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clamped tail

779 views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  sainthogan 
#1 ·
As many of you know, my betta took a jump about 3 weeks ago and she was healing nicely. She still had a few tears in her tail and fins, but had been keeping them all open. The last two days, she has been clamping her tail. Nothing else has changed, she's still very active and there are no external signs of anything at all. I noticed it just before a water change and it has not improved yet, actually it has gotten worse since the water change. The only other thing I have changed is her food. I had to resort to cheap flakes as my more expensive food was knocked to the floor and there was no saving it. I also added a Lilly bulb about a week ago.
She's still super active and eating just fine.
(My husband thinks she's lonely and needs me to spend more time with her.)

Housing
What size is your tank? 5
What temperature is your tank? 76
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? flakes daily, bloodworms and fruit flies as treats
How often do you feed your betta fish? twice a day

Maintenance

How often do you perform a water change? twice a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? topfin betta dechlorinator

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

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 7.6
Hardness: 7.4
Alkalinity: my water kit doesn't test for this

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? she's clamping her tail
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? none
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 2 days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? nothing yet
Does your fish have any history of being ill? yes
How old is your fish (approximately)? 8 months ish
 
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#4 ·
Her heater is a preset one. The nearest Wal-Mart (an hour away and not a supercenter so it only has the absolute basics) only sells preset heaters and the nearest petstore is 3 hours away. I'll have to order a heater, but it will probably be a week or two before it gets here. :( I can keep the room fairly dark most of the day, so that's not an issue. What else can I do in the meantime? (Yes, I pretty much live in the boonies - a small tourist town that has shut down now for a month until ski season starts). Like I said, her behavior hasn't changed any and she's still a little piggy and she will try to jump out as soon as she sees the food bottle.
 
#5 ·
Oh, and I am trying to find a place to order IAL, but not having much luck. Any suggestions?
 
#7 ·
Yes, I have checked the parameters. They were perfect before I changed the water, then I changed it anyway because it was time to change it, plus her tail was clamped. Also, she has had velvet before, but this doesn't look like that, I've done the flashlight test and not seeing any gold or rust colors on her anywhere - she had it all over when she had it last time.
 
#8 ·
Ok, so tail is still clamped, but now it looks like it has a lot of extra slime coat on it as well. The rest of her still looks fine and she's still active and hungry. I did the flashlight test again and am not seeing anything out of the ordinary.
What is this?? Do you think the Lilly bulb or the change in food could cause this? Those are the only things that are different.
I'm going to do another 50% water change today just in case, which will make it 3 for this week.
 
#9 ·
And then this morning, I noticed the extra slime coat was coming off her tail and it was unclamping. Still no other signs of illness. How weird. I wonder if she had an injury to her tail or just something. None of her other fins ever clamped and her behavior never changed at all. Hmm.....
 
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