Betta's fins are fraying?

[Kon]

My betta's tail looks like its fraying. I'm not sure if its fin rot or if his tail got sucked into the filter. He likes to swim under it a lot. I did treat him with bettafix which was a huge mistake. It looks worse now. I'm sad to say he is currently in a 1.5 gallon tank. I'm new to bettas and saw the reviews on petco and petsmart for the tank and looked like it was perfect for bettas. After buying it, I realized they should be in at least 3-5 gallons. So please don't go off on me for that, I'm looking for a new tank for him. There is a filter and the temp is at 76 degrees. I don't have a heater in since its summer and I live in Texas. But maybe I should. I do a 20% water change and a total clean out of the tank every week. His plants are all silk and the decors are not sharp at all.

Here are some pictures of it:
http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/y...c/IMG_2207.jpg
http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/y...c/IMG_2206.jpg
http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/y...c/IMG_2203.jpg

Oh I should mention that he acts normal. He's just as active as he was.
He's constantly swimming around and is very eager to eat.
Like whenever I grab the food bottle, he gets really excited like he knows thats where the food is.
He waits at the top of the tank waiting for the food to drop down.

I'm really freaking out about his tail D: Any advice will help!~

[prodrumernate]

he is a crown tail..i would say he is nipping his own fins but after looking at all the pictures.it looks more like they are getting snagged into something.i dont see any evidence of fin rot...

i live in phoenix arizona.i have heaters for my bettas.i keep them around 78 degrees.its always good to have heaters..i have a betta in a 2 gallon.the ret are in smaller containers until a tank im setting up is fixed and cycled.as long as u clean the water out in the none filtered tanks you will be fine.

since he isnt freaking out and is acting normal.making sure u have no sharp plants or decor.if so remove them..decor u can usually get a finger nail file and file down the rough parts..though u mentioned above they are silf and nothing is sharp.a good way of knowing is to run pantyhose across it and if it snags then its too sharp.

rite now the ebt thing to do for him is supply clean water,making sure u use water conditioner or u can set the water aside like in a gallon jug for 24 hours so the chlorine etc in it evaporates and the water i fine.i do it all the time.

my 2 gallon.i do a 50% water change 2 or 3 times a week and do a 100% within a week or as needed.

[Kon]

Thank you for replying! Before I set up the tank, I actually did file down parts of the decor that I thought were a little sharp, but I will check everything again. I was hoping it wasn't fin rot. It happened very suddenly too. This morning I noticed his tail was a little frayed so I gave him a little bettafix then when I got home, his tail was just horrible!

[prodrumernate]

its no problem :) ive made some mistakes when i started and lost several girls.so dont feel bad..we learn..i would say since u gave him bettafix and his fins are worse.its something in the tank snagging his fin.i dont really think he is nipping at them.im almost certain its something his tail and fins are grabbing onto.id surly check the decor and everything again.i had to do it once.

if it changes..post another pic here. my male just about doesnt have any tail fin left due to some fish i had with him kept bitting at hi fins.he is separated now and will take weeks to heal.u will see white clearish fining areas where his fin is missing as a sign of healing and repairing itself.thats a good sign.

since he is in a 1.5 gallon.if u have aquarium salt.add about 1/4 teaspoon once a day for the next few days everytime u do a water change.that will help protect against diseases/reduce stress and should help heal him..the bettafix shouldnt have made anything worse as long as you followed the directions and didnt over medicate

[Kon]

Thank you again for all of the advice! :) I'll check all his decor tomorrow morning and see if I could get my hands on some aquarium salt. And I hope your betta's tail heals up soon!~

[prodrumernate]

you're very welcome..keep me updated as to whats going on.just reply again to this post and ill get an email.then ill check it.even upload a couple pictures if it gets worse or better.hopefully better.thank you also :)

[Kenny G]

I agree with prodrumernate regarding clean water and checking decor. I would watch your betta for the next few days. Tail biting might be in issue. With my first betta I had him for months before he started tail biting. Luckily I realized in a few days he was doing it because of bright lights. I now use a softer light and brought him a cave for privacy now he no longer tail bites. Regarding bettafix I have used it to help heal my betta's fins after tail biting and I saw regrowth in less than a week. In my opinion its unlikely that bettafix will make your betta's fins worse in less than 1 day. Some factors for tail biting are stress, bright lights, bored, or nervous. If it is tail biting try rearranging the tank decorations, using a softer light or no light (some betta's hate light), and make sure he has plenty of hiding spots. Best of luck.

[Kon]

Thank you for replying!~ :) I'm beginning to suspect that the filter is the cause of it. I have a Whisper 1-3 gal filter and a few days ago I moved it up because I poured a little too much water during a water change and the filter began to pour out bubbles, but I didn't really think anything of it. Now I think that the current was a little too strong for my betta so I put it back to how it was. No more bubbles. As for his tail, I'm noticing the tips are white so hopefully his fin is getting better!~ :)

[prodrumernate]

the filter might have done that because it wasnt primed..so it had air in it and eventually replaced it all with water.mine does it sometimes.especially my power heads.

good news his fins are healing.also bettafix is good for helping heal the fins.i put some in my bettas tank.though your should heal within a few days if not a week or so. :)

[Kon]

Today I saw that his tail got worse. So I took out the decor except the plants and removed the filter. Unfortunately the filter and the lighting use the same cord so I had to put the filter in a different container with water cause I don't want to ruin it. I have been giving him bettafix everyday and the tips of his tail are black now. I'm really worried about him D;

Heres a picture~
http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/y...-12at733PM.jpg