Hello! I am sorry that your baby boy isn't feeling well. Do you happen to have a photo of him before he started feeling bad? I think that the clear areas on the tips of his fins is regrowth.

 

Here was dec 11

 

Hi! The clear is regrowth so that is a positive.
I see you have the api teat kits coming. That is good! You need to be able to monitor ammonia, nitrite and nitrates. Especially ammonia and nitrite. With such infrequent water changes in a small tank (even now with the size improvement), it is possible that it gets out of whack. It can easily. Was your tank cycled before adding your fish? If not, then you need to monitor these levels closely and it is possible your tank never got the nitrogen cycle established. One more question, do you use a water conditioner (to neutralize the chlorine and chloramine in tap water)when you do a water change? In your notes you didn’t mention it but I think you thought that question referred to meds. Prime would be an example. If you don’t (and no put down from me, back in the day we didn’t know to either and before chlorine was used and that at least evaporates after a day, chloramine does not and it will kill your fish).
Was I any help at all? If any of these are factors, he should perk up quickly and it is an easy fix. His color should perk up quickly if these are issues needing to be remedied.
Ps if your levels are out of whack do frequent small water changes to dilute the levels more gradually and not shock him. Adding prime has a dual benefit of neutralizing the Ammonia temporarily, just fose the whole tank. Assuming either of these are the issue bit I may be preaching to the choir. In that case,forgive me.

 

Hi! The clear is regrowth so that is a positive.
I see you have the api teat kits coming. That is good! You need to be able to monitor ammonia, nitrite and nitrates. Especially ammonia and nitrite. With such infrequent water changes in a small tank (even now with the size improvement), it is possible that it gets out of whack. It can easily. Was your tank cycled before adding your fish? If not, then you need to monitor these levels closely and it is possible your tank never got the nitrogen cycle established. One more question, do you use a water conditioner (to neutralize the chlorine and chloramine in tap water)when you do a water change? In your notes you didn’t mention it but I think you thought that question referred to meds. Prime would be an example. If you don’t (and no put down from me, back in the day we didn’t know to either and before chlorine was used and that at least evaporates after a day, chloramine does not and it will kill your fish).
Was I any help at all? If any of these are factors, he should perk up quickly and it is an easy fix. His color should perk up quickly if these are issues needing to be remedied.
Ps if your levels are out of whack do frequent small water changes to dilute the levels more gradually and not shock him. Adding prime has a dual benefit of neutralizing the Ammonia temporarily, just fose the whole tank. Assuming either of these are the issue bit I may be preaching to the choir. In that case,forgive me.

Thanks for your input! I use AquaSafe Tetra for the new water.

 

I don't actually think he has fin rot, I think something might be tearing his fins. Can you post a pic of the tank? The silk plants form petsmart have a little white pointy thing right in the center of the roots that once tore the fins of one of mine. The parts of the plant I can see look similar so that would be worth checking.

 

The plants are live anubias plants.

 

I think he is biting his fins and tearing them. This is most likely due to stress from being kept in a small environment that was not getting enough water changes. A one gallon bowl with a plastic plant can definitely be tricky as far as moving around so he may also have been tearing them on the plant. Unstable parameters happen very quickly in small fish bowls. Unless you are keeping it bare bottom and removing poop and uneaten food through the day and doing very very frequent large water changes, the water spoils very fast and is dangerous and stressful to your betta. This is also the case for a newly or uncycled 2 gallon tank.

Either way, the best thing you can do for him now is what you’ve mentioned, up the water changes with conditioned water. When cleaning the tank, I recommend a siphon (Python is best IMO). Just removing the rocks and rinsing is not enough. I would really get into that gravel and stir up all the poop, uneaten food and dead plant matter. You need to suck all of that out of the tank so it does not cause an ammonia and/or nitrite or nitrate spike.

