[BettaBabe88]

After some careful consideration I decided I was ready for another Betta fish; my last Betta died rather unexpectedly last year and I've had the aquarium and accessories in storage since then. I wanted to give my new Betta the best possible chance for a long healthy life so before bringing the new guy home I soaked the tank and the accessories in hot, hot water, set everything up, treated the water with Stress Coat, and let the filter and heater run the entire night before going and getting the fish. I tested the water's pH, amonia, and nitrate levels and everything was fine. I went to Petco the next day (May 6) and picked out my lovely little doubletail male Betta and was ready to introduce him to his new home. He seemed ecstatic to be in his new tank and I thought everything was going swimmingly (no pun intended). So the next day (May 7) I noticed a split in the middle of his dorsal fin and I figured I needed to keep an eye on it but was not too terribly worried at this point. I added some aquarium salt to the tank and hoped that this would help to remedy any issue my fish had. Fast forward to yesterday (May 11) and not only has the split gotten exponentially worse, but his top caudal fin is now red and ragged as well. I tested the water again and all the levels were still fine. I was surprised to see how quickly my Betta's (whose name is Tsunami) condition progressed and concerned that it would continue on this quick deterioration, I went out and purchased some Jungle Fungus Clear, the fizzy tabs. I did a 25% water change yesterday, dissolved 1/4 of a tab in a cup of Tsunami's aquarium water, removed the filter cartridge, and added the solution to his tank. The whole tab is intended for a 10 gallon tank, so I quartered the dosage in order to match the 2.5 gallon tank Tsunami is housed in. Since adding the Fungus Clear yesterday, I have noticed that the redness on Tsunami's caudal fin has receded, although the fin is still pretty ragged. According to the directions, I am to do another 25% water change in four days and add the second dosage of Fungus Clear then.

I apologize for being so long-winded but I want to make sure I have provided all the necessary information. What I'm having trouble with is, if the water conditions were seemingly good when Tsunami went in the tank, why has he developed this case of fin rot? If the Fungus Clear works and the fin rot disappears, how do I ensure that this doesn't happen again? I feel as though I have taken the proper precautionary steps to keeping my fish healthy, yet I've had him less than a week and he has fin rot. I plan on doing a 100% water change after the second dose of the Fungus Clear has run its course, which is one week from today. I'm just baffled that Tsunami has developed fin rot and I would greatly welcome and appreciate any advice and/or suggestions! Thank you for listening and being patient with my long story; here are some pics of Tsunami taken on the day I got him (top) and taken yesterday after the redness and raggedness developed (bottom):

 

[Mo]

It doesn't necesseraly look like fin rot, more so likely plastic plans ripping his fins. I can see the plastic plans in the backround within the picture

If Part of his fin is damages then precautions should be taken to healing it

I would recommend slightly rasining the temperature within the tank to around 80-82 degrees Fahrenheit as In My Epxerience injuries and rips in fins heal faster with higher temperatures

Adding a small proper amount of aquarium salt if you have plants and fish that are tolerant of it, before adding a treatment of aquarium salt to your water always ask if the plants or inhabitants you have are tolerant of salt, hornwort, scaleless fish, tetras, and catfish a mostly intolerant of salt, it impacts them greatly

Keeping the water very clean and maintaining pristine water quality within the tank, depending on the size of the tank, the stocking, plants, and the filteration. I would usually recommend daily small water changes to keep ammonia minimal and to prevent diseases from occurring on the fish, fin rot is most likely to occur where there are rips in the fins

Keep stress minimal, ideally if there are rips in the fins, you would want to take extra precautions to keep stress minimal, keep slow minimal, provide extra cover, keep area dark and warm. Dnt bother the fish hat much, a stressed fish has a lower immune system which leaves the fish by susceptible to many stress related diseases, such as fin rot, fungus, velvet, ich, and others that are related to stress but not considered diseases, such as tailbiting

The first sign if healing and new growth forming would be transeculant/clear edges of the fins occurring.

