Help Henry Adjust to His Home, Please!

[rue721]

Henry came from an LFS store last week, and even though he's been energetic and a good eater ever since he came home, his fins were tattered to start with and just keep getting worse. I want to make sure I give him a good start here at home, so I need to double check how I to deal with the problem.

As *soon* as he came home from the store last week, Henry was swimming around and exploring, rushing to greet me, eagerly ate all his food. He builds a bubble nest every day or two, and the nests are usually big--about the size of a fist. His heater, plant, and cave have been in his tank since he got here, and I've since added a filter. The plant is plastic, however, and I think it might have hurt him--he likes to run through the leaves and drag his tail over them. That might have led to fin loss, which has led to fin rot? I'm planning on replacing it with a live Java fern (attached to his cave) and Java moss and removing it ASAP.

Despite the tattered fins, Henry seemed fine until the first water change (a few days ago)--that night, *after* changing his water, he seemed lethargic, shy, and grayish. I usually stay up late and noticed that he was trying to swim around the whole time it was light in my room, so I thought his lethargy might just have been because he was tired. I covered his tank in a blue cloth for the night.

The next morning he was *much* perkier. However, his tail looked more tattered then ever and his color still wasn't great. So that afternoon I got aquarium salt and a Whisper Filter. I was originally only feeding him two pellets a day, but recently I've been adding a pellet every day to see how much he really wants to eat (he devours any food I give him, so far--I'm up to 3 pellets in the morning, 1 pellet in the evening). Once the filter and salt were in yesterday, he seemed much happier, and super active.

Today he's been zooming around as usual, rushing over and wiggling when he sees me, and ate even his extra pellet with relish. However, his tail now looks grayish/black at the edges. The filter and salt don't seem to be doing anything to help. I've also been doing tiny partial water changes with de-chlorinated water (I treat all his water) each day since I got the filter. Oh, and I also tried soaking some garlic in water so I could add a little garlic juice to his tank. He looks and acts healthy, except for the fins.

I was thinking I'd get an antibacterial tablet as well as some Java fern and Java moss tomorrow--then I'd do a 100% water change, remove the plastic plant and replace it with the fern and moss, and also add a medical amount of aquarium salt and the antibac tablet to the new (dechlorinated) water. What should I do about the filter? I'm also worried about the tank cycling with him inside--how do I keep him safe while that's happening? Eventually, I'd like to add 1-2 ADFs, because Henry seems very social and not at all aggressive (he doesn't even flare at a mirror)--how long should I wait after I've stopped salting the tank to add them? Will the salt and antibac tablet hurt the plants or keep the antibac in the water too long? I don't want to leave the plastic plant in there, but without a plant Henry's going to feel very exposed.

Sorry for the intense amount of detail--I just want to make sure Henry gets a good start :).

Housing
What size is your tank? 3 Gallons
What temperature is your tank? 82*F
Does your tank have a filter? Yes--but it's *brand new.*
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Yes--as part of the filter.
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? No

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Betta Gold pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? 1-2/day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? I did 100% after the first five days, and I've been doing tiny water changes (approx. 5%) every day since then.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? see above
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? A water conditioner/de-chlorinator.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? N/A do not have a testing kit.

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? His fins (mostly his tail) seemed tattered and now his tail has a grayish/black edge.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He seems happy and energetic--same as ever.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? as soon as I got him, though it seems to have gotten worse.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I've added aquarium salt and a little garlic juice to his water, and got the filter. I also turned up his heater from 80* to 82*.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Nope.
How old is your fish (approximately)? I've had him for a little over a week.

[Malvolti]

Sounds like textbook finrot (but pictures would help give a better diagnosis). Daily water changes and 1 tsp/gal salt for about a week should fix it. If not try some maracyn/maracyn2.

It's most likely caused by poor water. You should be doing a 50+% and a 100% every week, this may seem a bit high but cleaner is good. 5% daily isn't quite enough for 3 gallons.

[rue721]

Thanks for the response!

You should be doing a 50+% and a 100% every week, this may seem a bit high but cleaner is good.

Even though the tank is filtered?

I'm planning on doing a 100% tomorrow night anyway, just to get everything cleaned off--so I'll def. keep to the 50% and 100%/week schedule if that's best. But I thought partial changes were better in general if there's a filter? Or should I be treating the tank like it's unfiltered until Henry starts getting new fin growth?

Oh, and I forgot to add--so I was looking at his fins again and instead of gray, the edges are more brown. It still looks like fin rot to me, though--it really does look like something's eating at the delicate part of his tail.

I tried taking pictures, but it's hard to see what I'm talking about in them. The tank is in a weird spot for light, I guess.

[Malvolti]

you can probably get away with 2 50s but I prefer to err on the side of clean.

[PewPewPew]

Dont run the filter while he's healing, still water helps his fins grow back. Since the filter will be gone, his tank needs that 100% change.

1tsp/gallon of salt, 50%-100% changes every other day will keep him happy and clean and promote growth.

If you can get one, find a bubble stone and hook it up to what I assume is your airrator powered filter (yes? it seems like it!) which will help fend off bacteria- though make sure it's not too strong and wont knock your fish around.

Ive never heard of garlic juice for fin rot...

Keep the temp around 78-80, higher temps means more bacteria, and in that range is just peachy for comfort, IMO..

Also, make sure nothing is in the tank that is sharp...An injury caused by a sharp plant, for example, may have been excassorbated into something worse.

[rue721]

Thanks for the help, you guys!

