Not sure if Fish is Sick or Not

[sugahbabe]

Housing
What size is your tank? 20 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 70 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? Yes, two of them. Mini Might from my old tank.
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? N/A

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? NutraFin Max Betta Floating Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once 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? 25% or 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Either NutraFin Betta Plus Tap Water Conditioner or Aqueon Betta Bowl Plus Water Conditioner/Dechlorinator

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

Ammonia: Safe <0.02ppm
Nitrite: N/A
Nitrate: N/A
pH: N/A
Hardness: N/A
Alkalinity: N/A

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Pectoral Fins are damaged only showing C Shape. Body appears to be fine, I see one white spot on body. Other Fins may be showing early signs of Fin Rot.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Darts around the tank sporatically, Sometimes stays at the top of the tank by the heater/Log. Currently hanging out in one of the corners of my tank.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? A week ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Yes, I was putting in BettaFix for about 5 days but I ran outta the solution. Before changing him into the bigger tank, I had put Aquarium Salt in the smaller tank (3.5 gallon)
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Probably
How old is your fish (approximately)? I purchased him March 2nd.

[Oldfishlady]

Double check your temp...if it is 70F its too cold....get it up to at least 76F

Sometimes the space and water movement can be the cause of fin damage-then once you have an open wound he can get a secondary infections and on top of that the added stress can compromise the immune response.....

What I would recommend at this point....QT him in a small bare container and start salt treatment and tannins for 10days if he has fin rot-fins edges look discolored, crusty and tattered.....if it just fin damage then you could do freshwater treatment in a small unfiltered tank.

Improved nutrition by feeding good quality varied diet in small frequent meals and if you have access to mosquito larva offer several rinsed for one meal a day to boost protein intake.

Can you post a clear pic of the fins or describe the areas in question in more detail, also, are you sure he is not biting his fins...a pic would really help....

[sugahbabe]

Okay, I turned up his heater a little bit. I will continue to monitor the temperature of the tank. He was being a little shy while trying to take a photo & than I think I stressed him out because when I finally got a good picture of him flaring, he flew to the bottom of the tank & clamped his fins together.

I tried once again so I hope this photo helps you.


If you need any more information or any other photos I can try to take better ones.

[Oldfishlady]

Its really hard to tell much by the pics...too dark to see the fin tips...do the tips look crusty-discolored or anything.....don't stress him anymore than you have to by taking more pics....I know I have a couple that freak at the sight of the camera...lol....

You might need to go ahead and get him in a smaller unfiltered tank to get him healed up-if you have either IAL or naturally dried and fallen from the tree Oak leaf...add them to the smaller unfiltered tank with him and to a 1gal jug of dechlorinated water and use that water to make 50% daily water changes for a few days and improve nutrition......

[jennyres]

just wondering...what do the tannin's from the oak leaves do for the fish?

[Oldfishlady]

Tannins have antibacterial/fungal properties, help ease stress, toughen scales/fins and assist in healing.....