Possible fin rot case - help please

[znikkisan]

Housing
What size is your tank? 10 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 78 F
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? under gravel airetor
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? betta pellets, frieze dried worms, betta flakes
How often do you feed your betta fish? once a day except sunday

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 4 times a week i do 10% - every two weeks i do 25 - 30 %
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? "Tetra Aqua" Aqua Safe and "SeaChem" Stability

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

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

I take it into the pet shop and they tell me every thing is okay - i do this about every week
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? A few days ago I noticed his top fin was really raggedy. I took out all of the fake plants, thinking he caught it on one of them (they passed the panty hose test, but I just wanted to make sure). Today his top fin is completely severed and there is a giant chunck missing and it has small holes in it. Other fins have not had this happen.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Not really until just now when I tried to give him another salt bath. Now he is struggling for air and being super lethargic.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Sunday.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I have been giving him epsom salt baths in a hospital tank once a day for five minutes. When I first noticed it a did a 75% water change. I have been adding 1 tsp of "Stress Coat" and 1 tsp of "Melafix" to the water (as directed to on the bottles)
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)?I bought him at petco a month ago.

I noticed he was fraying, thought he got it caught on a fake plant, and wanting to stave off infection or fin rot I immediatly changed 75% of the water, and started a Stress Coat and Melafix regiment with daily salt baths in a hospital tank. Tonight I noticed a huge chunk of his top fin missing and set up a hospital tank but when I put him in he started going crazy so i put him right back into the regular tank and now i have been having to hold him up so he can breath.

Please help. This will be the second fish i lost this year and I cannot bear that.

[znikkisan]

Here is a picture of Starbuck with his torn fin. Best I could get.

[PewPewPew]

Fin rot will probably not do this to a fin like that- especially in one spot on the fin in such a way.

Even though they passed the test, bettas are derp and find ways to hurt themselves on even the softest of decor. Is there anything he could have wedged himself into to tear it?

Hold off on the baths and what not. Sometimes theyre hard to do correctly and in combination with medicines can stress the fish out.

If he is so weak, please significantly lower the water level to help him breathe and be more comfortable. I recommend putting him in a hospital tank, try a clean or best yet unused tupperware container, tethered to the side of the big tank to keep him warm and so he wont sink.

I wouldnt worry about infection like that if you keep up with changes, your tank is very large, and considering you dont have any other fish in there, take a lot of the water out (keep more than enough to comfortably cover the betta! 5 gallons or so?) and change that our 50% every two to three days.

Honestly, with very clean water, you might not even need aquarium salt or medicines. Keep the heat (if you can) around 76-77' if youre fearful of infections.

In order to help relax your fish while he isnt well right now, keep the tank dark.

If I missed something, let me know.

Also, try contacting oldfishlady if you need more help or would like to know more about medicines, baths, etc. Ive found her methods of dosing and recommendations to be great.

<3

[znikkisan]

Betta's are derp. My friend even named one of her bettas "derp". I don't know what he could have hurt it on. I had already taken out all of the fake plants on Saturday. The other decorations are a cave, a rock thing that has holes he likes to swim through, and a fake dinosaur (as seen in picture). Though, being derp, he could have found a way of doing something.

I will set up a hospital tank immediately. Thank you so much for all the advice and all the help!!!

It makes me so relieved to hear that this might not be the dreaded finrot. I am so paranoid of causing this fish any sort of pain and/or lossing him to a mistake.

[PewPewPew]

Dont worry. You obviously care a great deal- he's in good hands. Dont fret, either- if it IS fin rot, thats easy to fix, too. But for now, focus on getting him well enough to be normal and swimming well.

For the hospital tank, use his current tank water- dont change it fully while in this state. Maybe put like 20-30% new, conditioned water in. If you have it, throw in a rock or two of AQ salt, its 1tsp/gallon. Im not sure how much the tank is, but to find the measurements its lwh/231.

Good luck good luck and I have a feeling its the cave! lololol!

[znikkisan]

hospital tank established. Should I remove his cave? He loves sleeping in it! He also hides in it when he sees someone he doesn't know come in to his room.

[PewPewPew]

Since you suspect it of hurting him, Id say remove it.

Shove a clean mug in there as a spot to hide instead. Rinse well in hot hot hot water, but do not use soap.

[znikkisan]

Got it! Thanks so very much!!

[PewPewPew]

:3