Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5 Gallon
What temperature is your tank? 74-76degrees
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Nutrafin Max and Freeze Dried Bloodworms.
How often do you feed your betta fish? He was being fed 2 times per day with a small bit of each food by my mom (I thought that was way too much). I've dropped it down to a small pinch of one or the other food a day, giving him a day or two break in between.
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Once a week full water changes. Though since he's been sick, i've been doing 100 percent water changes every 2 or 3 days.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100 percent
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?
Was just using Betta Safe water conditioner, but since he's been sick, I bought and have been using Amquel Plus and Novaqua Plus. About 1/4 teaspoon each, and sometimes Nutrafin Aqua Plus to reduce stress.
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? His fins are ragged and splitting, his top fin is white and brownish and pretty much almost gone.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He's been staying at the top or bottom of the tank alot more then usual, but he still eats when I feed him, still swims around and acts happy, his fins are just droopy alot.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? About a week and a half ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Started using the new water conditioners, have been doing full water changes ever 2-3 days. I finally got some API Fungus Cure and Maracyn 2 but I wasn't sure if you could put them both in a the same time so I only put in the API Fungus Cure at the moment.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No.
How old is your fish (approximately)? I got him from Petco, but i've had him for about 5 months.
I've been reading and reading up on fin rot till i'm blue in the face. I haven't tried the AQ Salts yet because the guy at the pet store told me he didn't think a Betta Fish needed them. Apparently Bettas need alot of things they're not supposed to. I didn't think they needed a filter or a heater either, so I haven't been using those although I did get him a heater but it's a little small for his 2.5 gallon tank so I ended up not putting it in there. I've heard about cycling a tank but I didn't think i'd need to do that with 100 percent water changes every week. I'm looking into getting him a 5 gallon tank so I can put the heater in if he survives..which i'm seriously hoping he does because i'm going to be a wreck if not. He seems to be doing okay with the treatment so far, he's still swimming around and being active, but his fins aren't getting any better. Any help would be much appreciated!
