Reasons for Torn fins?

[jeremywadejunior]

Hi, my halfmoon betta, Shaka, has fins that look to be getting shorter around the edges by a little bit. The other day I noticed a hole-like tear in his dorsal fin, close to his body. The hole has grown and is probably only a cm long. I removed the roughest decoration (a volcano) from his tank, but since then I have noticed a thread-like piece that is missing from his upper dorsal fin. Today I took out the only plastic plant.
He seems like a very healthy fish, always eager for food and attention. I've never seen him biting his fins, but I don't want to rule anything out.
So, what could be the reasons for his torn fins?

[Oldfishlady]

Complete this and add a pic...The more info we have the better....

Housing
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

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

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?

[jeremywadejunior]

Housing

What size is your tank? 2.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 78 F
Does your tank have a filter? Yes, but I have baffled it with sponges so the current is tame
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? Aqueon pellets, flakes, and frozen brine shrimp
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%-75%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Water conditioner, and there is currently 2 tsp of aq. salt

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? Yes, I will go ahead an do that...

Ammonia:
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: greater than 0, less than 20 ppm
pH: around 7.6
Hardness: 120
Alkalinity: 180

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Torn fins
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Hasn't; he is very active and has an appetite
When did you start noticing the symptoms? A few weeks ago, but it has more drastically developed this week
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I added 2 tsp. aq. salt (dissolved in water) to his tank after there was a major tear
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Unsure; when I bought him he may have had very mild fin rot
How old is your fish (approximately)? I bought him about a month ago. He is very small.

[happypappy]

Had the same thing with two of my bettas. I keep their tanks clean, but develped these same issues. My HM was treated only with AQ Salt for about 2 weeks; and his fins slowly came back and are beautiful now. My Delta tail suddenly developed a blood streak in his tail. I started him on AQ salt, but when he developed a hole in his dorsal and a chunk of fin fell off and there was bleeding, I had to treat with minocycline. After 3 days, the blood stopped and he is doing much better. So he is not in AQ salt water for a couple of more days. Good luck with yours.

[jeremywadejunior]

Originally Posted by happypappy

Had the same thing with two of my bettas. I keep their tanks clean, but develped these same issues. My HM was treated only with AQ Salt for about 2 weeks; and his fins slowly came back and are beautiful now. My Delta tail suddenly developed a blood streak in his tail. I started him on AQ salt, but when he developed a hole in his dorsal and a chunk of fin fell off and there was bleeding, I had to treat with minocycline. After 3 days, the blood stopped and he is doing much better. So he is not in AQ salt water for a couple of more days. Good luck with yours.

Thank you. So I'm assuming it's fin rot. I put my fish in a 1 gal hospital tank with the appropriate aq salt dose. I also just added a drop of Mardel's Maracyn- Oxy... When I treated him in the past for what looked like much less severe fin rot, I had him in aquarium salt for 10 days but there was hardly a difference. I know most people don't recommend aq salt for longer than 10 days.

I'm hoping someone can advise me on my treatment method.

[happypappy]

i have treated with salt for longer than ten days. It depends on how he does. One guy as I mentioned did not respond to salt, so I treated with MaracynII ---- BUT without salt in the water. Made daily 100% WATER CHANGES and he seems healedso far. I also think that I have had filters tear the fins----but I know I have a fin rot problem when I see bleeding fins. Be careful on the medicines...but use when necessary.

[jeremywadejunior]

Originally Posted by happypappy

i have treated with salt for longer than ten days. It depends on how he does. One guy as I mentioned did not respond to salt, so I treated with MaracynII ---- BUT without salt in the water. Made daily 100% WATER CHANGES and he seems healedso far. I also think that I have had filters tear the fins----but I know I have a fin rot problem when I see bleeding fins. Be careful on the medicines...but use when necessary.

Thanks for your advise. I have Maracyn- Oxy on hand, and it says 1/2 cap-full per 10 gallons. However, I use 1 gallon containers to treat my water. How should I dose this? I already tried calling the company but they were little help. I changed his water this morning and didn't use aq salt this time, only the Maracyn (like a few drops per gallon was my best guess but the dose is so small.. is this safe?).

[happypappy]

I would highly recommend that you go to the manufacturer site for this product: It gives excellent description of how to use, when to use, etc. and even a portal to "ask a vet". Many of the mardel products are the same as human meds and this site should help. When I dose the powder, I do my best to divide up the total from 10 gals to treat 2.5 gals. good luck.

[jeremywadejunior]

Originally Posted by happypappy

I would highly recommend that you go to the manufacturer site for this product: It gives excellent description of how to use, when to use, etc. and even a portal to "ask a vet". Many of the mardel products are the same as human meds and this site should help. When I dose the powder, I do my best to divide up the total from 10 gals to treat 2.5 gals. good luck.

Thanks, I looked at the website. I think tomorrow I am going to buy some Maracyn 2 since the Maracyn-oxy is mostly for fungal infections and it isn't an antibiotic. You've had good results with that, correct?

[happypappy]

I Only used it after i tried the aQ salt. I always use that first and if I don't see results I used maracyn II. Maracyn II is minocycline which is a type of tetracycline, but has a broader spectrum --- that means it hits a broader range of bacterium. I have heard of people using both maracyn I and II but that I feel is redundant and really overtreating -- perhaps causing more risk. Not knowing what bacteria we are treating -- I prefer to go with the broadest possible. An interesting note is that minocycline when first introduced by the pharmaceuitcal industry was commonly used for severe acne in humans. And today is one product that is commonly used to treat staph infections -- usually a skin infection. SOOOOOO that's why I prefer using minocycline (Maracyn II). Whew -- Probably more that you wanted to know!!!!!!!!!!!