I would also add some tannins to his water. I actually prefer these to a methylene blue bath as removing him from the tank may be stressful on him. You can prepare and Indian Almond Leaf tea or add a Plain Roobios tea bag to his tank and let it float.

Is the white you see cottony looking? Fungus is pretty obvious. If it does appear to be fungal, a MB bath can be helpful, but it’s best to confirm this is the case before putting him through the move. It can not be directly added to the tank as it will stain everything blue.

Was this tank cycled?

A tip on the Anubias, I would allow them to float or affix them to hardscape with super glue or thread. Or even an elastic band. They will rot buried like this. The rhizomes can not be buried at all, and they will grow and look better long term since you don’t have a nutrient rich substrate for the roots to feed (not recommended for you either). You can also use suction cups to stick them to the glass.

It’s always nice to provide a little cover for bettas too. A small tunnel or any sort of betta safe hideaway is good. Live Floating plants like frogbit are great too.

First, let’s see what your parameters look like. Keep us posted.

 

I think he is biting his fins and tearing them. This is most likely due to stress from being kept in a small environment that was not getting enough water changes. A one gallon bowl with a plastic plant can definitely be tricky as far as moving around so he may also have been tearing them on the plant. Unstable parameters happen very quickly in small fish bowls. Unless you are keeping it bare bottom and removing poop and uneaten food through the day and doing very very frequent large water changes, the water spoils very fast and is dangerous and stressful to your betta. This is also the case for a newly or uncycled 2 gallon tank.

Either way, the best thing you can do for him now is what you’ve mentioned, up the water changes with conditioned water. When cleaning the tank, I recommend a siphon (Python is best IMO). Just removing the rocks and rinsing is not enough. I would really get into that gravel and stir up all the poop, uneaten food and dead plant matter. You need to suck all of that out of the tank so it does not cause an ammonia and/or nitrite or nitrate spike.

I would also add some tannins to his water. I actually prefer these to a methylene blue bath as removing him from the tank may be stressful on him. You can prepare and Indian Almond Leaf tea or add a Plain Roobios tea bag to his tank and let it float.

Is the white you see cottony looking? Fungus is pretty obvious. If it does appear to be fungal, a MB bath can be helpful, but it’s best to confirm this is the case before putting him through the move. It can not be directly added to the tank as it will stain everything blue.

Was this tank cycled?

A tip on the Anubias, I would allow them to float or affix them to hardscape with super glue or thread. Or even an elastic band. They will rot buried like this. The rhizomes can not be buried at all, and they will grow and look better long term since you don’t have a nutrient rich substrate for the roots to feed (not recommended for you either). You can also use suction cups to stick them to the glass.

It’s always nice to provide a little cover for bettas too. A small tunnel or any sort of betta safe hideaway is good. Live Floating plants like frogbit are great too.

First, let’s see what your parameters look like. Keep us posted.

I'm using a 7 in one strip and using comparative colors for the numbers. Here are the test results:

Ammonia: unknown
Nitrite: 1mg/l
Nitrate:25mg/l
pH:7.6
Hardness (GH):150mg/l
Alkalinity (KH): 120-180mg/l
Carbonate: 120-180mg/l
Cl2: 0mg/l

I live in an area with lots of limestone. I'm guessing that's why the pH is higher and the hardness is on the high side.

So go ahead and do the methylene blue tomorrow? Do I just need to change out the water when I see the nitrate/nitrite level creep up?

Thanks again all!

 

I would also perform a water change asap. 75% Use conditioned water, appropriate temp, add the leaves or tea if you can grab some. Regardless what your parameters are at the moment since you don’t have a test kit, he’s very overdue. For a cycled two gallon, you are looking at water changes at 50% two times a week. If the tank is not cycled, you’ll need to do more until it is. You will also need to pick up some bottled bacteria like Stability.

