from the 2 gallon vase to a 1/2 gallon jar for maybe a week w/only AquaSafe, then into the 1 gallon jar with plastic plants & heater for a few days, and then Monday, live plants & pagoda (both of which he loves, he's been so much more active and alert since I put them in).

Regarding Nitrite & Ammonia: I want to make sure I understand this; Nitrite and Ammonia will not reach 0 levels until the tank is fully cycled? And too many water changes slow that process down? I'm not sure where Dobby's jar is in the cycle process... How does that factor into caring for fin rot?
 
#11 ·
From what I can tell he dosen't have it. BUT treat him anyway to be sure.
 
#12 ·
I don't think that's fin rot. It looks like your fish's fins are beginning to clamp. First thing I would do is to warm the tank up. You also need to try getting some more foods. Bettas need a varied diet and BettaMin flakes aren't a very good quality food.

What methods are you using to test your water? Testing strips are generally quite inaccurate, a liquid test kit is much better.

If your pH and hardness is as high as your readings say its likely that his fins are curling. Try to find some dried oak leaves or Indian almond leaf to help soften the water and lower the pH a bit.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Sorry, I haven't been posting much in D&E lately.

From the pictures, it looks like the fish has some ammonia burns--they tend to show up as blackish/grayish discoloration on the body and fins. The most common manifestation of fin rot is when the delicate edges of the fin begin to deteriorate as ammonia in the tank burns them away--the wounds left behind become infected and turn black and fuzzy or crusty. Your fish doesn't necessarily have the "textbook" fin rot, but there's definitely ammonia burns on the edges as well as the body of the fin.

No medication is necessary, all the fish needs to recover is warm, clean water and a high protein diet that will help him rebuild healthy fin tissue faster. Supplementing with extra frozen foods like bloodworms and daphnia is ideal while your fish is healing.

Unfortunately in a 1G tank, cycling just isn't going to happen. Bacteria need aeration to survive, or they will drown. This is why the bulk of bacteria live inside a filter. In a 1G tank, there are not enough surfaces for the bacteria to colonize and there is so little water that the small population of bacteria will be overwhelmed and unable to process all of your fish's waste. It will be unstable to the point that it isn't really worth trying. I find it easiest to cycle filtered tanks that are at least 3 gallons or larger.

Instead, you have to do more frequent 100% water changes. A tank of this size really needs a 100% change every other day to stay ammonia-free. Live plants will help you maintain low levels of ammonia, so with their help, you could feasibly make every other water change only a 50%.

I highly recommend upgrading to a larger container--it will be much easier to maintain, better for the health of your fish, and way more practical to heat. Mini-heaters and heater pads are low quality junk. They won't keep the temperature stable and will overheat or underheat the water based on the ambient temperature of the room. Most quality adjustable heaters are designed for use in containers that are a minimum of 2 gallons in volume--for that reason, we see 2 gallons as the bare minimum tank size for a betta. Unless you have a dedicated 80 degree fish room, a 1G tank is just not practical.
 
#14 ·
So this isn't finrot? This almost matches my betta's condition to the letter. Only thing is my betta is in a cycled, filtered tank that has frequently monitored ammonia (always 0ppm). He hasn't been exposed to ammonia higher than 3.0ppm for 1 day in June. The rest of his life after that was much less than .5ppm. He has had this look on his fins ever since august (back when he lived in a bowl).

It also has a good heater. Even when our room was freezing cold* (*Texas standards, approx. 50*F) the tempreture only dropped one degree (steady 76 dropped 75 and rose back to 76).

I do frequent water changes more than once a week. Are you saying this is caused by ammonia and tempreture? He has a very high (but not too high) amount of protiens and carbs. I make sure that his water is beautiful and the Nitrates don't ever rise above 20ppm.

I am sorry to post this question on Iziezi's thread, but the two cases seem very closely related.
 
#17 ·
Hi SmallFry: I don't mind at all, as you said your Betta's condition appears very similar to my own. I'm very much a fan of "let's all put our heads and similar experiences together to figure this out."

Thanks also to MrVampire, 1fish2fish, and Adastra for advice. I'm going to the fish store again today to get better food for Dobby, and I'll look for a liquid water testing kit, and water softeners. (BTW, what is the ideal hardness range for a Betta?) I also think I'll stop at the drugstore to see if I can find a waterproof heating pad that I can put under Dobby's jar. (I read that on another thread, sounds like a great idea to me, Dobby will have more room to swim.

Here's something interesting. I just tested the tap water, straight up without any of the additional additives. The readings are exactly the same as the water from Dobby's jar, except Nitrite is 0. What conclusions can we draw from that?

Also, I thought Nitrate was good for Bettas, and it was something we wanted to have in the water?
 
#15 ·
I suggest making your own thread and filling out the form listed at the top of the forum. You may see similar symptoms, but they might have very different causes. In many cases, the condition of the fish's fins are a representation of the fish's overall health, so there might be another underlying condition that is causing this in your fish. Filling out the form in your own thread and posting a picture of your fish would be the best way to get advice.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Thanks Adastra. Sorry for the interuption.

This is a strange time for this but...
...This is my 200th post! Yay! (sorry I always post milestones)
 
#19 ·
i keep all my bettas in a gallon tank, the standard size use for competitions. i just regularly change my water. since i started using this kind of tank, i never had problems with any disease. my bettas had fin rot when they were in a divided 10 gal tank.

i think you just need to change your water regularly, preferably every other day. feed your betta with a variety of food. try attison betta pro. and have him do his flaring exercise regularly.
 
