Pinholes In Betta's Fin?

I've had my Betta for almost a month now I believe, and 3 days ago I noticed a super tiny pinhole in its fin. I didn't think much of it, until the next day when it was almost double in size. And now today there are two holes about the same size and it's rapidly getting worse, I'll upload some pictures. I took this picture about two hours ago and there are already 2 new holes but they're super tiny and right next to the two larger holes you can see in the picture.  
 
It's in a 10 gallon tank and I've been doing a planted/fish cycle with it. It's filled with live plants so the ammonia should never be high, plus I do frequent partial water changes. I was told this would be perfectly fine with the Betta. I've also been testing the water for ammonia every day since and it seems perfectly fine, next to no ammonia in the water. So I think ammonia poisoning can be canceled out. 
 
I don't know a lot about fin rot but I googled some pictures of it and it doesn't seem to look like that... But possibly it's the beginning stages? I really hope not... Maybe you guys will be able to tell! 
 
I have one fake plant in my tank that he loves, he spends a lot of his time around it (as you can see in the picture). I'm thinking IF he's just ripping his fin on something sharp this is the only thing he possibly could be tearing it on (but it's not even really sharp). In the tank I just have about 6 live plants, and then a ton of gravel and some bigger rocks, filter, heater, etc. Nothing he could cut himself on (except for maybe that fake plant, but I'm doubting it). 
 
His behaviour in general seems to be fine. He does spend a fair amount of time towards the bottom of the tank, but he's always done that since I got him. His appetite is the same, he eats a lot (twice a day, whatever he can finish in 3-4 minutes). And he's still pretty active. 
 
Any help would be much appreciated! I've been stressing over this for days. 
 

I'm searching symptoms of fin rot and people say the black edges around the fin indicate fin rot. But I just went through my phone and found pictures from a month ago when I first got him, he's always had the black edge going around his fin. 
 
Could stress play a factor? 
 
I feel like he's been extra stressed lately because I have to keep taking him out of the tank, and he hates being taken out. Whenever he sees the net he bolts, so frantic sometimes that he'll end up smashing his head into the rocks. I try to ease him into the cup but he doesn't go without a fight. He's been taken out of the tank a lot lately due to me adding new plants all the time, which in the end help him! I don't like to alter or change anything in the tank without taking him out first, just to be safe... I don't want to accidentally squish him or have something fall on him... 

I think the pin holes may be tears from the fine points of his fin being caught in the net. If you are adding plants, Im sure he would be okay if he is still in there while you place in the plants. Its less stress than being moved. (P.S Don't ignore the possibility of fin rot! Ignorance can be fatal!)
Hope This Helps!

I'm hoping that's it. I'll be sure to leave him in the tank from now on! 
 
Are there any things I should be looking out for? If it continues to get worse from here on out then we know it's not the net, if it gets any worse I will remove the fake plant as well. And then if it continues to get worse I don't know... by then it will be more apart if it's fin rot I guess. 
 
How long does recovery usually take? Just so I can monitor the situation a little more accurately. 

Can you get a good side shot of your fish and a shot of your tank?  It could really help with deciding what might possibly be putting the holes in his fin(s).  Pinholes are a common way that finrot starts so it is always a good idea to watch things like this carefully.  The best treatment(and prevention) for finrot is warm very clean water and good food. The black edging on your boy is nothing to worry about and is actually his natural coloring. 
 
What are you feeding him and how much per sitting?  What is the temperature of your tank?  The best way to see if the plant is the cause is to take a piece of pantyhose/nylon over and through the leaves.  If the pantyhose/nylon snags, the plant will snag your betta's fins as well.

For sure! I got a picture of the tank and a nice zoomed in side view of the fish. It might be a little grainy and not so detailed, the lighting is pretty bad in here at night, but hopefully it's enough to tell if it's beginning stages of fin rot or something serious like that. 
 
I'm feeding him "National Geographic - Betta Flakes" once in the morning and once at night. I give him a good pinch or two, as much as he can eat within a few minutes. And then I also give him "Tetra - Blood Worms" once or twice a week as a treat, and follow the same rules, as much as he can eat within a few minutes. 
 
The temperature of my tank is exactly 80F and stays spot on. 
 
But great, I'll try and test out the plant with that! If I can find any pantyhose might be an awkward stop at the store lol. 
 


 
They're a little sideways but I'm not sure how to change them on here.

First thing is that I suggest you change your feeding.  Flakes are not the best diet for bettas and are bad to cause bloating.  Bettas are notorious piggies and feeding them all they can eat in a certain amount of time is not the way to go with feeding them.  Their stomach is almost the size of their eye and they do not really need more food than that amount.  A good quality pellet is the best way to go and feed the betta once or twice a day (how many pellets depends on the size of the pellets since they can vary quite widely between brands).  Also if the bloodworms are freeze dried which I suspect they are unless they are frozen, it would be best to limit those to maybe once a week.  Make sure to always soak them before feeding since they are really bad to cause bloating with bettas as well.  
 
Overfeeding can cause spikes in ammonia and can lower the immune system of the fish both of which could help stuff like finrot take hold.  How are you testing the ammonia levels? (liquid test or paper strips)  Also how often are you doing water changes and how much water are you changing each time?

