Betta's tail

I have a 5 gallon Marineland Hexagon with a bio wheel.
Temp is about 81F. Been having a little trouble keeping the temp down to 78F. We are having a heat wave.
1 betta in the tank with 1/2 inch of neutral gravel and 2 silk plants and an aquarium rock formation.
Two days ago his rear tail fin looked like it blew up- its all shredded and tattered looking.
Checked the intake valve to the filter and turned it off till I could do something about it as it has big slits big enough to suck his tail in.
The bio wheel has been off for 1-1/2 days. I bought and put in a piece of bio sponge into the intake valve where the slits are to prevent it sucking his tail in as he goes by.
His tail looked like it was healing well this morning. All the shreds were fused togeterh again. He looked good.
This afternoon when I came in to check on him, his tail was all blown again!
I don't know what the ph is in my tank. No chemical kit right now and no money.
But he has been happily in this tank for three months. I have had him in a betta bowl for 6 months prior to this. He is about a year- year and a half old.

Please help! I love Cherry Pie and don't know what to do!

Here are some pictures of his tail as best as I could capture it- he swims fast.

It looks like he's been chewing on his tail. They do that when they are stressed. It sounds to me like his biggest stress right now is the water temperature fluctuations. If the water wants to stay at 81, it WILL NOT hurt him. Bettas are bred at temperatures of 80-84, and raised in those temperatures. It will not harm him at all to stay at those temperatures during your heat wave.

If ONLY he is in the tank (no Catfish, no Snails, no Frogs), then try adding some aquarium salt. It will help with healing. Also, if you can get your hands on some Blackwater Extract or Indian Almond Leaves, those will help to stop him chewing on his tail, they will help his tail heal faster, and they will prevent infection.

your betta could have fin rot, a potentially fatal disease. You need to buy some meds for him. They may call it ragged fin or something like that. If he's chewing his tail, this will heal it too.

Good luck

Sounds to me like the filter may be to blame. If a temp fluctuation of 78-81 degrees was that harmful, none of Kelly's fish would be winning at the shows, they'd all be dead. Mine too, for that matter. It doesn't look like chewing to me, it looks like the filter got it. Who knows?


You'll want to devise a guard for the filter. IAL would work great to treat the fins, or colloidal silver regrows fins like a dream. Good luck!

Kiarra-- Thank you! Do regular pet stores that stock fish have the Indian Almond leaf or the Blackwater extract? Also how much aquarium salt do I add to the 5 gallon tank?

mlee0332 said:

your betta could have fin rot, a potentially fatal disease.

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Fin rot is rarely fatal when treated. However, the pic shows no indication of fin rot. It's much more likely an injury.

o, i must be the unluckiest person ever! All of my fish die when they get fin rot . But then again those bettas I had came from walmart

EDIT: or maybe mine had injury, and the pet stores told me he was sick and I treated him for something he didn't have, and that killed them.

Cation,
I have a bio sponge stuffed into the intake valve where the large slits are so there are no longer any places where his tail can get sucked in. Then I have a shield over the out take to kill the intense current and to keep him from getting in there. Can I keep a betta in a 5 gallon without a filter and just do more water changes?
gladiolapua

I know of Kelly's fish, and I don't think there's anything wrong with normal temperature fluctuations. Mine are allowed to deal with normal temperature fluctuations throughout the day, and I've never had a problem with all but a couple. Some are just more sensitive to temperature fluctuations, water quality, and many other things than others. That's why some fish will get sick, where others won't even act funny, when exposed to identical conditions.

A five gallon tank dosage of aquarium salt is a rounded tablespoon full.

Indian Almond Leaves aren't likely to be found at a pet store. You'd have better luck on the internet. There are a few stores that do stock Blackwater Extract. Someone on the board found some at Petsmart, but I've never seen it at my local Petsmart. I got mine at a small pet store, not a chain store. Another person on the board spoke to their local pet store, and the pet store shipped it in for them.

They are essentially the same thing in that they both have essentially the same benefits, so whichever one you manage to find will suffice quite nicely. No need to buy the other if you can find one.

you don't need filtration with a betta b/c they can breathe at the surface of the water ( or that's what I've been told) that's why they make those little 1/2 oz(exaggeration) jars the bettas can sit still in, poor things

One of my fish ate his tail off when he got moved to a tank with current.
He also did it when he was severely bored over the weekend in his tank and no one else to look at.

I had 2 others that ate their tails off with severe temp fluctuations - like from 70 to 80 in one day, and back down again at night - I stopped the biting by getting them into a 10G with a steady 78 degree temp.

If you have the filter slits covered and you still see him doing it, there's something else he doesn't like, you'll just have to figure out what it is.

Oh, yes, and you can absolutely ditch your filter if you feel the need to. I don't use any filters with my Bettas, and just do large water changes periodically. It avoids all the potential troubles with filters and fins getting torn up.

gladiolapua said:

Cation,
I have a bio sponge stuffed into the intake valve where the large slits are so there are no longer any places where his tail can get sucked in. Then I have a shield over the out take to kill the intense current and to keep him from getting in there. Can I keep a betta in a 5 gallon without a filter and just do more water changes?
gladiolapua

Click to expand...

You sure can. In fact, if you put an airstone in there (on low, not blasting) your tank will likely remain cycled (assuming it is cycled now!).

Kiarra's right, IAL is so great to have on hand, but it can be tough to find on short notice. BW extract is easier, and it's often possible to find colloidal silver in health supplement stores in a pinch.

mlee0332

I am so sorry to hear that you have had so many fish losses.
I trust they are all in Fish Heaven now and feeling just fine.
You have a good heart.

gladiolapua

BettaMomma

Thanks for all your encouragement.
Cherry Pie has been in a tank with current for 3 months. In fact, he used to swim in place right in the current and seemed to really enjoy it. Maybe he doesn't like it anymore. I turned the filter off. He is acting normal, just his tail looks bad.

I will be able to go look for the blackwater extract tomorrow first thing.

I have seen him curling around the longer silk plant leaves lately. Is he trying to mate with them?

gladiolapua