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fish fins are shredded really bad :(

1K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  asukabetta 
#1 · (Edited)
Housing
What size is your tank?
2 gallon hex tank from petco

What temperature is your tank?
I'm not sure but it is heated.

Does your tank have a filter?
The stock filter that came with the tank

Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
A plant i guess?

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?
Tetra pellets and tetra dried blood worms

How often do you feed your betta fish?
Usually around 3 times a day 8 pellets and blood worms on and off.

Maintenance

How often do you perform a water change?
Once a week but I've changed it to once every two days recently

What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water
change?
Usually about a gallon of water treated.

What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?
Api aquarium salt, api melafix, and tetra betta safe water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
I have not done any on the water.


Symptoms and Treatment
I've had my beta a little over 3-4 months now and his condition is worsening. He had such beautiful fins before now they are torn to shreds. he was still active till about a week ago. Lately he has been very lazy just floating at the bottom or top of the tank not moving at all. Then he'll all of a sudden bolt all over the place for no apparent reason. the base of his top fin seems to be cut or bleeding because it looks red and his other fins are a complete mess. He still has his appetite but he looks like hell. I dont know what to do. please someone help me because even though i did not want the fish, i dont want it to be mistreated :(

another thing to note is that he has some sort of shade of white on the bottom side of his head (closer to his gills). I'm not sure if that was there before but i thought it should be worth mentioning.
 
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#4 ·
. Any of the meds with "fix" in the name arent really good to use on bettas, even bettafix.

Can you get a clear pic?

and that white thing you see near the gill - does it look fuzzy?

I would do a 100% water change and clean out the gravel to remove any food/poop. Just use water conditioner - no salt and no melefix.

Also, the filter that it has - is it the kind with the airstone or is it a regular filter that hangs on the back of the tank? Alot of times the current from the filters are way to strong for bettas. This is why I don't bother with them in tanks under 5 gallons. Some people do use them, I just do the 100% water changes every week.
 
#7 ·
ugh! i went to take a look at him and he bolted all over the place again! i dont know why he does that if hes injured :( the white part isn't fuzzy at all. now that I've looked, the bottom fin looks a little white as well. i think he might be trying to scratch himself when he bolts around like that cause he drags around.

the filter is a regular one that hangs in the back and the current is baffled with a piece of plastic from a bottle. I'll try and upload a picture when i get a chance.
 
#6 ·
Maybe..if the ammonia is too high, it can literally burn their fins off.

This guy had an incredibly high ammonia level in his cup. He is a crowntail but as you can see his fins are almost gone
 
#9 ·
They produce ammonia, so it gets really high when the water is not changed enough.

Aquarium salt should only be used if your fish is sick or injured. Prolonged use can be bad.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Okay for a 2 gallon tank, water changes are best to be 50% and 100% a week. That is what I do for Cheshire's 2 gallon tank

The water pre-treat with conditioner a day before the water change and let it sit for 24h.

Keep the temperature stable, you might want to get a thermometre, they are 1-2$ in dollar stores, and in wallmart I think for a mini. If not in the u-s they sell them cheap in local pet stores.

Also, and please do not be offended, but I think you feed too much, 8 pellets a day is a handful. I recommend feeding your betta 4 pellets a day, my betta's get fed 2 pellets in the morning and 2 at night. With 1 day of fasting for digestion a week, and on fridays they get fed dried bloodworms or frozen brine shrimp.

Bettas won't starve for a day of fasting, in fact most betta's get into health problems due to overfeeding. They dirty the water more as well.

If you still want to feed them 8 pellets regardless, pull out uneaten food so it will not rot in the tank.

Also to help healing of the fins and reduce stress, use an indian almond leaf or oak leaf which will release tannins that will help avoid infection in the injuries and relax the fish. (It will dye the water brown a little)

Api stress coat is also good as it contains aloe vera that helps with the healing process.

Also keep an eye on him, avoid bright lights and anything that can stress him out.

While injured just make sure to keep his water extra clean to avoid infection.

good luck and keep us posted :)
 
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