The filter is small, in-tank, and air pump-powered. The water flows out of the top like a little waterfall, so the water disturbance is *really* minimal. Henry doesn't really hang out where the water flows back into the tank (though he doesn't avoid it either), but he seems generally *so* much happier with the filter in that I'm really loathe to turn it off. Seriously, ever since I got the filter and put in the salt he's been like a new fish, though his fins look about the same. Well, he is showing them off more and more every day. When I first got him, he kept his dorsal fin down and his other fins as tight as possible nearly all the time, but now he seems much more relaxed. That's really when I got a closer look at his fins and was able to see that they were looking tattered and that he might need help, lol.

Would continuing 50% water changes *every* day work alright? I'm not too experienced at netting fish, and it was a big trauma for Henry the one time I tried it for his first 100% water change--that was when he seemed to get much sicker for a while. I'd rather do 2x/day 50% water changes, rather than 1/day 100% just because of that. If I stick to 50%-75% water changes, would every day be best? Or would every other day be just as good in terms of water quality and be less stressful on Henry? I also don't have a gravel vacuum--just a turkey baster I use to clean up whatever gunk I see (though he's a good eater, so there's not much). When doing a partial water change, how do I get the gravel any cleaner?

I also got this set of Tetra brand "Fungus Guard" tablets, which promises that it "Clears Fungus and Bacteria Fast." The plan for tonight is to give Henry a 50-75% water change, but leave him in the tank during that. I'm planning to dissolve the right amount of tablet and salt into the new, dechlorinated water before adding it to his tank, and then turning off his filter overnight...but then I was thinking I'd turn it back on for him during the day tomorrow, until tomorrow night's 50% water change (just because he seems so happy since it's been there. I think some of it is, he likes the hustle and bustle. He's a really social-seeming fish). Do you guys think that would work? I'm supposed to follow the same regime until he starts getting new growth, right? Oh, I also just lowered his heater, like you suggested.

In terms of this continuing to be a health issue for Henry: I do think the plastic plant is a problem for him, though the poor guy seems to absolutely love it (he loves weaving through the branches, but he trails his tail over them a lot and I think that habit has exacerbated any fin problems he had going on from his gross LFS cup). I got some Betta bulbs today that I'm planning to put in tonight during the water change. Hopefully soon Henry will have real plants and won't have to worry about getting scraped up, lol. I was going to replace the plastic plant today, but I went to three different stores and all the Java fern looked absolutely disgusting. The ones at Petco (which, granted, was my last-ditch stop) were all white with mold at the bottom (they were in these little plastic tubes). Yeah, not going to plant moldy stuff in my aquarium just when Henry's having health problems, lol.

Anyway, as for the garlic juice--somebody on either this forum or Ultimate Bettas said it helped their immune system, and I've heard people soak ADF food in garlic juice, too, because the smell is appetizing to them. Because of that, I have some freeze-dried bloodworms, and I was still going to throw some chopped garlic in the water I was re-hydrating them in, because why not? I'm not putting any garlic *in* the tank though, no worries :). I don't think that had anything to do with fin rot in particular, though.

OK, and yes, I know I'm being a little obsessive. But Henry's adorable, and it's fun to watch him get happier and healthier :). So thanks for bearing with me.

[rue721]

Oh god guys, I MESSED UP!

I just tried to do a 100% water change in Henry's bowl.

He's in the "holding cell" (a never-been-soaped Tupperwear) and he looks like he's going into death throes! He's freaking out, gasping, twitching...I've never seen him like this. I think he's dying!

I made the new water pretty hot to dissolve everything into it properly, and even now it's above 100*F. I threw some ice in it so it'd cool down faster and I could put Henry back in before he dies, but it won't cool! It's just sitting there at 100*F! I can't put anymore ice in, and it can't fit into the fridge. I don't know how else to cool it down fast.

HE'S DYING AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. I had to leave the room because I couldn't watch anymore.

I knew these 100% changes were too dangerous. I'm too new and don't know how to handle them.

[BettaMama11]

Oh noooooooo...I hope he doesn't die :( maybe he's just freaking out because he's not in his tank?? :(

[rue721]

Oh noooooooo...I hope he doesn't die :( maybe he's just freaking out because he's not in his tank?? :(

He's still alive, but his real tank is still above 90*F.

He was starting to do a little better, sort of swimming around in the tiny container, etc. I noticed he was flaring like crazy, and it turns out he's seeing his own reflection everywhere he looks, which is probably part of the freak out he's having.

I started thinking maybe if I just let his container hang out in the (hot) tank water he could get acclimitized faster, but to do that I needed to put him back in his LFS cup because the "holding cell" container is too big to fit inside the tank. That ended up being a 15 minute fight over him getting in the net. I got terrified he was going to jump out of the container or have a heart attack and at one point I tried to scoop him up and ended up hitting his side--at that point I gave up.

What should I do about the temperature? I want to get him out of that holding cell *now* before he's dead. But the tank's temp. just won't go down. And for every degree of heat the tank does lose, his little tupperware loses even more--isn't he going to go into temperature shock if I put him directly in the tank?!

I really can't get him into his cup. I thought about pouring him into a plastic bag, and letting the bag dangle in the tank, but would that be even worse than just putting him directly in the tank?!

THIS IS THE LAST 100% I DO. It's so much more dangerous for Henry than just changing less of his water more often. I'm so scared he's going to die because of this.

[BettaMama11]

The tank temp its still too high, from what I've read a good temp would be between 76F and 80F...so don't put him in the tank right now, wait for it to cool down...