[aslatt08]

Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 2.5
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What temperature is your tank?78-80
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? No
Food:
What food brand do you use? Aqueon Betta Food
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Pellets
Freeze-dried? No
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? 1-2/day, 5-8 pellets
Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? Every 3 weeks
What percentage of water did you change? 1/4
What is the source of your water? Tap
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? Vacuum
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner? None other than conditioner - Aqueon
Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water before the regular water change; not after one.
Ammonia: - Strip does not test
Nitrite: 0-0.5
Nitrate: 20
pH: 7.5-8.0
Hardness (GH): 1000 (VERY HARD)
Alkalinity (KH): The test wasn't clear - it was either 120 (in the middle of the square) to 720 (dark color surrounding test square)
Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? 4/2020
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? His fins are ragged
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? He is lethargic
Is your Betta still eating? Yes
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? No
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? No
How long have you owned your Betta? October 2018
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? No

My sister's betta, Judge, has been looking a little bit rough. He used to be in a small glass bowl (no filter or heater) and would make bubble nests all the time. In March 2020, my sister moved him from his small bowl to a 2.5 gallon tank with a heater and filter. About a month later, she noticed that his fins were looking ragged and he was no longer making bubble nests.

Here are some pictures. The first picture of him in the bowl is from June 2019. The second picture of him in the tank (black background) are from March/April 2020. The final picture is from January 1, 2021.

Any advice on what's going on with him and what she should do to help him feel better? Thanks!!

 

[kbeth]

Hello, I am no expert but it appears your sisters betta has fin rot. Poor water conditions are often a cause of fin rot and I am assuming you meant 2.0 ppm of nitrite, which is a bad amount, it should be zero. Immediate action should be taken and you should do a water change of at least 20% and keep doing those at least once (if not more) a day until the nitrite is under .25 ppm or lower. I would look up the NITROGEN CYCLE for aquariums. The nitrogen cycle is very important, currently your sisters tank is not cycled and it is not good for the betta. I would highly recommend getting a test kit that tests for ammonia. It would be a good idea also to get a liquid test kit such as the API freshwater test kit as they are much more accurate and you get more tests for the price. The forum has a discussion page purely about the nitrogen cycle but I do not have the link saved, so you might need to search for it.

 

[aslatt08]

Hello, I am no expert but it appears your sisters betta has fin rot. Poor water conditions are often a cause of fin rot and I am assuming you meant 2.0 ppm of nitrite, which is a bad amount, it should be zero. Immediate action should be taken and you should do a water change of at least 20% and keep doing those at least once (if not more) a day until the nitrite is under .25 ppm or lower. I would look up the NITROGEN CYCLE for aquariums. The nitrogen cycle is very important, currently your sisters tank is not cycled and it is not good for the betta. I would highly recommend getting a test kit that tests for ammonia. It would be a good idea also to get a liquid test kit such as the API freshwater test kit as they are much more accurate and you get more tests for the price. The forum has a discussion page purely about the nitrogen cycle but I do not have the link saved, so you might need to search for it.

Thanks for your response! And thanks for catching that! I meant Nitrate is 20 and Nitrite is 0-0.5. I edited it.

 

[aslatt08]

I thought this post had been deleted so I started a new thread here: Need Advice! What is going on with my sister's betta???

sorry about that!

 

[Mbpoppy]

Hi! As mentioned, more frequent water changes, and then on a regular schedule and of a larger quantity need to be started immediately.

Oldfishlady water change recommendations

Lots of different ways to successfully keep this species- Based on the experiments I have conducted over the years-I have found that water quality can be maintained by these water change schedules. This is based on feeding quality foods and not overfeeding-since most water quality...

www.bettafish.com

 

[aslatt08]

Hi! As mentioned, more frequent water changes, and then on a regular schedule and of a larger quantity need to be started immediately.

Oldfishlady water change recommendations

Lots of different ways to successfully keep this species- Based on the experiments I have conducted over the years-I have found that water quality can be maintained by these water change schedules. This is based on feeding quality foods and not overfeeding-since most water quality...

www.bettafish.com

Thank you! How long does it typically take for bettas' fins to regrow?

 

[KekeTheBettaDoc]

Thank you! How long does it typically take for bettas' fins to regrow?

Can take a while, it really does depend on if they continue to nip at them or not. I personally would do 15-20% water changes 2x weekly for a 2.5 gal. Do you think you could get some more pics? To me, I cannot see much rot but more nipping.

 

[aslatt08]

Can take a while, it really does depend on if they continue to nip at them or not. I personally would do 15-20% water changes 2x weekly for a 2.5 gal. Do you think you could get some more pics? To me, I cannot see much rot but more nipping.

Thanks! Here are some more pictures from today. It's hard to see him since he is so dark and the background of the tank is black.

 

[Mbpoppy]

There's a pinned thread about taking betta pictures, but in any case try a floor lamp near the tank to help highlight him

Found it;

How To Take Good Betta Pictures

*****Found this while surfing the web, Hope it helps***** How To Take Good Betta Photos Introduction: Maybe you want a picture of your betta for a show. Maybe you need it for an auction. Or maybe you just want to show your beloved betta off to your friends. Either way, it’s almost an art form...

www.bettafish.com

 

[KekeTheBettaDoc]

Hi! From what I can see it looks maybe 95% nipping and the very BEGINNING stages of rot. Glad we caught it early!