Betta's Fins Are Thinning

Hey guys,
I just recently bought my 2nd betta fish (about 2 days ago) At first there were a couple spots where his fins were getting clear, but now there's whole sections. The edges of his fins are just slightly curled as well. His fins had spots of clear when I brought him home, and it's only gotten worse. However, My very first betta fish was in the same kind of water and that never happened to him, so I don't think it's an issue of water hardness. Also, as of a little bit ago his tail fin is starting to split down the middle almost

He's in a 2 gallon tank, with a pH of 7.0, and a temp of around 77. I have a Tetra whisper filter, and a small in tank heater.

Once I realized what was going on I hurried to the pet store and bought some Aquarium salt and BettaFix (by API)

Does anyone know what this is? Am I doing everything right? or is there something else I should be doing?

Thanks for your help!

His fins had spots of clear when I brought him home, and it's only gotten worse. However, My very first betta fish was in the same kind of water and that never happened to him, so I don't think it's an issue of water hardness. Also, as of a little bit ago his tail fin is starting to split down the middle almost

I know my description isn't much to go on, and now that Starbright is more outgoing, I was able to snag some pics of his fins, I hope they will help you, help me! If you need some more pics, I can supply them. I'm so concerned for my little fishy, and I have no idea how to help him!

Hi

The clear patches are nothing to worry about, it looks like natural colouring to me. The edges look as if they have had some previous problems, more than likely from shipping to the lfs etc. Just keep his water nice and clean with little aquarium salt/bettafix and he should be fine

Actually, looking again. The clear bits are possibly re-growth from previous damage. They may colour up, but they may stay clear.

bronzecat said:

Hi

The clear patches are nothing to worry about, it looks like natural colouring to me. The edges look as if they have had some previous problems, more than likely from shipping to the lfs etc. Just keep his water nice and clean with little aquarium salt/bettafix and he should be fine

Actually, looking again. The clear bits are possibly re-growth from previous damage. They may colour up, but they may stay clear.

Click to expand...

So, even though everything got worse once he was in his new tank he's still ok?

His tail wasn't split when I bought him, and the loss of color got worse than it was on the day I brought him home. If that's all still ok, I have to admit, I'll be insanely relieved.

Hi
He may have been stressed when transfered to your home. From the pictures i cant see any signs of ongoing fin rot, and the split appears to be quite clean. It could be that his fins are naturally clear in places? just keep him nice and warm and clean, feed him good quality betta pellets and bloodworm (live or frozen).

It looks like his natural color to me, but I'm certainly no expert.

As for the fin splitting - could that be due to stress from the move? If so, time, good food & plenty of clean water will eventually heal it.

Are those bubbles a nest or are they from the filter? If a nest, he is happy & healthy, IMO.

Best of luck!

bronzecat: Ok, Thanks so much!! That makes me feel so much better. I've only had him for a couple days and I already love the little guy. I'll definitely keep an eye on him though... I'm a huuuge pet worrier. You've definitely taken a load off my mind though.

LionMom: No, that's not a bubble nest, those are bubbles from the filter. Thanks for the corroboration

I think the fin split might be because of his new filter. After I installed it he kept swimming under it and staying there, until it starting sucking up his fins. He seems to have learned his lesson though and has been avoiding staying under it for extended periods of time.

Thanks so much!

Hi

What type of filter is it?

bronzecat said:

Hi

What type of filter is it?

Click to expand...

It's a Tetra Whisper 3i. I installed it yesterday (about 2 days after I got him) and last night was when I noticed the tail tear.

Not used one but it looks like a nice little filter

Am i right in thinking that the water is sucked in through the bottom of the clear tube? If so, you could use a piece of net over it. Hold it in place with a plastic zip tie.

bronzecat said:

Not used one but it looks like a nice little filter

Am i right in thinking that the water is sucked in through the bottom of the clear tube? If so, you could use a piece of net over it. Hold it in place with a plastic zip tie.

Click to expand...

Yep, it goes up through the clear tube and bubbles out of the top. There's a small cap on it, basically forming a cross over the opening, but the netting sounds like a great idea, I'll definitely look into it next time I go out. Thanks!

Just wanted to let you know that after I changed my Betta's water conditioner, his fins stopped thinning, so I suppose it could have been the water conditioner. So it's pretty much a wait and see if they get better at this point. Thanks for the help!

PhishyPhriend said:

Just wanted to let you know that after I changed my Betta's water conditioner, his fins stopped thinning, so I suppose it could have been the water conditioner. So it's pretty much a wait and see if they get better at this point. Thanks for the help!

Click to expand...

What water conditioner were you using & what did you switch to?

LionMom said:

PhishyPhriend said:

Just wanted to let you know that after I changed my Betta's water conditioner, his fins stopped thinning, so I suppose it could have been the water conditioner. So it's pretty much a wait and see if they get better at this point. Thanks for the help!

Click to expand...

What water conditioner were you using & what did you switch to?

Click to expand...

I was using Top Fin Water Conditioner, the reason I thought it might have been the water conditioner was that I was trying to increase his pH with a pH increase of the same brand and it had absolutely no effect, in fact, it actually lowered the pH! I switched to API Stress Coat/Stress Zyme. He seems to be a much happier fish now.