What causes fin holes and how to treat it?

[Chili Padi]

I started to notice small holes on my betta's dorsal fin and the holes kinda grew bigger each day. My betta is active and well just developing holes on his fins.

[callistra]

Usually a sign of ammonia burns or something could have snagged them.

Can you fill this out please: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49233

[Chili Padi]

Housing
What size is your tank? 1/4g
What temperature is your tank? n/a i live in a tropical country, native of the bettas
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? not needed
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? each bettas live in seperate tank

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? pellets, flakes, dried blood worms
How often do you feed your betta fish? twice a day max

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? the whole tank
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? water purifier, anti chlorine

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

Ammonia:n/a
Nitrite:n/a
Nitrate:n/a
pH:n/a
Hardness:n/a
Alkalinity:n/a

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? no changes
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? no changes
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 2 days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? not yet
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? not sure, how can you tell the age?

[Chili Padi]

Originally Posted by callistra

Usually a sign of ammonia burns or something could have snagged them.

Can you fill this out please: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49233

Thank you for your reply. I've filled in the link you asked me to input hope it helps. any further advise is much appreciated.

Thank you again.

[aemaki09]

Hm, it either means he's flaring too much or ammonia got him. In 1/4 of a gallon you should be doing daily changes if not more than that. (not to mention there really isnt enough room for him to move or thrive in something that small)

[callistra]

You need at least 2 gallons to keep him healthy long term and even that will take 2 water changes a week - one 50% and one 100%. The 100% should include a thorough rinsing of all ornaments and especially gravel to remove all poo.

I would also not use flakes and stick to pellets and supplement blood worms only once a week - make sure none sink to the bottom and fish them out if they do. Flakes muck up the water a lot faster, and you just can't help but some of it getting dissolved or falling in ways you can't retrieve in there. Also make sure he's getting one fast day a week.

For now, do 100% daily water changes in that.

Bettas are usually approx 6 months old when you get them from the pet store. Their age is that plus how long you've had them.

You can do water changes like this to avoid shock:

To do a water change, use a little cup like a plastic solo cup - this cup must be only for him and have never been used with soap or other chems. Scoop him up in this cup (keep him in the cup about 1/4 full of water - it doesn't need to be much because he won't be in it for long) and leave him in the cup while you change his water. To do the 50% use a turkey baster - dedicated only to him that has never seen soap or chems - and drag it through the gravel and try to suck as much of the poop out as possible, in addition to 50% of the water. Use a thermometer under the running tap to get it to be the same temp as the water that is normally in his tank. When the thermometer says the flowing tap is the right temp, fill back up his tank. At this point, add the conditioner (dose for how much water you change - if you change half the water you add half gallon worth of conditioner, If you do a 100% water change dose for the full gallon change). Float his plastic cup with him in it in the new water. Slowly add a couple tablespoons of the new water into his cup every 10 minutes for at least an hour. Finally, dump him in gently but try to get as little of the old cup water back into the tank as possible. When you do the weekly 100% you will do mostly the same thing except empty his tank fully and rinse everything in it very well under warm water but never use soaps or chemicals. Once it's fully cleaned/rinsed you can refill it and repeat the cup/acclimate phase.

Since your house temp is warm and you don't need a heater you can also premix gallon jugs or buckets or whatever with his water and let it sit in the same room as him for 24 hours. That will also equalize temps.

[Chili Padi]

Originally Posted by aemaki09

Hm, it either means he's flaring too much or ammonia got him. In 1/4 of a gallon you should be doing daily changes if not more than that. (not to mention there really isnt enough room for him to move or thrive in something that small)

Thank you for your reply.
Yes he is flaring most of the time even though he is alone in his own tank, also very aggressive. is this natural that he is 70% of the time flaring and aggressive? compared to my other 2 bettas who are more relaxed. They do get enough space to swim around freely and i change the water every other day depending on the water condition.

[Chili Padi]

Thank you for your reply. Your info and guide is really helpful thank you very much.

[Chili Padi]

Originally Posted by callistra

You need at least 2 gallons to keep him healthy long term and even that will take 2 water changes a week - one 50% and one 100%. The 100% should include a thorough rinsing of all ornaments and especially gravel to remove all poo.

I would also not use flakes and stick to pellets and supplement blood worms only once a week - make sure none sink to the bottom and fish them out if they do. Flakes muck up the water a lot faster, and you just can't help but some of it getting dissolved or falling in ways you can't retrieve in there. Also make sure he's getting one fast day a week.

For now, do 100% daily water changes in that.

Bettas are usually approx 6 months old when you get them from the pet store. Their age is that plus how long you've had them.

You can do water changes like this to avoid shock:



Since your house temp is warm and you don't need a heater you can also premix gallon jugs or buckets or whatever with his water and let it sit in the same room as him for 24 hours. That will also equalize temps.

Thank you for your reply. Your info and guide is very much helpful and appreciated. Thank you

[Chili Padi]

Originally Posted by aemaki09

Hm, it either means he's flaring too much or ammonia got him. In 1/4 of a gallon you should be doing daily changes if not more than that. (not to mention there really isnt enough room for him to move or thrive in something that small)

Hello :)
Advise needed if you dont mind. I just bought "Ammonia remover" treatment for my bettas. I just cleaned their tanks yesterday and just wanted to know if i can pour the ammonia remover liquid in the tank with my bettas in it, or should i wait until the next change of water and let the treatment settle properly?

Also i bought "Fishtamin" a multi-vitamin drop, instruction says drop it onto their food. I was wondering instead of that can i just put few drops into the water?

Your help will be much appreciated
Thank you