[Ekans]

Hey everyone,
I brought this Betta fish yesterday from a local pet store, however I'm worried about what looks like either a fin tear or potential fish rot. :-( It is summer currently in Australia so the temperature in the tank fluctuates. (Usually between the lowest being 69.8 and the highest thus far being 84.7 F)
The fish seems relatively well outside of the problem area. I've noticed that his fins have a very small black lining and seems transparent on another fin. As far as his home goes; I'll list everything I can add.

- His home is over a gallon of water (roughly) and a filter and heater are not in use. I haven't had the need for a heater since Australia is very warm. I do plan to buy a filter if I can. The current temperature of his tank is 84.92 F.

- His current diet is pellets (the floating ones) in which I feed him 1 pellet twice a day. The brand is Wardley, the Betta is happy with the food.

- I had just set up his tank yesterday and prepped it according to what most people have told me. So the water is clean and I washed the gravel and fake plant.

The images I have attached are of the area, the one photo with the Betta alone in a clear, round jug is the condition I brought him in (and what the problem area looked like then).
P.S Please forgive me if I posted this into the wrong area or something as I just joined this forum.

 

[Kristin87]

Is your plant silk or plastic? Plastic plants are notorious for ripping a betta's fins and I would suggest that you only use silk plants in his tank. With that said, if it is fin rot, it is only very minor and can probably be remedied by keeping his water very clean. In a one gallon tank, I would suggest doing partial water changes daily (just about 25% or so).

On the other hand, he could simply be tail biting, in which case keeping his water clean would help the wound heal.

If you're worried about the tempature fluctuations, I would suggest getting a bigger tank (2.5 gallons is good for a single betta), as more water would cause the tempature to change less.

Good luck with your new betta!

 

[lilnaugrim]

Yeah, that's just a split from the plastic plant you have in there. Bites are U shaped chunks taken out of the fin, not a split. But same deal, just keep water clean. You can keep 1 teaspoon of Aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water, dissolved first. This is a preventative measure and will keep rot away from your boy's fins as they heal up which should be pretty quick for just a simple split.

Wardley food is terrible food, look at the ingredients before you buy food. If you see fillers; Wheat (though used as a binder, it's fine, just shouldn't be in the top 2-3 ingredients), Corn, or soybean or other things like potatoes and rice, in the top ingredients, don't buy it. Carnivores can't digest that stuff, fine for non-carnivores though. Ideally you want to see Salmon, Krill, Halibut, Garlic, Spirulina, that kinds of things in there. Here's a tip; if you can buy that brand in a grocery or supermarket store, even if it is in a pet store, don't buy it, it's likely crap. Not sure exactly what's available in Aussie but just look at the ingredients first.

 

[Ekans]

Hey guys,
Thank you so much for the advice! I'll be sure to replace the plant and see if there's any better food options. I realized that it contained corn/wheat as the first ingredient, so I'll see if the same pet store has any others - otherwise I'll look elsewhere.