Betta With Curling Fins

[snazy]

I bought my first betta a month ago. I actually picked him to save him as he looked in a poor condition and I don't mind an ugly looking fish He was at the bottom of his little prison in the shop, just having short bursts up to the top from time to time. I also thought he may have fin rot but it doesn't look like fin rot. His dorsal fin is all curled up, with loss of colour and missing rays. There is no signs of any infection or anything like it though, clean ends.

I've read that this can be caused by constant exposure to ammonia and nitrItes, or if he was kept in a tiny bowl, genetic problem, old age or even hard alkaline water.

He was like this when I bought him, but yesterday I noticed one of his top rays was like it was broken in the middle. His tank is filtered and cycled and he was getting 50% water change once a week, I reduced to 30% last time(yesterday). He is very active, eats like a pig and doesn't even rest on the decoration or plants. I've only seen him a few times in between the anubias leaves with his nose stuck out of it looking at me.

My water is hard, it's 7.4, so if that's the reason I am not helping him but I put some indian almond leaves yesterday to see if it will make a difference.

My question is, does anyone know why the fin ends curl up? Is there anything I can treat with?

Here is a video of his fins:

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnbKpWUKjdk

 

[Chad]

I've used fungal treatment for tail-curl and it worked well. I use the Hikari brand. Someone recommended this to me years ago and it did the trick. I've only used it that once so I can't say it's a surefire cure but it did work for me.

 

[snazy]

Do you think my one is sick and needs treatment? I just don't want to medicate unnecessary because he seems happy but I have no clue when it comes to bettas and their odd diseases and I don't want him to get worse.

 

[Chad]

I only treated mine when it was clear the problem wasn't going away on it's own but getting worse. I'm not one to jump in with medications as I've found clean water, good food and low stress are usually enough to help the fish's natural immunities cure itself. This is one case where you will know best how the fish is doing as you observe it.

In the video he seems strong enough. One suggestion I have is to lower the flow a bit.

 

[snazy]

I tried lowering the flow, but the filter has three different modes-surface, middle or bottom. He seems to like it better when the top is blown and not the middle. I'll see what else I can do about it.

A picture below from when I got him about a month and something ago. I don't think he is getting worse or at least not very visible but I don't know how long it takes anyway.

 

[Chad]

Is it a crowntail betta?

 

[snazy]

Is it a crowntail betta?

Yes, crowntail one from what I know.

 

[Chad]

Find a photo on Google of a healthy crowntail and compare it to your fish. See what you think.
Here's one photo http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+832+844&pcatid=844

 

[snazy]

Mmm, the dorsal fin of the one on the photo are curling too from what I can tell. But my betta's endings of the dorsal fin are missing. I was reading it's an irreversible damage if they get the curled fin thing. It definately isn't fin rot though. I'll observe for now and see if the almond leaves will make a difference. If he doesn't get worse, then I'll leave it at that. He is a happy chap otherwise, but fails to flare at his reflection

 

[Chad]

I'm not sure I'm seeing much wrong with the ends which is why I asked you to look. Photos can hide things but you can look at the fish and compare.

 

[snazy]

Maybe he is fine then. I asked because I have no idea. His bottom fins are not curling, just a few missing rays on top with the base looking curled. Maybe he just had a rough life before I got him. I love the way he chews his food. When I drop one of those NLS pellets that are as big as his eyes, he makes the same movement with his jaw as human would when chewing food. It is so funny.

Do you think he is old maybe? Is there anyway to age these fish?

 

[Chad]

Average is about 2 years though. I've had them live a bit longer (over 3 years) but most of my betta go after about 2 and a half.

When I look at the video and the photo I see a fish in pretty good shape. Not perfect but active and looking okay. Keep feeding him, keep the water clean, and I expect he will end up doing well. Oh, and see if you can do anyting to get the flow down. This can be a problem for long fins.

 

[snazy]

Average is about 2 years though. I've had them live a bit longer (over 3 years) but most of my betta go after about 2 and a half.

When I look at the video and the photo I see a fish in pretty good shape. Not perfect but active and looking okay. Keep feeding him, keep the water clean, and I expect he will end up doing well. Oh, and see if you can do anyting to get the flow down. This can be a problem for long fins.

I've already kind of adjusted it to flow from top and middle at the same time, which kind of spreads it out a bit. I think that's the best I can do with this filter. I haven't noticed him struggling though. He's all over the tank normally. What could the flow do to them?

 

[Chad]

It's hard for them to swim for one thing and if it's point flow it can damage the fins though that comes more from a powerhead than most filters. Mostly it's exhausting for the little guys. They are used to still waters.

 

[snazy]

OK. Thanks. Hopefully he's ok now. I've actually seen him playing in the flow and going back and back at it. Below the surface there was barely any movement as the filter outlet blows in one corner only creating waves on top but no real movement below. I put my hand all over the tank to test it and the flow is pretty low. He has no problem swimming under the surface too. The only reason I left it is I read an article somewhere that regardless of popular believes and betta's being a labyrinth fish able to survive in low oxygenated water, they'll thrive with more oxygen. There was a physical explanation too, but can't find it.

Just one more question. I have the temperature at 27C. Is this fine or should I change it?