Betta fins, week later

[Kithy]

I'm always over-worrying about my kid, family and of course my pets. So I just want to make sure my betta's fins are looking okay after coming home from the petstore a week later.


This was the day after he got into his 20 gallon tank.


Here's the best I could get. This was taken maybe thirty minutes ago.


It's very blurry >_< Sorry.


Anyway so I was thinking it looks like new growth but it looks raggedy to me.

Like I said, I think I'm worrying a bit too much but I wanted clarification so I would know in the future (sorry if it's just new growth and I wasted your time :< )

Housing
What size is your tank? 20g long
What temperature is your tank? 80
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Only from slight surface disruption
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? One mystery snail

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqueaon Pellets (will pick up NLS after holidays)
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2-3 pellets, once in the morning and once in the evening, fasts one day.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Twice weekly
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? Water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? It all came back in the "safe" range.

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Less clamped, just a little worried about the ragged appearance of his fins.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He's friendlier. Hasn't rebuilt his nest since the filter's strong current before baffling destroyed it.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Yesterday
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Nothing yet
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Not that I know of
How old is your fish (approximately)? Only had him a week.

Gah, after filling it all out I feel like I'm wasting your time D: I'm sorry!!

[aqua001]

Wow! Thats a lot of good fin growth! You shouldn't be worried at all. If it turns blackish, you would want to look farther into it because it would most likely be fin rot.

[Kithy]

Thank you so much <3 <3 <3

I get so paranoid sometimes ;; After my dog's expensive surgery I pay too much close attention to the pets.

[aqua001]

Your not the only one lol. I freak out totally when my plants get a tiny blemish

[underdebate]

A lot of new growth will come in raggedy! Trust me, as long as it's clear, it's a good sign. And fair warning, it won't always smooth out-- some bettas with regrowth just have quirky-looking fins even after the growing stops. :)

[Kithy]

Alrighty :3 Thank you both so much for setting my mind at ease.

He's just swimming there getting mad that I'm not feeding him today xD

[callistra]

Stress coat at 1 ml per 1 gallon can help repair fins.

It looks like you're doing a good job to me :)

Since this is a new tank, if you haven't already, I'd take a peek at the fish in cycle method here: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=47838 You want to invest in a good drops test kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. First you will see ammonia spiking. After ammonia will go to 0 and you will see nitrite spiking. Finally nitrite will go to zero and you will start seeing some nitrates. Those are fine. They should be kept >20ppm and regular once weekly 20%ish water changes are usually all that's needed at this point. In the meantime while it's cycling you want to test daily and do a water change any time you see as much as at least .5ppm ammonia or nitrites, but .25 is even better. This is the kit most people use: http://www.petco.com/product/103685/...t=OnSiteSearch You can find them as cheap as $20 some places.

[Kithy]

Originally Posted by callistra

Stress coat at 1 ml per 1 gallon can help repair fins.

It looks like you're doing a good job to me :)

Since this is a new tank, if you haven't already, I'd take a peek at the fish in cycle method here: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=47838 You want to invest in a good drops test kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. First you will see ammonia spiking. After ammonia will go to 0 and you will see nitrite spiking. Finally nitrite will go to zero and you will start seeing some nitrates. Those are fine. They should be kept >20ppm and regular once weekly 20%ish water changes are usually all that's needed at this point. In the meantime while it's cycling you want to test daily and do a water change any time you see as much as at least .5ppm ammonia or nitrites, but .25 is even better. This is the kit most people use: http://www.petco.com/product/103685/...t=OnSiteSearch You can find them as cheap as $20 some places.

No worries. I have a preexisting 55 gallon tank of goldfish that's been up since earlier this year. I seeded the betta tank by using the filter that was on the goldfish tank (it was for a 20g tank but had two of them on the 55 til I could afford the right one). I put the biowheel filter on the new tank with a new carbon filter but the old biowheel itself. I'll probably get the water tested after the Holidays and pick up a test kit as soon as I can.

I appreciate the concern though :3 Not everyone has experience or even knows what cycling is. Honestly, when I got my goldfish I had no idea. After doing all that with them I'm pretty confident.

[sainthogan]

When my girl jumped out of her tank and badly damaged her fins and tail, it all the new growth looked raggedy (see avatar picture - 1 week after her jump). But now 3 months later, you'd never even know that it happened (I haven't added the most recent pictures to my album yet). So, you don't have anything to worry about.