 

[BettaBabe88]

The plants in his tank are actually silk, so I don't think he could've ripped or torn his fins on these. I'm inclined to believe that it is fin rot due to the rapid progression of deterioration and the redness on the tips of his fins. I know that it's extremely important to keep the water clean for bettas to thrive, which is why I had the tank all set up and the water tested and heated before I brought the fish home. I guess I'll just keep an eye on his condition and hopefully the steps I've taken so far will help my little guy.

Also, I can't currently adjust the temperature setting on the heater I have now, but it keeps the water at a steady 78 degrees F. Perhaps I will upgrade to a heater that I can better regulate the temp myself and make the water a little warmer, as you suggested. Thanks!

 

[Silverfang]

I'm leaning towards fin biting, bratfish love to drive us crazy with that.

Clean water will help prevent infections. At this point I'm inclined to think switching decor up might help, add another plant or two. Does he have some place to hide? Stress and boredom are the usual culprits of fin biting. Along with the dreaded I bite because I can and I will make momma tear her hair.

 

[Basement Bettas]

He definately has fin rot. Probably can see a little redness too. Might be hard to treat in a tank. I would bet a jar or container and add some salt and keep really clean. i would also gently lay him on a wet paper towel and dab some peroxide on the areas that show the rot. Thn quickly put him back in a clean container. I have not had good luck with most med for fin rot as it can be cause by several things. So, the peroxide tends to kill it good and quick. Lot of resistent stuff out there as well so try not to do any meds unless absolutely necessary.

Can't tell with the shadows but there apprears to be a dark patch just in front of the dorsal and the dorsal itself seems to have some red streaking. Could be just the photography.. but really look him over on a regular basis. You may have a fungus on his body and that color is a bit#h to see much of anything on. Shine a flash light on him and see if any part of him looks kinda "fuzzy". I'd get the room fairly dark so the flash light illuminates better. See if he has anything else going on. Especially on top of the head and gill plates. He also does not seem as plump.. lilke he has lost a little condition. Again, could be the photos.. but he may be losing weight. Seems not as round in the topline.

 

[Creat]

He definately has fin rot. Probably can see a little redness too. Might be hard to treat in a tank. I would bet a jar or container and add some salt and keep really clean. i would also gently lay him on a wet paper towel and dab some peroxide on the areas that show the rot. Thn quickly put him back in a clean container. I have not had good luck with most med for fin rot as it can be cause by several things. So, the peroxide tends to kill it good and quick. Lot of resistent stuff out there as well so try not to do any meds unless absolutely necessary.

Can't tell with the shadows but there apprears to be a dark patch just in front of the dorsal and the dorsal itself seems to have some red streaking. Could be just the photography.. but really look him over on a regular basis. You may have a fungus on his body and that color is a bit#h to see much of anything on. Shine a flash light on him and see if any part of him looks kinda "fuzzy". I'd get the room fairly dark so the flash light illuminates better. See if he has anything else going on. Especially on top of the head and gill plates. He also does not seem as plump.. lilke he has lost a little condition. Again, could be the photos.. but he may be losing weight. Seems not as round in the topline.

I agree with BB plus I have had great success treating finrot with peroxide be sure use a clean q tip or new paintbrush to do it and let it stay on for a few seconds. Moving him to a smaller container while treating also helps with keeping the water super clean as it is easier, for me at least, to clean a small container 1-2 times a day vs. cleaning and monitoring a larger container.

 

[BettaBabe88]

Thank you all for your input! I'm happy to report that Tsunami now appears to be on the mend. The redness is gone and the raggedness is receding. I'm even noticing a few places on his fins that show the translucent signs of regrowth, especially on the large split on his dorsal. As far as his body condition goes, do you think he looks a little thin? He doesn't appear to be starving to me, I generally feed him every other day and switch it up between pellets and flakes, with bloodworms as an occasional treat. He has lots of energy and is always very happy. I've definitely been looking over him closely for the last week and I haven't noticed any "fuzziness" on his body or scales, either, so that's a good sign. All in all I think his condition is getting better every day, which both thrills and relieves me. They're resilient little fish aren't they? I will keep the peroxide tip in mind, also; seems a lot less invasive than meds and I think the less we have to medicate our little friends, the better. Thanks for all the suggestions and I will definitely be posting some new pics of Tsunami after he's had some more time to heal up!