Help please! Is my fish sick? It has a thorn fin an I don't know from where.

[Memoridzu]

Hi everyone :)

It seems that something is wrong with my Bubble. I was in UK last week and my parents were taking care of my fish. They did everything well, but today when I cleaned the tank I noticed that there is something wrong with Bubble's upper fin that is located on the back. It seems torn. The first fiew threads are without any skin around and black. Also his back is a little black under them! I realy don't know what to do. This is my first fish and it is alredy for 8 months with me but I am getting worried! Can anybody tell me why his finn is like that? What should I doo?

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? : Hikari - Bett Bio-Gold
How often do you feed your betta fish? : two times in a day (4 pellets in a day)

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? : once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? : 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? : none

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?: I haven't


Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? : upper fin thorn
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? : no
When did you start noticing the symptoms?: today
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? : I haven't
Does your fish have any history of being ill?: no this is the first time
How old is your fish (approximately)? : 3 years maby ...The seller told me that it have been living in the shop for a long time.

[iheartmybettas]

Make sure to fill out the first part too!

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?

[Memoridzu]

Housing
What size is your tank? 5L
What temperature is your tank? 25C
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Np
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

[Memoridzu]

I have put some photos of Bubble in my gallery so you can see how badly he looks :(

[bettafish15]

Maybe he has fin rot? In a 1 gallon, once a week water change arent enough >.< Also, water conditioner is important and needs to be added to the water each water change before your betta goes into the new water. In a 1g, you should be doing at least 1-50% and 1-100% a week ;)

[LolaQuigs]

Is he a crowntail? If so, I can't really see what's wrong. But if you suspect torn fins and or fin rot, do an aquarium salt treatment to prevent infection (if they're just torn) or get rid of fin rot (if he does indeed have it). Keep his water around 77 degrees, and add 1 tsp of aquarium salt per gallon of conditioned water for 7-10 days, making sure to do 100% daily water changes throughout treatment.

Once out of treatment, you should be doing 50% water changes every other day, with one 100% change per week since you don't have a filter. Ammonia builds up fast, so in such a small space you need to do frequent water changes in order to keep him healthy. Good water conditions will prevent all kinds of illnesses, including fin rot. Also, make sure you get a heater ASAP, warm water is essential to a betta's health.

[youlovegnats]

I agree with Lola, you def. need a heater (or at least a room temp of a constant 72 degrees F. He looks like a crowntail to me... but because of the poor quality of the pic, I can't really tell what the issue is. Looks like it might just be fin rot.

[bettafish15]

Originally Posted by youlovegnats

I agree with Lola, you def. need a heater (or at least a room temp of a constant 72 degrees F. He looks like a crowntail to me... but because of the poor quality of the pic, I can't really tell what the issue is. Looks like it might just be fin rot.

72 is too cold for bettas, they need at least 77. 25C, which she mentioned, is already 77F. ;)