Posiedon was fine yesterday, and fine last night. He had a bubble nest yesterday that was gone this morning. He's even in the middle of making a new bubble nest.
His tail was just healing from Fin Rot from January. And the I wake up to THIS!
What is happening? Is he biting his fin? What should I do? :/
I have 2 weeks before my trip and I want to make sure that he can handle himself the week I'm gone.
My filter is one that you can custom the water flow, so no.
No he is not. I got to his tank before he woke up, and he was just swimming and as i was leaving for work (this is all in a half hour span from me waking him up and going to work) he started making a bubble nest.
About 2 weeks ago i added a mossball and a stick of lucky bamboo (leaves out of water), both bought at PetSmart.
Intake, not outflow. You know where it draws the water up into the filter? I've had bettas get their fins wrecked when they get stucked onto it.
Looking at it again it looks just like what my VT did to himself. Like exactly and he was certainly biting as I'd catch him doing it. Bubblenests mean nothing to the health/mood of bettas, it's just instincts.
There is no definitive cause for fin-biting; just theories. That being the case, there is no reliable "cure." You can add Alder cones or Indian Almond Leaves to his tank. But some just bite and some stop as suddenly as they start. BTW, do you cup him when you do water changes or leave him in? What is your water-change schedule and amount you change?
Betta build bubble nests "just because." It isn't necessarily a sign they're happy.
Every Monday I do a 50% water change. No I don't take him out, I did so once to do a 100% change and he wouldn't relax. When I do water changes he doesn't feel bothered by the changes.
If someone will be feeding him while you're gone then when you return from your trip do one 25% water change and 25% the next day. Never do a large water change (more than 10%-25%) after a week of vacation because some people overfeed. Large water changes can cause too dramatic a shift in parameters which can lead to Nitrate or pH shock.
BTW, despite his fin biting I can tell Posiedon is a beauty!
No, no, no! You can do a 50% before you leave and then two 25% 12-24-hours apart. I've found most people do not even know about Nitrate and pH shock or their causes.
And one Betta in a filtered tank, even after a week, does not produce enough waste to require a 100% water change. Since 100% water changes stress Posiedon you need to avoid those, anyway.
Have fun on your vacation! We went on a five-week vacation and I really stressed about my fish (three Betta-based community tanks 8-20 gallons). Had someone feed once a week and do top-offs as needed. When we got home Nitrate was slightly elevated but there were no fish deaths. I did 25% water changes three days in a row. All that worry for nothing.
If he's bored, try rearranging the decorations in his tank. c: Give him a reason to explore some.
But I did want to say, do NOT use sea salt in a fresh water tank. The only salt that is alright to use in a freshwater tank is aquarium salt/AQ salt or Epsom salt, and that's only when it's necessary for medical reasons. Sea salt would be what you use to make it a saltwater tank.
Do you know what we both overlooked? Your normal water change schedule is 50% per week. So if you remove 50% the day before you leave and 50% the day you return you're maintaining your schedule!
On the fin biting, you could try Indian Almond Leaves or rooibos tea (decaffinated and no flavor added). You can find rooibos tea in most grocery or health food stores. A lot of people here use it. Try doing a search.
Hope you have a wonderful vacation!
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