Flotsom has a hole in His dorsal fin!

[BettaGurl79]

I came home from work today and went over to greet Flotsom, only to see he has a small circular hole in his dorsal fin. I don't think there is anything in his tank he could have snagged himself on and I only run the filter when I am downstairs an able to keep a good eye on him. Other than the hole he seems fine, he is displaying good color and active behavior. Could this be fin rot?? And if it is how do I begin treatment? Any advice to calm my nerves would be helpful.

[Caii]

Originally Posted by BettaGurl79

I came home from work today and went over to greet Flotsom, only to see he has a small circular hole in his dorsal fin. I don't think there is anything in his tank he could have snagged himself on and I only run the filter when I am downstairs an able to keep a good eye on him. Other than the hole he seems fine, he is displaying good color and active behavior. Could this be fin rot?? And if it is how do I begin treatment? Any advice to calm my nerves would be helpful.

Hey there- how goes it?

With all of your decor, could all of it pass the "panty hose" test? If anything could snag a pair of panty hose, it can hurt a Betta's fin.

While I'm new to the betta fish world, a photo of the injury/sore spot would greatly help in identifying if it's fin rot or not!

Have you checked out the Betta Fish Disease and Treatment Sticky by DarkMoon17? Listed there are a wide array of betta fish diseases (such as Fin Rot) as well as conservative and medicinal treatment. Here's the link: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=73332

Even if it's not fin rot, API's Stress Coat ($3.99 at PetSmart) should help his fin. Make sure water's properly clean to aid the healing!

I hope all turns out well and that Flotsom heals up nicely!

[BettaGurl79]

Sorry I did not post this in the start of my thread. I went right into panic mode.


Housing

What size is your tank? 10 Gallon

What temperature is your tank? 78 degrees

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? Hikiri betta bites currently. Offering freeze dried blood worms, Daphnia and Mysis on alternate feedings but he still will not accept them as food =(

How often do you feed your betta fish? 8 pellets a day spread out throughout the day. morning, noon, night.

Maintenance

How often do you perform a water change? bi weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 35 % - 50 %

What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Currently aqueon's water conditioner, switching to prime in a week or so.

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

Ammonia: 0%
Nitrite:safe
Nitrate: safe
pH:
Hardness: soft water
Alkalinity: 7-8

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? There is a small hole in his Dorsal fin

How has your betta fish's behavior changed? no change

When did you start noticing the symptoms? today

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no

Does your fish have any history of being ill? No, he was however puchased 1/11/13

How old is your fish (approximately)? A year I would guess from coloration and size.


Sorry Flotsom would not allow me to show you his imperfect fin.

[BettaGurl79]

Thanks Caii =) I am gonna pull out the oranments and silk plants and test them against the panty hose again. =)

[Caii]

It's all good!

To me, even though the photos are small, it doesn't look like fin rot.In my research on fin rot (I thought my betta baby had it for awhile so I went ballistic), I've never seen it start from the inside of a fin to out. Are the edges of his fins normal? If not, what do they look like? Perhaps someone more experienced here can give you a better and more conclusive opinion!

In the meantime, I'd get some stress coat (which can also help heal fin rot, just in case it may be), do some more reasearch, and continue keeping the water healthy.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[BettaGurl79]

Happy to report I think I found the offending plant that might have snagged his fin. I was pretty aggressive in my test with the panty hose this time around. I've decided to change 25 % of his water weekly until the fin heals. I've also picked up some stress coat and upgraded to Prime water conditioner. Fingers crossed !

[callistra]

It's good you found the plant.. however.. I misunderstood you. By biweekly you mean once every other week and not twice weekly?

In a 10g fully cycled tank a once weekly change of 25-50% with gravel siphon is always needed. However cycling takes up to two months and during this time you should use a reliable drops kit for ammonia and nitrite to test daily and do an additional 50% change any time you see either show up.

So if he was purchased on the 11th and you are only doing small changes every other week he has ammonia burns.

[BettaGurl79]

Thanks for the info. I've been testing the water and it's been good thus far. I will up the water changes =)

[BettaGurl79]

Alrighty I did a 50% water change this morning. I am going to start keeping a log of his water levels to better keep track of the tank.

Today after the water change : Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
Hardness - 0
Alkalinity -140
Ph -7.2
Ammonia - .25

Should I do another water change tomorrow to try to get the ammonia to 0?

[callistra]

Yeah he needs another 50% change tomorrow. Getting there though :)