Tail discolored and translucent in a few spots

[flickaroo]

When I went to feed him this morning, I noticed his tail seems to have discoloring... I'm hesitant to put any medicine in his tank without being sure it's something I should worry about, or if it's just him aging.



Housing
What size is your tank? a bit more than 1 gallon
What temperature is your tank? about 79 degrees
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? Hikari Betta-gold
How often do you feed your betta fish? Usually about two pellets a day, and the occasional dried brine shrimp (about once a week). If he's looking more hungry I sometimes give him another pellet at night.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? About every week, sometimes longer
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%, besides the cup full of water I take him out with
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?
Water conditioner -- BettaSafe by Tetra

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? No

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? His tail looks discolored, almost blotchy, with translucentish spots.

How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He does seem to be spending a tad more time at the bottom of the tank, but he's still as energetic and interactive as ever when prompted, and will swim around for food and when I interact with him. I contributed his time at the bottom earlier to the removal of one of the plants that used to be in the bottom corner of his tank. I took it out to see if he liked the space to swim more. Don't worry, he still has a nice faux silk plant with big leaves in another corner to hide in.

When did you start noticing the symptoms? This morning, but he could've had it for a day or two and I just not notice.

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? n/A

Does your fish have any history of being ill? No

How old is your fish (approximately)? 2+ years (I'm not sure how old he was when we got him, but I've had him since Fall of 2010)

[lvandert]

on your first picture I see some fuzzies on his anal fin, which leads me to believe he has a fungal infection. His discoloration and lethargic nature is probably due to that. I would definitely get on those water changes, 100% every other day. I would also get him a fungal cure, avoid the "-fixes" unless you've had good previous experiences with them.

[flickaroo]

Where do you see the fuzzies? I can't make them out, and didn't see anything when I looked at my fish himself. Could it have just been something from the blurry quality of the pictures, or the lighting (he has one at the top of his tank)? Or is it just too subtle for me to make out? I was comparing it to pictures I found online, but I wonder if those are extreme cases.

I can definitely do water changes, but I'm hesitant to put medicine in his tank if I'm not positive he has an infection. I've heard it can hurt him worse if I medicate incorrectly.

Though I heard aquarium salts can help with fungal infections and their health in general. Would it be safe to use that? Should I be adding aquarium salt anyway each water change?

[lvandert]

It could be the way the light hits it but the bottom of his anal fin in the top picture looks like there are rounded edges with very faint fuzzies on it. Aq salt can help with external parasites/fungal infections but it may not do everything it needs to in the 10 days you have to dose it. The continued use of aq salt past 10 days has been known to cause kidney issues.

[flickaroo]

I still don't see any fuzzies on him, but I think his tail may be getting worse. I wonder if it might be finrot? The edges of it seem a little torn...?

I'm just not sure and am worried about medicating him wrong. If it is fungus, what treatment do you suggest? One that I can find at Petco? I have medicine for ick and bacterial infections on hand, but nothing for fungus.

I'm cleaning his tank and I added some aquarium salts, at least. I'm gonna try to get a ride to get him some medicine, but Petco is my only option. Will they have something that will help?

Here's pictures from today:

[MyRainbowBettaFish]

clear usually means new fin growth, which is good in this case, because that most likely means your betta is growing his fins back.

[flickaroo]

But shouldn't the clear parts be at the edges of his tail if that is the case?

He's still acting normally, nice and happy, even perked up a bit from the last few days. He's eating great and still very interactive. It's only this tail that bothers me, and that his general color seems a tad paler. I'm just really not sure what it is or how to medicate it, and do not want to medicate incorrectly only to get him killed.

Like I mentioned, I'm now thinking it may be early stages of finrot. Which would make sense considering I was not doing a good job keeping his tank clean previously. He hasn't gotten any worse since yesterday though, fortunately.

Does anyone else think it may be finrot? I'm going to keep cleaning his tank every other day or so and adding aquarium salts for the next few cleans, but I'm still uncertain about other medication.