Does this Betta have fin rot?

[LinkDude80]

Hey all. I'm new to the forum and Betta ownership in general. Fishes name is Edward.

My brothers ex-girlfriend gave him to my brother and long story short I've started taking care of him after a bit of neglect on my brothers part. Recently I've been reading more about Betta care and have started to wonder if Edward is suffering from fin rot. His water went unchanged for quite some time but I have since fixed that. I've had him for maybe 3 weeks now, can't really say how old he is.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1094047...eat=directlink


Housing
What size is your tank? 1 Gallon
What temperature is your tank? Unknown
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your Betta fish live with? Just rocks

Food
What type of food do you feed your Betta fish? Hikari Betta Bio Gold
How often do you feed your Betta fish? 8 pellets once a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 95%? (The cup where I keep Edward during cleaning gets poured back in)
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Nutrafin Betta +

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? Have never tested water.

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your Betta fish's appearance changed? I'm not sure. I thought his fins used to look different but I didn't pay much attention to him before he was my fish.
How has your Betta fish's behavior changed? He's usually pretty active. He swims over to me when I look in the tank and gets excited at feeding time.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? A few days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No
Does your fish have any history of being ill? I have not had the fish very long.
How old is your fish (approximately)? I've had him for a few weeks but he's a few months old.

[Oldfishlady]

The link you provided is saying it is not Trusted...can you post the pic of the Betta through a host so we don't have to follow a link.....

[LinkDude80]

Sorry bout that, bit of a noob . Here's the pictures.

[Oldfishlady]

No worries.....

What a pretty fella....it almost looks like he might be tail biting....The darken areas on the tip of his tail-are they crusty too or is that a shadow....the next pic it doesn't look dark...

Since you just got him or rescued him- then getting him in fresh dechlorinated water and he is otherwise acting okay, swimming, eating and responding to you.....

What I would recommend-fresh dechlorinated water treatment, good nutrition and patience....

Fresh dechlorinated water treatment-for the next 3 days make 50% water only changes with like temp dechlorinated water. On day 4 make 50% with substrate cleaning by vacuum or stir and dip method.

Then get on a regular schedule of twice weekly water changes for a 1gal unfiltered without live plants-1-50% water only and 1-100% to maintain water quality.

Nutrition-good quality varied diet fed in small frequent meals. If you have access to live mosquito larva-offer several rinsed a couple of times a day to boost protein intake to support immune response and healing.

IMO/E-A 1gal unfiltered tank is fine to keep a Long fin male long term provided that the water quality is maintained.

You may or may not need a heater, however, its a good idea to have one on hand. Your goal is to maintain a somewhat stable water temp in the 76-80F range.

You do need a thermometer to monitor the tank temp and the temp of the replacement water used for water changes.

The only chemical additive you need is a good dechlorinator that covers both-chlorine and chloramines. Always use dechlorinator with any water used with the Betta.

When you make 100% water changes and you cup him-be sure and properly acclimate back to the tank- by adding small amounts of the new tank water to his holding container over 10-15min or to tolerance-Net and add back to the tank-try not to add any of the old water if you can-But be sure and have some extra water mixed up with dechlorinator to top off the tank if needed.

If he gets worse or has a change in behavior he may need a treatment....until then fresh dechlorinated water treatment and good nutrition is often the best treatment.

Keep us posted.....

[LinkDude80]

Thanks for the input! I'll start changing water more often as you said. Also picked up a thermometer today. As for Edward, the black spots on his tail were a result of the picture. It is clean and blue in my view. The 1 gallon tank is a temporary thing until I clear some space. (I have special plans for a new tank ) The thing that was worrying me about him though are the brownish transparent spot on his tail. Also if he is tail biting (I haven't seen him do it but it's possible he does) what should I do about that?

[Iveray]

Tail biting can be caused by boredom or stress. Just adding a plant should help - it gives him a place to hide, and something to look at/swim around

[LinkDude80]

Thanks. I've been meaning to give him some kind of hidey castle or plant or something but when I was at the fish store I completely forgot. I removed the bottom from a small plastic cup and put it in there for now. He seems to like swimming through it. I'll get something better when I get the chance.

[Iveray]

That should keep him busy for a little while - plus, you mentioned this being a temporary tank, so hopefully he'll be exploring his fins off soon rather than biting them

[LinkDude80]

He seems to like his crappy "cave" lol.



This will do for now until the new tank gets here. Thanks for the help everyone.

[Withered]

Awww. Such a beautiful guy. He looks like the first fish I had. I just wanted to add here that he's probably a pretty happy little guy because it looks like he's making bubble nests which usually indicates a happy, healthy fish. :) Good luck with him!