[HarlequinBBRM]

So Sebastian was swimming happily before I went to have a shower. When I got back ~45 minutes later, his dorsal fin had colapsed and a hole had appeared near the base, smack in the middle of his fin. I immediately pt him in a smaller tank (0.8 gallon) with 1tsp/gallon AQ salt for the time being until I get back from an appointment later today. Is there anything else that I could do to speed the healing? What do you think could cause this?

Housing
What size is your tank? 5 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 81*
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Atison's Betta Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? 3 pellets 2X day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 2x week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50% +gravel cleaning
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Prime

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? N/A

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Large hole near base of dorsal fin, fin has collapsed (he can no longer lift/flare/extend dorsal)
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Slight difficulty swimming because of damage, other wise same as always
When did you start noticing the symptoms? ~20 minutes ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? In small tanks with 1 tsp/gallon aquarium salt
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Previous treatment of fin bitting (last occurance/treatment finished August 18)
How old is your fish (approximately)? ~6 months

 

[earthworm88]

Is it possible that Sebastian snagged his fin on something in his tank? Any abnormal discoloration surrounding the hole? For it to have happened so fast, it has to be mechanical in my opinion. Have you got a photo of the dorsal fin?

High protein food like bloodworms, brine shrimp etc will help with tissue regrowth.

 

[HarlequinBBRM]

There is nothing for him to snag himself on in the tank, the plants are silk, and the only decoration is a tiki head which has no sharp edges. No abnormal colour as far as I can tell as he is black, so any discolouration other than white won't really show. I will try to get a pic. It will be difficult as he can't spread his fin to show the hole.

 

[HarlequinBBRM]

Okay so I took a bunch of pics, none of which turned out that great but oh well. I circled the area affected in red. It looks like the "spines" or whatever are broken so his fin just kinda flops there :-(. I checked him again when I got back from my appointment, and he has now chewed the edge of his dorsal so the edge is now tattered (from the stress of the situation I presume).

 

[Neil D]

OK, your betta may start tail biting. My betta josh's dorsal flopped over like that just before he started tail biting...distract him by adding objects in front of his tank.

 

[HarlequinBBRM]

He already is a tail biter so I'm kinda expecting he will start again (more like continue as he chewed abit while I was gone). He is currently in a covered tank to help reduce stress and keep him calm so he doesn't damage his torn fin more.

 

[earthworm88]

Ok. Considering he has such flow-y fins, it is likely he had taken a bite of his dorsal fin somehow. You said he is black, the photos definitely showed he is extremely stressed.

How is he doing today?

 

[Pataflafla]

It's possible for them to bite there. My crown tail has managed that overnight once and the same thing occurred. I don't think it's collapsed, just very uncomfortable to stretch at all, so he may just keep it clamped for a few days.

Clean water, aq salt, high protein diet, and optional stress coat should do the trick.

As far as distractions go bottle caps can work as well as a button tied to a string so he can chase it and bite it. I've heard ping pong balls are good toys too.

 

[HarlequinBBRM]

He is doing much better today, not as stressed and starting to act a bit more like himself. Even built an impressive bubble nest in his quarantine tank! He can now move his dorsal more than he could yesterday, still collapsed a bit though. Now I can see the spines of his fin so I will just continue with the salt treatment in the small tank.

I don't think it was a bite as the hole is quite large, he did tatter the end of the fin though and left a piece on the bottom of the QT tank. What I am thinking happened was that the current from the filter (which got stronger as some of the water evaporated) blew out his fin as the spines appear to be broken all along his dorsal near the hole.

I just wish he would stop doin things like this XD

 

[HarlequinBBRM]

Update

Half of his dorsal has now fell off! Will it grow back to normal? Should I increase the amount of aquarium salt (currently 1 tsp/gallon)?

 

[Neil D]

My guy Josh had the same issue. His tail either fell off, or he bit it off. I would keep the salt at the current level.

 

[earthworm88]

Yikes! So sorry to hear a chunk of Sebastian's dorsal got broken off. I think sometimes this may be a self defense and regeneration thing. If it was truly broken, logically it would be easier to grow a new one as it would be next to impossible to keep the dorsal fin straight up at all times to fuse the broken parts back together. So don't worry too much and continue to monitor him.

I would also keep the AQ dosage the same for now and just watch for any discoloration around the edges. Super clean water is more essential here.

Cheers!

 

[Tikibirds]

stress coat helps fins regrow

 

[Luimeril]

i say put him back in his regular tank and add a little AQ salt. it's nothing to worry about. if you have any/can get some, Indian Almond Leaf will help his tail and dorsal grow back, and will relax him alot.

 

[earthworm88]

^^ditto above!
Also, feed a varied high protein diet...especially the disgustingly smelly frozen bloodworms *pukes*

 

[HarlequinBBRM]

Thanks for evrything guys! I can now see some new growth along the original part of the hole (~1.5 mm of new growth). I will continue the treatment until the ten day mark and will keep him in a small tank until I move back into res at school and until I feel he can swim better in his 5 gallon. Would decaf green tea be just as good instead of IAL?

 

[Luimeril]

that's what i've been told. i, however, have no experience with it.

to keep him from getting too stressed in the smaller tank, put things around it, so he can look at it, and move it around every now and then. Dante loved it when he was alive. he'd always check out what i moved, and LOVED the red Dungeons and Dragons dice i had, and the Pokemon figure i have.

 

[HarlequinBBRM]

I've got a floating orange "training" golf ball in there currently, and he seams to like it. He hangs around it and bumps it with his nose to push it around, so he is amused. The tank is also still covered as he doesn't really like small spaces that aren't dark, so that way he isn't stressed. After the 10 days, I'll move him to a 1 gallon glass jar so I can put a plant and what not into it for entertainment purposes.

Overall I think he is taken being treated quite well all thing considered. He still gives me his wiggle dance when I check on him so thats good!

 

[Luimeril]

fin issues seem to freak people out. o.0 with Cup ripping his from over flaring all the time, then Dante tail biting, i learned to just shrug and change their water. xD i almost miss fin issues in bettas now that those two have passed. (*looks over at Ichi* don't you dare start biting your tail! it's just growing back! xD)

 

[HarlequinBBRM]

It was just concerning when he lost a whole chunk of his fin. He has nomed on himself before, so now when I see small tears and the like I just up water changes. I am now pretty sure that it was the earthquake on Tuesday that stressed him to the point of self-mutilation... again. I will now be going to school with a slightly ragged fish XD