Betta fin rot?

[bettalover23]

hello,
so about 4 days ago i noticed a rip in my bettas fin. I was pretty sure it was the start of fin rot so i started doing 25% water changes every other day. but yesterday when i noticed it had gotten worse and it continued to get worse today. this is now what it looks like now. where his fins are ripped there is white discoloration around them. i don’t have a before picture sorry

he is in a five gallon planted tank. I do a 25-50% water change every 2 weeks. the gravel is cleaned in that process to as well as algae is removed from the plants and sides of the tank. He is acting totally normal he’s still eating and swimming around as much as he always does. i have noticed he’s hiding a bit more than usual but other than that he’s acting normal. I’m not sure what to do or what medication i need to use if this even is fin rot. any thoughts or advice on what i should do is appreciated.

 

[Fishies4Ever]

I am not sure how to treat it but Colin_T would probably know. He’s really good at giving advice for how to treat sick fish so I would maybe ask him to see what he says. For now keep doing the water changes and I think there is some kind of antibiotic you’ll need to get to help treat it.

 

[TNG]

Has your fish shown any improvement with water changes?

It looks like an established tank, how long has he been in that tank?

The photo isn’t very clear, I can see are ragged fins but not necessarily caused by fungal or bacterial infection. Do you have any other fish with your betta that might nip the fins?

Having algae on sides of tank is normal, but the plants with lot of algae on them don’t look very healthy. I suspect your water conditions are not optimal and that could be the problem.

If you know the levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, it will help members diagnose the problem. Also pH and GH.

 

[bettalover23]

Has your fish shown any improvement with water changes?

It looks like an established tank, how long has he been in that tank?

The photo isn’t very clear, I can see are ragged fins but not necessarily caused by fungal or bacterial infection. Do you have any other fish with your betta that might nip the fins?

Having algae on sides of tank is normal, but the plants with lot of algae on them don’t look very healthy. I suspect your water conditions are not optimal and that could be the problem.

If you know the levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, it will help members diagnose the problem. Also pH and GH.

hello,
The rips on his tail fin have not gotten any worse since i started the water changes but this morning when i checked on him his dorsal fin was just split in half. it was never like that before. could this be a sign that he is the one ripping his fins? i have heard of this happening just wondering if it could be a possibility. also in the picture you can see faint stripes. the last day and a half he has been showing stripes on and off sometimes they are their and sometimes they aren’t not sure why. here is the picture

so he has been in this tank for about 6 months, he is not with any tank mates he’s the only one in the tank. I know algae on plants is harmful but very rarely do i have to clean algae on plants I only do i once every like 2 months or so when algae has finally started to grow on the plants. I will get water test strips today to test the water levels.

 

[bettalover23]

i worded the first part wrong the rips on his tail fin have not gotten any worse since the water change yesterday.

 

[Naughts]

25% water changes are small. Unless you're worried about "Old Tank Syndrome" (from insufficient water changes for a period of time), it would be better to do 75% daily.
Adding Indian Almond leaves may be beneficial.

 

[Fishies4Ever]

I can’t really see the stripes but sometimes the cause of them is stress. They will also rip there own tail because of stress, illness or boredom. Not sure how to help with stress but does he have a lot of hiding spots? Are people constantly around the tank or does he ever try to hide when you walk in the room?

 

[bettalover23]

I can’t really see the stripes but sometimes the cause of them is stress. They will also rip their own tail because of stress, illness or boredom. Not sure how to help with stress but does he have a lot of hiding spots? Are people constantly around the tank or does he ever try to hide when you walk in the room?

he doesn’t try to hide when i walk in the room he actually usually comes out and swims around when he sees me. he has plenty of hiding spots, his tank is full of plants and he can also hide behind other decorations. the stripes don’t seem to have an effect on the way he acts but i’m starting to wonder if he is the one ripping his fins because it stated with a single rip about a week ago and suddenly the last 2 days it has progressed significantly. If this is the case i’m not sure how to make him stop. any suggestions on what to try?
here is pic of his tank if you are curious of his setup. I also have Indian almond leaves that i will add in.

 

[TNG]

he doesn’t try to hide when i walk in the room he actually usually comes out and swims around when he sees me. he has plenty of hiding spots, his tank is full of plants and he can also hide behind other decorations. the stripes don’t seem to have an effect on the way he acts but i’m starting to wonder if he is the one ripping his fins because it stated with a single rip about a week ago and suddenly the last 2 days it has progressed significantly. If this is the case i’m not sure how to make him stop. any suggestions on what to try?
here is pic of his tank if you are curious of his setup. I also have Indian almond leaves that i will add in.
View attachment 319400

I never thought fish could turn around and bite their own tail, but others have said their bettas do, so there you go.

If the dorsal fin is split, it could well be fin rot (unless bettas can bite their own dorsal fin), possibly bacterial. Without knowing the cause, large water changes are recommended. Make sure to march the water temperature before adding it to the tank, but you’re probably already doing that anyway. Good aeration using a small filter or air stone (if you don’t mind the buzzing sound of the air pump) is beneficial to the plants and health of the fish.

If there is improvement I’d just keep up with water changes, otherwise I’d treat bacterial fin rot and hope for the best. I don’t know what are available where you are, but I would NOT use Bettafix or Melafix.

 

[bettalover23]

I never thought fish could turn around and bite their own tail, but others have said their bettas do, so there you go.

If the dorsal fin is split, it could well be fin rot (unless bettas can bite their own dorsal fin), possibly bacterial. Without knowing the cause, large water changes are recommended. Make sure to march the water temperature before adding it to the tank, but you’re probably already doing that anyway. Good aeration using a small filter or air stone (if you don’t mind the buzzing sound of the air pump) is beneficial to the plants and health of the fish.

If there is improvement I’d just keep up with water changes, otherwise I’d treat bacterial fin rot and hope for the best. I don’t know what are available where you are, but I would NOT use Bettafix or Melafix.

I know bettafix and melafix is bad but what other medicines would you recommend for treating bacterial fin rot specifically? i have heard good and bad things about lots of different ones. there is a wide variety of thing in my area so i can probably find what you recommend.
sorry for so many questions lol none of my bettas have ever had this problem before so i wanna make sure i have lots of info.

 

[TNG]

I know bettafix and melafix is bad but what other medicines would you recommend for treating bacterial fin rot specifically? i have heard good and bad things about lots of different ones. there is a wide variety of thing in my area so i can probably find what you recommend.
sorry for so many questions lol none of my bettas have ever had this problem before so i wanna make sure i have lots of info.

I have never had to treat bacterial fin rot, but the only med I can get here is Seachem Kanaplex so that’s the only choice I have. Whether Kanaplex is better than other med I really don't know.

I’d watch the fish carefully, if the rot spreads to the fish body I’d say it’s too late for treatment.

I suggested a filter to circulate water earlier to improve the health of plants and fish. The only other change I make is to replace your substrate with sand as it’s less likely to harbour bad bacteria.