[clerbird321]

Hi there everyone

So my boy is a white opal betta who has had fin nipping issues in the past that we had resolved. I just sat down in front of his tank today and noticed that his caudal fins have shortened A LOT, and that he is getting some red coloring on his front/pelvic/ventral fins (sorry, not sure of the name). He has progressively gotten black coloring all over just from age, but the red is new..He is eating normal, his water tests great, he’s acting fine. I do know that he messes around with his filter and heater a lot, like he wraps around the part of the filter that hangs into the water and heater and puts himself under the water flow of the filter and gets pushed around a lot. I’m just worried about his excessive fin shortening and new red coloring. I included some photos, all are from today except for the last 2. The second to last is from June and the last one is from early August. Help!

 

[FishandBirdLover]

Aw man! your poor boy looks so rough! Can you please fill out the emergency template?

 

[FishandBirdLover]

Just copy and paste


Housing:
How many gallons is your tank?
Does it have a filter?
Does it have a heater?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind?

Food:
What food brand do you use?
Do you feed flakes or pellets?
Freeze-dried?
How often do you feed your Betta? How much?

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change?
What percentage of water did you change?
What is the source of your water?
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water?
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner?

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:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness (GH):
Alkalinity (KH):

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms?
How has your Betta’s appearance changed?
How has your Betta’s behavior changed?
Is your Betta still eating?
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how?
Does your Betta have any history of being ill?
How long have you owned your Betta?
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased?

 

[clerbird321]

Aw man! your poor boy looks so rough! Can you please fill out the emergency template?

i know I’m so worried😭😭 we recently went through a move where he had to be in a cup for a while so idk maybe that did something😭 I will do that right now

 

[clerbird321]

Just copy and paste


Housing:
How many gallons is your tank?
Does it have a filter?
Does it have a heater?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind?

Food:
What food brand do you use?
Do you feed flakes or pellets?
Freeze-dried?
How often do you feed your Betta? How much?

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change?
What percentage of water did you change?
What is the source of your water?
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water?
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner?

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:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness (GH):
Alkalinity (KH):

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms?
How has your Betta’s appearance changed?
How has your Betta’s behavior changed?
Is your Betta still eating?
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how?
Does your Betta have any history of being ill?
How long have you owned your Betta?
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased?

Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 5.5gal

Does it have a filter? Yes, HOB

Does it have a heater? Yes, Hydor Theo 25W

What temperature is your tank? 78.8°F

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? Hikari bio gold but just switched him to Imagitarium betta pellets today because I liked the ingredients better

Do you feed flakes or pellets? Pellets

Freeze-dried? Sometimes freeze dried bloodworms

How often do you feed your Betta? How much? 2x a day, 4 pellets each time

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? Once a week

What percentage of water did you change? 40-50%

What is the source of your water? Tap water

Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? Vacuum as well as I can with the decorations he has in place

What additives do you use other than conditioner? API Stress Coat+. Have been using since the fin nipping issue months ago.

What brand of conditioner? Seachem Prime

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.

I just changed his water yesterday btw!!
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm
pH: 7
Hardness (GH): between 30-60ppm, maybe a little under. This is low according to my test tube😭
Alkalinity (KH): approx 80ppm, maybe a little under

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? The last couple days but really noticed his shortened fins and red colors today

How has your Betta’s appearance changed? His back fins are much much shorter and he has some red coloring on his front fins below his face. He has black coloring that has progressively increased since we got him, I was told it was due to age. He looks rough😭

How has your Betta’s behavior changed? Not at all. For the past couple months, maybe since June, he has been messing around with his filter and heater more. Like wrapping around them, hanging around back there and putting himself under the stream of the filter and getting pushed

Is your Betta still eating? Yes

Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? No, I don’t know what to do😭

Does your Betta have any history of being ill? No, other than some fin nipping about 6-10 months ago

How long have you owned your Betta? Almost a year, will be a year this month!

Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? No

 

[clerbird321]

@FishandBirdLover

My local Petco closes at 8 and PetSmart closes at 9, it’s 6:40 currently so I am willing to run and get him anything he needs

 

[FishandBirdLover]

@FishandBirdLover

My local Petco closes at 8 and PetSmart closes at 9, it’s 6:40 currently so I am willing to run and get him anything he needs

Ok, let me read the emergency template.

 

[clerbird321]

Ok, let me read the emergency template.

Okay, I really appreciate your help

 

[FishandBirdLover]

Could you post pics of the tank? I might find something

 

[clerbird321]

Could you post pics of the tank? I might find something

 

[clerbird321]

@FishandBirdLover

I know that his 2 pieces of driftwood have been in there for many months, probably about 8 months, and that some of his plants have algae on them. His 3 moss balls have been in there since we got him. I always have a piece of an Indian almond leaf in there underneath one of the driftwood pieces and switch it out every couple weeks.

 

[FishandBirdLover]

Wow! his tank is gorg! Are his fake plants sharp? run a pantyhose over the fake plants and if it snags, remove the plants or sandpaper them

 

[FishandBirdLover]

@FishandBirdLover
I always have a piece of an Indian almond leaf in there underneath one of the driftwood pieces and switch it out every couple weeks.

Ok, I was about to recommend IAL.

 

[clerbird321]

Wow! his tank is gorg! Are his fake plants sharp? run a pantyhose over the fake plants and if it snags, remove the plants or sandpaper them

Oh thank you so much!! I’ve worked really hard on it☺ I don’t think that they are, I was very picky about his fake plants when I bought them lol, but I will check right now. I don’t have pantyhose, what else can I use?

 

[clerbird321]

Ok, I was about to recommend IAL.

Do you think that the old driftwood or algae on the plants can cause issues?

 

[FishandBirdLover]

Here is something that might help you. It looks like fin nipping.

Betta Tail Biting (What To Do & How To Prevent It) - Betta Care Fish Guide

There's nothing worse than noticing half of your betta's tail is gone. If you notice your betta tail biting, then find out how you can stop it immediately.

www.bettacarefishguide.com

 

[FishandBirdLover]

Do you think that the old driftwood or algae on the plants can cause issues?

No. My tanks have driftwood and algae in them but I have not had any problems.

 

[clerbird321]

Here is something that might help you. It looks like fin nipping.

Betta Tail Biting (What To Do & How To Prevent It) - Betta Care Fish Guide

There's nothing worse than noticing half of your betta's tail is gone. If you notice your betta tail biting, then find out how you can stop it immediately.

www.bettacarefishguide.com

yeah he’s done this before😢 I wasn’t sure if he was nipping again or if it was how often he messes around with his filter and maybe it’s pulling on his fins??

 

[FishandBirdLover]

Oh thank you so much!! I’ve worked really hard on it☺ I don’t think that they are, I was very picky about his fake plants when I bought them lol, but I will check right now. I don’t have pantyhose, what else can I use?

What I also do is see if it hurts my finger

 

[FishandBirdLover]

yeah he’s done this before😢 I wasn’t sure if he was nipping again or if it was how often he messes around with his filter and maybe it’s pulling on his fins??

It looks like fin nipping. Keep his water clean, keep adding IAL, keep using the Stress coat, and see how he does. Also, The article may help you too.