Interesting, I didn't know any of that! I'll be sure to pick up some pellets as soon as possible, do you recommend a certain brand? And yes the bloodworms are freeze dried, so I'll soak them, give him a little less, and just once a week from now on! 
 
And I've been testing the ammonia with a liquid test kit (it's API, I've heard they're a reliable brand). I do about a 25% water change every week or so. Except lately I've been doing much more, like an 80% change every 2-3 days because I kept adding plants or new gravel and whatnot. 
 
And that's about the time this all started... You'd think these large water changes would be good, but maybe it's been stressing him out? And I do use a water conditioner before adding new water. 

Okay so I just did an ammonia test right now, and the ammonia is .50! The ammonia has never been this high before, and I literally just did about an 80% water change 2 days ago. Should I go ahead and do another 25% water change or is this just a temporary part of the "cycle" ?

How often are you testing the water?  Also are you testing for other things like Nitrite and Nitrate?  What might be happening is that you are having ammonia spikes and not noticing them on a regular basis.  Doing a fish in cycle is always risky to the health of the fish because of the possibility of spikes. Have you tested your tap water to make sure that you do not have ammonia in it?  Sometimes things like that do happen unexpectedly.
 
As far as the water changes, I would go ahead and do another 25% one since you got an ammonia reading.  Lots of water changes are not a bad thing but can make your cycle go slower so it would take it longer to finish.  So you will have to stay diligent with watching the your parameters but it is safer for the fish.  When doing water changes especially since you have a 10 gallon, there is really no reason to take out the fish.  He will be perfectly fine staying in the tank.  I so suggest you get something to use as a cave so he has somewhere to hide if he feels he needs it to keep him from being stressed.
 
As far as recommending a brand of pellet, New Life Spectrum (NLS), Attison's, and Aquenon are all good brands to use.  I suggest bumping his temperature up to about 82F to help him heal his fins.

I've been doing an ammonia test every day for the past week or so (almost) I did forget to do one yesterday though, but I just did an 80% water change (due to adding plants and moving around gravel) the day before so I kind of didn't bother with the test. 
 
I just did a 25% change right after making that post, and the ammonia did drop back down to .25 which is still a little high for my liking but maybe I'll test it tomorrow and see what's happening and possibly do another 25% change? 
 
Good idea though, I never thought of testing the actual tap water first. I do put a water conditioner in the water before putting it in the tank though, and it does say "Helps neutralize harmful ammonia, chlorine and chloramine" 
 
And when I did the water change today I left him in this time and it worked out fine, I'm not sure why I always used to take him out, I guess I was just worried about hitting him or accidentally throwing him out a little irrational I guess. But yea I have a tiny little have he'll go into sometimes, he also hides beneath all the cobombas a lot. 
 
But great! I'll be keeping an eye out for those brands. And great, I'll set it to 82F right now.
 
Also an update on his fins:
 
The holes have gotten much worse since yesterday. The holes spread to the edge of his fin now separating the fin in the two spots where the holes were. It's starting to look more like fin rot but I'm not really sure still. It kind of just looks like the holes are expanding in size in those two spots. I'm taking that fake plastic plant out and I'm raising the temperature and if it's worse by tomorrow I'll have to assume it's fin rot and pick up some medication? 

I suggest (for medacation) to use API Melafix, it has worked great for my dalmation molly and it should for your betta aswell!

RyanTheFishGuy64 said:

I suggest (for medacation) to use API Melafix, it has worked great for my dalmation molly and it should for your betta aswell!

Click to expand...

 
Melafix or any of the medications with the ending of "fix" are not advised with fish such as bettas because it contains tea tree oil and can harm the labyrinth organ.
 
I normally do not recommend medication for treatment of finrot since it is mainly brought on by poor water conditions.  Very clean warm water is usually enough to fix the issue.  If the fins continue to get worse, I would treat the tank with an antibacterial medication like Maracyn Plus.
 
The conditioner sounds like it works like Prime.  It detoxifies ammonia for about 24 hours but does not remove it completely. In a cycled tank, that is not a real big issue since it gives the filter time to take care of any ammonia.  In an uncycled tank, it can end up with the tank experiencing ammonia spikes if not watched carefully when doing a fish-in cycle.

Do places such as Petsmart carry Maracyn Plus or would I have to order that online, which might take a while to get here? 
 
The fin is already worse since I made that last post. I have a small 2.5 Gallon tank which I don't use, I'm considering putting him in there that way I can do 100% water changes daily until this is all sorted out. 

Honestly I am not sure if PetSmart (or places like them) carry that particular medication.  I do know that they normally will carry Maracyn I or Maracyn II.  If given the choice, I personally would go with Maracyn II since it deals with gram negative bacteria which seem to be the ones more likely to be the culprit.
 
It would probably not be a bad idea to move your boy to the smaller tank for treatment and then finish cycling the 10 gallon without fish in it. It would be easier for you to keep up with making sure the water is really really clean and would help keep him from having to deal with fluctuating parameters and hopefully help him heal quickly.  Just make sure you get a heater (if you don't already have one) for this smaller tank so that you can keep him in warm water.
 
Keep us updated on his progress please and when possible post pics of any major difference as it might help with treatment especially if he is getting worse.