"Glued" fins

[soady]

Hello, I own 1 male (red) and 1 female betta (bluish green). I have had them for a month now. When I got them the female had thorn fins and the male was in good shape so he was aggressive towards her and he built a bubble nest as soon as I put them in the bowl, so I guessed that he wanted to mate but she wasn't ready. I separated them so she could recover by putting her in a jar (filled to the top) and leaving him in the bowl.

She fully recovered within a week and her fins grew back completely. She's been fine ever since and she even has the white spot under the pelvic fin, which means that she is ready to mate.

He, however suffered a disease which I recognized as a simple cold. His bowl wasn't covered at the time and I've been opening windows so it must have been that the cold draft of air made him ill. I stopped exposing them to any temperature change and always made sure that their water is warm enough. I bought him glass rocks and a plastic plant to make him feel better after I found out that they hate an empty tank. I also bought Dajana Aloe Gel for wound healing and have been mixing a few drops of it when I do the water change. Also, I wanted to buy aquarium salt but the pet shop didn't have any and the guy who works there told me that I can use kitchen salt so I've been putting a pinch of salt when I do the water change. He started getting better from the first treatment. (I did 50% water change every day for the first 4 days of treatment and cleaned the leftover food to keep the tank clean) 10 days later (now) his fins have completely recovered and he is very active and happy (he used to stay in one place all day and barely eat).

I am so happy now and I want to know... Should I should keep treating him with aloe gel and salt and for how long? I also feed him live tiny spiders and mosquitoes which I catch around the house (1 per day along with regular food) and he seems to enjoy them. Also, he stopped eating 'the red food' even now when he is doing well. Why did he stop eating 'the red food'? He eats all the meal-worms I give him. He didn't build a bubble nest since he got ill and I keep the female's jar so close to his bowl that it is touching it so they could see eachother. Why isn't he building bubble nests? Does he need more time to fully recover to do this?

Other than this, they are well. The picture below is him (down: when he was well, and up: when he got ill). He looks great now.




Housing
I have a 1 gallon fish bowl with no thermometer nor a filter. The bowl is not heated. I started covering it a while ago. Green glass "rocks" at the bottom and one green plastic plant in the bowl. The picture below was taken as soon as I got them, I just wanted to show you that they do have enough space, since I see a lot of hateful comments concerning the tank size.



Food
I feed them dried meal-worms (a pinch a day) and red cubes of some sort. The picture below was taken by me. The lady at the fish store told me to give them just a couple every day.



Maintenance
I change the water every 4 days and I usually do an 80% water change. I use stale tap water (I fill a large pot with tap water and use it after 2-3 days). I have never checked any water values because my bettas were always fine with it.

I have treated him well, and this may be a good advice for someone who was the same problem with their betta but I need advice myself.
I tried to provide all the details you need to answer my questions. Thanks for reading!

[xShainax]

1.NEVER USE KITCHEN SALT. IT CONTAINS IODINE THAT CAN KILL THEM. 2.I suggest you get something besides a bowl so you can get a heater in it, I have a one gallon tetra tank which I have a heater in and it takes about the same amount of room as a bowl. 3. Don't even attempt to breed since by your post I can conclude you have no idea what you are doing. I am not trying to be mean, just being blunt and not sugarcoating it

[soady]

Originally Posted by xShainax

1.NEVER USE KITCHEN SALT. IT CONTAINS IODINE THAT CAN KILL THEM. 2.I suggest you get something besides a bowl so you can get a heater in it, I have a one gallon tetra tank which I have a heater in and it takes about the same amount of room as a bowl. 3. Don't even attempt to breed since by your post I can conclude you have no idea what you are doing. I am not trying to be mean, just being blunt and not sugarcoating it

Thanks for the quick response, but you haven't really answered my questions... The salt is there to help the wounds heal, it is just a small pinch and amount that small can not kill them... I don't need the heater as they are doing fine, I had one problem because I left the windows open for too long but now I know better. I prefer a bowl. I do not intent to breed them until I know enough about it, but I will when they and myself are ready.

[sainthogan]

Aquarium salt is recommended for a Max of 14 days. Table salt is only recommended if it does not contain iodine and usually for less time than aquarium salt. Even small amounts of iodine can poison a fish, so if your fish is better, I would stop the treatment.
Bettas are tropical fish and need warm water to thrive (not survive, big difference). Baby Betta fry survive best in water above 82°, most fry will not live for long at temperatures below that. They are also extremely sensitive to changes in water parameters and need to have extremely clean water.

[LuckyBlue]

That is EXACTLY what my LuckyBlue's fins look like!!!!! (the stuck picture)

[DoctorWhoLuver]

First off, you never put a female betta and a male betta in a *bowl* with no places for the female to hide, they could have killed each other. Although, the thai method does this, the breeders are usually very experienced and have properly conditioned the pair.
All females have the white spot whether they are or are not ready to "mate".
You should stop with the salt treatment. I normally don't use a heater during summer days since it get's VERY hot where I live, but I do use one during the winter and at night.
Kitchen salt is different than AQ salt. It has usually been bleached and contains iodine.
Also, your bettas should have a staple food. Such as high quality pellets, meal worms are usually fattening and are not always good for you bettas. They should be a treat, like bloodworms.

[soady]

Originally Posted by sainthogan

Aquarium salt is recommended for a Max of 14 days. Table salt is only recommended if it does not contain iodine and usually for less time than aquarium salt. Even small amounts of iodine can poison a fish, so if your fish is better, I would stop the treatment.
Bettas are tropical fish and need warm water to thrive (not survive, big difference). Baby Betta fry survive best in water above 82°, most fry will not live for long at temperatures below that. They are also extremely sensitive to changes in water parameters and need to have extremely clean water.

Thanks for this great suggestion! I am happy if the salt was the thing that helped along with Aloe Gel. I really didn't put much, just a tiny pinch of it. He looks completely normal now so I will not put salt anymore. :)

[soady]

Originally Posted by DoctorWhoLuver

First off, you never put a female betta and a male betta in a *bowl* with no places for the female to hide, they could have killed each other. Although, the thai method does this, the breeders are usually very experienced and have properly conditioned the pair.
All females have the white spot whether they are or are not ready to "mate".
You should stop with the salt treatment. I normally don't use a heater during summer days since it get's VERY hot where I live, but I do use one during the winter and at night.
Kitchen salt is different than AQ salt. It has usually been bleached and contains iodine.
Also, your bettas should have a staple food. Such as high quality pellets, meal worms are usually fattening and are not always good for you bettas. They should be a treat, like bloodworms.

The picture of the bowl was taken as soon as I put them in after I got them. A day or so after that I divided them because the male was biting on the female's fins. She recovered very fast and grew her fins back completely! I have had no troubles with her. I have added green rock shaped marbles at the bottom and a plastic plant so the bowl is now ready to bring back the female since there are hiding places. It just seems like a good idea to keep them apart still, until I make sure that he is completely healthy. As for the food, I will see if I can get something other than meal worms, I am almost done with the first pack (the same size as the 'red food' on the picture I provided), it lasted a month for the two of them. Thanks for the suggestion. :)

[soady]

Originally Posted by LuckyBlue

That is EXACTLY what my LuckyBlue's fins look like!!!!! (the stuck picture)

I know, I commented on your thread about your LuckyBlue's clamped fins. I am the one whose picture didn't come through. I posted it again though, on your thread but I see that you've already seen it now.

[DoctorWhoLuver]

That's good. :) Wait... are you planning on housing the female and the male together?