Still isn't healing. Please help!

[sandrac8388]

This is about Zorro my little betta who isn't healing that well from a tail issue.

Housing
What size is your tank? 10 gal
What temperature is your tank? 82F
Does your tank have a filter? yes
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? NLS Pellets Hikari worms
How often do you feed your betta fish? pellets= 3/2xday worms= 1 worm 2xweek
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? haven't had to yet, all levels are 0.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? so far i've only added clean conditioned water. no changes yet all levels are at 0
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? prime

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:0
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? dorsal and ventral fins have tears in them. tail also has a tear
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? has not changed, he is always moving and always hungry
When did you start noticing the symptoms? it has been almost 2 weeks now
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no, just kept the water clean and warm
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? no clue

you can see his dorsal is very bad it is progressing into the tail. you can also see the tear on his tail and his ventral as well. his ventral seems like it will soon tear as well. the front part of the ventral already has started tearing.

[BETTACHKALOVE]

Do you have plastic plants? Could he damage his tail ?
Very important issue though that you didn't change his water yet.
No mater how big is the tank, no matter if you have filter or not you need to do weekly water changes. If you want to do partial water changes then you need to do 50% water changes a week with gravel vacuum and filter rinsing. Well i even do more water changes for my tanks than that.
So you need to do water change like now. I\
I don't like to cycle the tank and i do 50% and 100% water changes. I know a lot of people will say you don't need to do 100% water changes with filter though. I prefer to do 100% water changes.

So if he is eating and active you need to make sure he don't get infection. So you need to do water changes. And i would do at least 2x50% a week.

[NyaNyanNaa]

I'd just add in a tad bit of aquarium salt in case of fin rot, though I'd keep a close eye on him after that because I fear that may be tail biting, otherwise he looks pretty normal.

Also you might want to check all of your plants and such for any sharp points that could tear at the betta's fins. Some plastic plants may do this. (:

[sandrac8388]

Originally Posted by NyaNyanNaa

I'd just add in a tad bit of aquarium salt in case of fin rot, though I'd keep a close eye on him after that because I fear that may be tail biting, otherwise he looks pretty normal.

Also you might want to check all of your plants and such for any sharp points that could tear at the betta's fins. Some plastic plants may do this. (:

Should I put him in a hospital tank with AQ salt for a few days? Not sure how to go about this.

[sandrac8388]

also all his plants are silk. I tried to make sure there was nothing sharp.

[bahamut285]

If the damage is "U" shaped, it is usually tailbiting

If the damage is very messy and erratic, it is usually finrot

If the damage is a clean, straight tear, it is usually just physical fin damage from swimming around or excess flaring


To be honest, I can't really see in the pictures, but he looks fine to me? His dorsal is clear so I can't really see.

[BETTACHKALOVE]

It looks fine to me too.
The only thing bahamut285 sandra didn't change water for 2 weeks yet . Even if water parameters good yet ammonia will build up fast and one day it can give him infection. And also all other debris from poop and food. I do 100% water changes it looks like my tank so clean but when i change my 3 gall every 6 days it so much debris on the bottom.

And also NyaNyan said add a little bit of aquarium salt. Don't use aquarium salt a little bit because it not going to help it should be right dosage and right durations. And never add aquarium salt on regular basis it will get immune system resistant to it and it will not help when needed.
Aquarium salt dosage 1tsp/gall up to 3 tsp/gall. with daily 100% water changes for 10 days. If you start using it then you use for full durations. You need to pre mix salt first in one gall jug for right dosage and make sure it dissolve. You never put it directly to the tank.

Also if you think your fish has fins issue you can treat it easily with frequent water changes.

[bahamut285]

It is a 10 gallon tank with a filter and ONE fish. Ammonia will not build up suddenly especially as they've said they have checked it and it is still at 0ppm. The OP said in another thread that they are trying to cycle it. If you change the water too often while cycling you'll crash the system

[BETTACHKALOVE]

I thought that Oldfishlady wrote 50% twice a week to begin cycle and then 50% weekly for a life? I have to check her link again. I thought that was her instructions?

[bahamut285]

That would depend on the size of the tank...

But whatever, I'm not going to argue. I have given my advice if you wanna follow OFL's guide then go ahead