Split fins, what's going on?

[ejcapulet]

My blue betta, Renoir, has suddenly developed splits in his fins! We moved from China to the US 6 weeks ago and I shipped Renoir by air and he arrived safe and sound and showed no signs of stress, but this morning I noticed that he has developed splits in his fins - especially in his tail. He lives in a 1.5 gallon tank in the busiest room in the house and in full view of the TV so he doesn't feel forgotten, the tank has plain gravel, no decorations or plants, and no other fish, I do a 3/4 water change once a week and remove him to do the change. Is he getting ick or is he stressed out from being bored, he used to live with 10 hyper-active danios who kept him irritated but busy (the danios went to live with one of my friends who is still in China), or is he lonely? Should I get him some marbles to push around or do I need to put destresser in the water? It would just break my heart to loose him! Help!

[bamsuddenimpact]

Get some tall plants so he has hiding places and a place to rest. Silk, not plastic(plastic can rip fins). And feel free to get any decorations but make sure they wont snag him, i heard a good test is to run nylons over the decorations... if they rip your bettas fins will to. Not sure about the split fins, sorry.

[turtle10]

Originally Posted by ejcapulet

My blue betta, Renoir, has suddenly developed splits in his fins! We moved from China to the US 6 weeks ago and I shipped Renoir by air and he arrived safe and sound and showed no signs of stress, but this morning I noticed that he has developed splits in his fins - especially in his tail. He lives in a 1.5 gallon tank in the busiest room in the house and in full view of the TV so he doesn't feel forgotten, the tank has plain gravel, no decorations or plants, and no other fish, I do a 3/4 water change once a week and remove him to do the change. Is he getting ick or is he stressed out from being bored, he used to live with 10 hyper-active danios who kept him irritated but busy (the danios went to live with one of my friends who is still in China), or is he lonely? Should I get him some marbles to push around or do I need to put destresser in the water? It would just break my heart to loose him! Help!

With a tank that small you need to be doing water changes at least three times a week. Bettas get nervous in empty spaces so I highly suggest getting some plants or decorations instead of marbles. Do you use water conditioner?

Please answer these questions so we can help you more:
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)?

[ejcapulet]

Okay, I can answer those questions if it will help:

What size is your tank? 1.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? Room temperature
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? it has an airstone
Is your tank heated? no, heated water makes him irritable and irritates his gills
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Tetra's BettaMin tropical medley and HBH's Betta ColorBright flake food
How often do you feed your betta fish? morning and night

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? once or twice a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 3/4 to full depending on the condition of the water
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Tetra Aqua Aquasafe water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? No

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? His fins look ragged
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Not at all
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Last Wednesday, I started watching him carefully and this morning he looks worse
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Yes, the PetSmart people suggested that he might have fin rot, so I have started treating him with API's T.C. Tetracycline
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? About a year

[turtle10]

Okay well what temperature is your room lol? The water is always colder so if your room is 76 the water is probably 74 or 75 which isn't good. And I don't know who told you heated water is bad, but they are wrong. Bettas are tropical fish which means they need water in the 78-82 range. Also, in such a small tank water changes should be being performed every other day at the least regardless of how the water looks.

[cjayBetta]

Originally Posted by turtle10

Okay well what temperature is your room lol? The water is always colder so if your room is 76 the water is probably 74 or 75 which isn't good. And I don't know who told you heated water is bad, but they are wrong. Bettas are tropical fish which means they need water in the 78-82 range. Also, in such a small tank water changes should be being performed every other day at the least regardless of how the water looks.

From what I have gathered from other's Between 76-80 is best for the betta's over 80 is usually when they are sick and are treating them. My betta's water is @ 77 in an unheated tank (have turtles in that room as well so I need to keep it warm in that room) and I was told this was fine.

[turtle10]

Originally Posted by cjayBetta

From what I have gathered from other's Between 76-80 is best for the betta's over 80 is usually when they are sick and are treating them. My betta's water is @ 77 in an unheated tank (have turtles in that room as well so I need to keep it warm in that room) and I was told this was fine.

A heater is best though because the temperature stays constant.

[cjayBetta]

Originally Posted by turtle10

A heater is best though because the temperature stays constant.

I am not going to dispute the fact that a Heater is necessary if you need it but about it being better because it keeps the water constant doesn't make sense. Do you really think that in the wild betta's live at a constant, say... 80? No it fluctuates like all places in the world. One day it may drop to 77 or jump to 83. Its not going to hurt a betta fish at all if the temperature fluctuates slightly, they (and all fish) are built to adapt to temperature change.

[ansalong]

Is it possible to get a picture? It may not be fin rot unless his fins seem to be deteriorating or black around the edges where they split. For the past week or so my fish has been splitting his fins too.

As others suggested, get him some plants and hiding places, and probably warmer water. Make sure your decorations won't rip nylons, and also make sure they don't press up against the glass, as I just learned from OFL that his fins can get pinched between the plant and glass and rip that way.

Excessive flaring can split a fish's fins. Is he feisty, or flaring more in his new home? He might need time to settle in.

The biggest danger with ripped fins (if it's not fin rot) is infection, and many people on this forum will tell you that often the best medicine is clean water. I have also found aquarium salt to be very effective.

Good luck!

[turtle10]

Originally Posted by cjayBetta

I am not going to dispute the fact that a Heater is necessary if you need it but about it being better because it keeps the water constant doesn't make sense. Do you really think that in the wild betta's live at a constant, say... 80? No it fluctuates like all places in the world. One day it may drop to 77 or jump to 83. Its not going to hurt a betta fish at all if the temperature fluctuates slightly, they (and all fish) are built to adapt to temperature change.

She isn't keeping wild bettas. Most bettas are domesticated, you can't really compare them.