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New Betta Mom: What is this?

605 views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  soady 
#1 ·
So I just got Paris a few days ago, but I've started to notice something weird with his fins. They've all got these white dots on the end of them. Idk if it's something I need to be concerned about, but I'm really worried.
This was the best pic I could get. Most of the ends of his "spikes" on his fins have the white dots but they're no where else on his body.

Housing
What size is your tank? 1G (I know it's smaller than most recommend)
What temperature is your tank? n/a
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? omega one betta pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? 3 pellets, once a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? every two days
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 15%? 2 cups of water
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? betta conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? n/a. had it tested at petsmart and told it was completely normal

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? white dots at tips of fin
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? no
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 2/24/13
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)? in my care since 2/21/13
 

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#2 ·
It could be fin growth, especially since there aren't any white dots anywhere else except the ends of his fins. I personally would just keep an eye on him to make sure it's just his fins growing before I would treat for anything.

Don't worry about the 1g tank either. I recommend heated 1g tanks because it takes quite a bit of stress off of a new betta owner as long as the water is kept heated & clean. Your 1g also serves as a hospital tank too if you upgrade to a bigger tank later on. ;)
 
#3 · (Edited)
Housing
What size is your tank? 1G (I know it's smaller than most recommend)
What temperature is your tank? n/a
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

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? every two days
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 15%? 2 cups of water
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? betta conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? n/a. had it tested at petsmart and told it was completely normal

This could be fin melt. As I can see from your post, you are not taking proper care of the water. With a heated one gallon tank (btw. What is the temperature? How do you know if it is optimal?) you should be doing 50% water change every 2 days and a 100% at the end of the week with adding the proper conditioner to reduce chlorine and heavy metals.

1 gallon tank is just enough for a happy betta but you must do frequent water changes. I suspect that this is fin melt because it attacks the ends of the betta's tail, especially noticable with crowntails like yours.

I think most people will agree with 2x 50% and 1x100% water change a week for a 1 gallon.

I suggest adding any Aloe Vera product intended for fish. I use it whenever my betta has fin tearing and I even cured a severe case of fin melt with Aloe Gel and warm (79 Fahrenheit), clean water!



Here you can see my betta with and without fin melt. This was a very severe case and I am lucky he is now big and strong!

P.S. It especially concerns me that the ends are wider (appear as dots) than the fin itself. You can see on the picture I posted that my betta's fins also looked like that. Just keep the temperature constant and water clean!

Good luck with your betta!
 
#4 ·
Petsmart can't be trusted. They usually use unreliable test kit and consider rather large amounts of ammonia as "normal"

In a tank of this size three weekly water changes are needed 50% 50% and 100%

He is very clamped which is a sign of stress and/or disease.

The 50% changes the betta can be kept in the bowl and use a turkey baster to remove half the water and as much of the debris as possible. For the 100% you need to remove him - scoop him out with a plastic solo type cup and set aside while you thoroughly rinse the bowl and gravel to remove the debris. Then he should be acclimated to the new water by floating for an hour while you slowly add a couple tablespoons of new water to the cup every 10 minutes. When you release him, try to let as little of the old cup water back into the tank as possible. All water changes should use same temp water, matched to running tap using the in tank thermometer and the water needs to be premixed with conditioner before adding it to the betta tank. If you don't already have anything, you can use gallon water jugs from the grocery store - rinsed thoroughly in hot water but no chems.
 
#5 ·
He's not normally that clamped. He doesn't like it when anything other than me gets too close to his tank. He was in the middle of scurrying when I snapped that picture.

I'm reading that white usually means fin growth, but I'll keep a super close eye on it. I'm going to be sure to start doing the 50, 50, 100 water changes like you two suggest. (My original plan was the 2 cups every other day and a 100 every week, but I was wrong :p)

Also idk the temperature because I don't have a thermometer. I'm a college student (which is why he's only in a 1G), so I don't have a ton of extra cash. I'm able to buy only a few things for him every payday. Thermometer is high on the list :) Water testing strips are a bit expensive :[

He was a rescue from PetSmart. He's shown a lot of progress in color from the few days I've had him. I hate for him to be sick </3
 
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