 

Your nitrite level is sort of high, so we would need to check for ammonia. This also means that your aquarium never was cycled, or the cycle broke. You can dose the aquarium with beneficial bacteria to help the tank cycle, and do a lot more frequent water changes. His fins need some help, adding tannins in the aquarium will be a good place to start

 

Do you mind explaining what "aquarium never was cycled, or the cycle broke" means, please? Not sure I understand what cycle refers to. I know beneficial bacteria is good to maintain. Maybe the cycle was broken because I did a 100% water change? I will start doing 75% changes. He was in a 1 gallon fish bowl with 100% changes each week and it seems like he was doing better in the fish bowl! lol

 

Well, the difference in fin color might just be him naturally changing color, otherwise known as marbling, so it doesn't necessarily mean that the problem started then. A good way to help with cycling the aquarium is dosing it with bottled bacteria, while also doing regular water changes, but preferably lower volume, more frequent ones. Something that will help with fin restoration are tannins, so you can add those by using indiand almond leaves or alder cones in the aquarium. You can also add plain rooibos tea. Since your aquarium is starting to cycle again, you will need to be on top of the water parameters, and ideally measure the ammonia as well

 

I hate to disagree with my friend, but I found a cycled two gallon only needed one 25% water change and vacuum per week. Actually, I've never had a cycled tank or bowl that needed more than one 25% per week. During the cycling process I sometimes needed a couple of water changes per week until the tank was cycled. Also, 7.6 pH is fine so don't worry about that.

This will help you CYCLING: the two-sentence tutorial

You can follow the tutorial but it it really important to get an Ammonia test. As a tip: The API Master Test Kit is actually cheaper than test strips. With the MTK you have around 800 tests; with strips at the same price, 200-250.

When you add the Indian Almond Leaves or plain Rooibos Tea you want the tank to be at least the color below. Tannins are beneficial because both contain antifungal and antibacterial properties. They are also calming.

 

I completely agree, a cycled, filtered 2 gallon shouldn't really need more than one 25% waterchange a week, I was only referring to the cycling process, where usually more waterchanges are needed, maybe two a week, maybe more maybe less, it all depends on different variables

 

It’s really hard to tell for sure, but whether fin rot and/or biting, and/or tearing on objects, the protocol is the same as far as treatment goes (clean water and tannins). Are there any other symptoms you notice with him? Lethargic, spending a lot of time at the top or bottom of the tank? Missing scales? Anything unusual on his scales? Unusual behavior? Bloat? Constipation?

Just another suggestion, 75 is considered a “safe” temp for bettas but ideally, it’s best to keep bettas between 77-80 degrees. Since he’s used to 75 degrees (as long as it’s consistently 75) you could aim to raise his tank temp slightly. A degree or two over the next day. The cooler the water the slower his immune system wiill work which in turn opens up bettas to more disease and infection. 75 is the lowest temp regardless, so just keep an eye it never goes below 75 degrees. If he were my boy, I’d push his temp up a bit. Don’t push it up too quickly. Half a degree per hour is appropriate. Turn off his tank lights. Let him rest. He’s had a busy day so far. Hopefully with the MB bath and clean water and tannins, he can rest and let his immune system work on healing his fins.

 

Oh and I know I mentioned the Anubias before, lifting them out of the gravel. If you haven’t done that, I would. If the rhizomes are buried, look out for any rot. Mushiness, yellowing or browning. The plant might look beautiful even with rotting rhizomes (very temporarily). I only mention this because any rotting or dying plant matter can and will cause an ammonia/nitrite spike just like any other waste in the tank. You could allow one to float or suction it to the upper corner of your tank to make a nice resting spot for him. My bettas love to lay on and under the leaves while floating. Just another suggestion to keep your water pristine.

And Anubias won’t be affected by shutting your tank lights off. I can grow them in buckets with little to no light for months. They are super hardy.

You could superglue a piece of a root or tiny spot on the rhizome to a rock so they sink again. An elastic band, fishing line and string work great too. You can grow them virtually anywhere on anything but not without their rhizome exposed.

 

Thank you so much!