Betta Slime coat/receding fin

[Ashlee]

Hi!
I've had a betta fish for a few months now, and with every water change his fin recedes and has long tears along it. Initially I was told it was most likely fin rot, and I tried using bettafix and trisulfur tablets which helped a little, but would never cure his tail leaving it as bad as it was after the next water change. However, recently I was informed it may be due to his slime coat depleting with the water changes. I don't know what to do, or what products may fix his tail without causing him harm. Please help.

Sorry for the bad quality pictures. I believe he is a veintail betta, the rips are most definitely not natural.

 

[Corypower]

Hi!
I've had a betta fish for a few months now, and with every water change his fin recedes and has long tears along it. Initially I was told it was most likely fin rot, and I tried using bettafix and trisulfur tablets which helped a little, but would never cure his tail leaving it as bad as it was after the next water change. However, recently I was informed it may be due to his slime coat depleting with the water changes. I don't know what to do, or what products may fix his tail without causing him harm. Please help.
View attachment 141264View attachment 141265
Sorry for the bad quality pictures. I believe he is a veintail betta, the rips are most definitely not natural.

Rips happens because Of like you said fin rot and also caused by sharp decorations, that castle could be a likely suspect

 

[Corypower]

I have used Indian almond leaves to great effect in the past

 

[hansgruber7]

Make sure you check your water quality. What are your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings?

 

[Colin_T]

Can you take some more pictures and find a few that are clear and in focus. then post them here?

What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

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Water changes don't damage the mucous coating on fish unless there is chlorine/ chloramine or toxic chemicals in the water that burn the fish.

 

[NannaLou]

Will he flare at a mirror..? If so you can usual get some good ‘fin’ shots

 

[Ashlee]

Rips happens because Of like you said fin rot and also caused by sharp decorations, that castle could be a likely suspect

Thanks! Do you think it would be worth sanding any sharp edges of the castle down and cleaning it or just getting new decorations? Also, do you have any idea what it might have to do with the water changes?

 

[Ashlee]

Can you take some more pictures and find a few that are clear and in focus. then post them here?

What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

-------------------
Water changes don't damage the mucous coating on fish unless there is chlorine/ chloramine or toxic chemicals in the water that burn the fish.

I will upload more pictures later, but we clean the tank every fortnight, rinsing the carbon filter and sponge filter in either the fresh water for the tank or the old water if we didn't make enough. The fresh water is always about a third of the tank, we add conditioner and let it sit overnight.

 

[Ashlee]

Make sure you check your water quality. What are your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings?

It is a relatively new tank, but we did check the water quality once and the parameters weren't the best. When we clean the tank we use a gravel siphon, but often we are unable to get rid of all of the waste without emptying too much of the water. I'm not sure if this is due to there being too much gravel in the tank, and I am planning on taking some out, however I do not want to do water changes more often as that is when his fin recedes.

 

[Ashlee]

Will he flare at a mirror..? If so you can usual get some good ‘fin’ shots

I dont know, we never bought a mirror. He sorta flares when he wants more food tho

 

[Colin_T]

Do you have chlorine or chloramine in your tap water?
Do you use a dechlorinator (water conditioner) in the new tap water?

Do a big water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for 2 weeks and see if it helps.
make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

 

[Ashlee]

Do you have chlorine or chloramine in your tap water?
Do you use a dechlorinator (water conditioner) in the new tap water?

Do a big water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for 2 weeks and see if it helps.
make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

We use Aqua One's water conditioner in the new water and leave it in overnight. How would you check for any chlorinr still in the water?

 

[Ashlee]

We use Aqua One's water conditioner in the new water and leave it in overnight. How would you check for any chlorinr still in the water?

Also im hesitant to do bigger or more water changes incase it damages his fins further

 

[Colin_T]

You can get chlorine test kits to check for chlorine.

If you contact your water supply company via phone or website, you should be able to find out if you have chlorine or chloramine in the water.

Aerating the water and dechlorinator for at least 30 minutes will help to ensure all the chlorine molecules are removed by the water conditioner.

------------------
Excess mucous is usually caused by poor water quality or something in the water irritating the fish. Doing big daily water changes for a week or two will dilute anything harmful in the tank water and reduce disease organisms in the water. this gives the fish the best chance of recovering.

 

[Ashlee]

You can get chlorine test kits to check for chlorine.

If you contact your water supply company via phone or website, you should be able to find out if you have chlorine or chloramine in the water.

Aerating the water and dechlorinator for at least 30 minutes will help to ensure all the chlorine molecules are removed by the water conditioner.

------------------
Excess mucous is usually caused by poor water quality or something in the water irritating the fish. Doing big daily water changes for a week or two will dilute anything harmful in the tank water and reduce disease organisms in the water. this gives the fish the best chance of recovering.

Ok, Thank you!!