#21 ·
Okay, so at the fish store, the owner told me just to add salt to the water to reduce the hardness. I'm also considering buying bottled water instead of using tap as a way to reduce hardness. The fish store owner said they have perfect Betta water at their store (perfect hardness, PH, etc), but it's $0.25/gallon, and he warned me that if I start using that water, and then try to switch back to any other water, my Betta will die. :shock: So I'm rolling that around in my head too.

I also got new food for Dobby: I got Hikari brand Blood Worms (which he is macking down on! :-D ), Brine Shrimp, and Betta Bio-Gold Pellets. And I did get a wetsafe heating pad to put under his jar, and I've decided to keep my Tetra HT10 Submersible Heater just in case. It didn't keep the water warm enough, but it did keep it at 72*-74* even when it was like 52* in the house last night. So it's better than nothing in an emergency.

So I hope I'm doing everything right now. Dobby had a 100% change on Mon, and 50% today, hopefully his fins will start looking better soon.
 
#22 ·
Okay, so at the fish store, the owner told me just to add salt to the water to reduce the hardness. I'm also considering buying bottled water instead of using tap as a way to reduce hardness. The fish store owner said they have perfect Betta water at their store (perfect hardness, PH, etc), but it's $0.25/gallon, and he warned me that if I start using that water, and then try to switch back to any other water, my Betta will die. :shock: So I'm rolling that around in my head too.

I also got new food for Dobby: I got Hikari brand Blood Worms (which he is macking down on! :-D ), Brine Shrimp, and Betta Bio-Gold Pellets. And I did get a wetsafe heating pad to put under his jar, and I've decided to keep my Tetra HT10 Submersible Heater just in case. It didn't keep the water warm enough, but it did keep it at 72*-74* even when it was like 52* in the house last night. So it's better than nothing in an emergency.

So I hope I'm doing everything right now. Dobby had a 100% change on Mon, and 50% today, hopefully his fins will start looking better soon.

Good job with Dobby :)! I'm pretty sure that after all that he'll definatly be happier!
 
#23 ·
Sounds like a more suitable enviroment.:-D

Just don't feed your fish bloodworms too often (only twice to three time a week) as they can cause diegestive problems and offer more protein than your betta should consume multiple times a week.

Don't get me wrong, bloodworms are essensial for a healthy betta diet, just don't go crazy with them.:-D Nice job caring for your betta!:-D
 
#24 · (Edited)
Yay! Thank you all, and thanks, SmallFry for the tip on the blood worms.

The heating pad is working really well, Dobby's water is 80* most of the time now. :-D I also bought some distilled water at the store today to mix with the tap water, to dilute the minerals a bit and make the water softer. I'd rather do that than add more salt.
 
#26 ·
Adding salt to the tank has nothing to do with hardness and will not change or make the water softer in the aquarium.....and buying water that is special just for Bettas IMO...is a waste of money....its sounds like your fish shop employee is taking you for a ride...sorry, I don't mean to sound rude or mean about this........but your pet shop is miss-leading you with a lot of the information....remember....pet shop look to make money and usually don't know much or care if the fish dies or gets sick....all this means to them is that you will be back to buy more stuff......be very careful........

Since Betta are domesticated and farmed raised they have never seen their native pH and hardness, most will adapt to your source water pH and hardness of your source water without any issue-you want to provide a stable pH and hardness

In the 1gal unfiltered tank I would stay on top of water changes of 1-50% and 1-100% a week-provided that you are removing any uneaten food after feeding, however, more water changes the better

You must have live plants since you are adding plant food-what kind of plants and how many-the plant food is the most likely reason you are showing nitrite and nitrate readings in a unfiltered tank or it is in your source water

You want to avoid long term aquarium salt especially in low doses due to it causing resistant issues and when you need it for treatment it may not be effective-long term salt can also cause system shut down and kidney failure

You need to get your water temp up to at least 76F and keep it stable-the constant temp changes can be stressful and affect the immune response

I would not trust the test strips for your pH and hardness readings-to get an accurate reading on the pH and hardness-you need a test kit for pH/GH/KH-for the pH it needs to degas for 24h for an accurate reading-but I honestly don't think that is your Betta problem
 
#27 ·
Thank you for your advice, ScootShoot and FishLady. :)

I have started doing 2-50% and 1-100% water changes. Dobby has a wetsafe heating pad now under his tank, and it's keeping his water nice and warm at 78* - 80*. I've also changed his food from the flakes (which I am now convinced was contributing to the nitrite/nitrate problem) to Betta BioGold pellets (plus occasional bloodworms and brine shrimp as treats.)

I have a Java Fern and 5 stems of Wisteria in Dobby's jar. When I changed the water yesterday (100%) I didn't put the plant fertilizer in, because the pellet is supposed to last a month, and I washed it all away while rinsing off the stones, and cleaning the jar. I also thought if the water is that hard, maybe the plants are already getting all the minerals they need?

When I tested Dobby's water this morning, Nitrite was 0, and Nitrate was minimal. :-D
 
#28 ·
what i would do is get some medicine to treat fin rot on standby.
The earlier you catch the disease the better odds.
Actually i wouldn't get it just for fin rot there are many out there that can treat cotton mouth fin rot etc...

Just In Case!
It is always better to be prepared than have him get sick and possibly not make it..
 
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