Is it normal?

[bettacrazy]

seems like i'm having a lot of questions.. sorry guys...

my oldest boy has clamped dorsal fins and have holes in his fins. i got him for more than a year. when i got him he was a really big boy already. so i'm guessing that he's a geriatric boy.... i always do 100% wc for him just because he's o big and poops so much. this boy alone w/o the fins are already 2 inches. when he flares, it seem that it is a lot of effort to unclamp his dorsal fin.
is it normal for bettas to have clamped fins when they get old? how about the holes?

i've updated the comparioson pictures of my girl, molly, with clamped fins in my other post. if anyone has any more ideas as to how to unclamp her that would be great too!!

thanks so much guys!!

 

[WILDER]

Clamped fins are a sign of stress, can you post test results in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph.

 

[bettacrazy]

unfortunately i don't have any of those tests. i know i should. all i can say is that i change his 1.17g with 100% wc each week. i also just scrub and rinse his tank and plants with hot water. he is my first betta, so i really have no clue as to how bettas age. i've heard that they do get clamped fins but not holes. i really dunno. i'm having such bad luck with my bettas.

 

[GuppyDude]

water condition is prolly whats doing the pinholes and the clmped fins, my female used to ahve that, her water was bad and as soon as i fixed it she was better water changes and ph and ammonia/nitrate tests need to be done

 

[turbotiber]

Do you do partial water changes throughout the week or just do 100%?? Does your bowl have gravel? If it does how do you clean that out?? Do you add salt after each wather change??

I have a betta who has a pin hole in his fin, when I bought him he aleady had it. I do like 2 pwc a week and then 100% water change and add a little salt to it so that he doesn't get anymore or that pinhole doesn't get bigger! Maybe he's stressed with the ammonia buildup if you only do 1 change of water a week.

 

[f250fisherman]

I believe that the pin holes comes from a vitamin deficiency. Thats one reason why feeding some flaked foods is a good idea. They have vitamins added. I've been saying it on other posts, so I may as well say it here. If the tank is less than a 2.5, with a filter in it, you should do 100% water changes every 3-4 days. By the time someone siphons the bottom of a 1 gal container, I've changed the water 100% and have moved on to the next one. Not because I'm faster, but because it's faster to empty a container and refill...then to clean and refill. The plus to this..the betta lives in cleaner water. Cleaner water means healthier fish. If all I had was a 1 gal tank, I would fill a 5 gal bucket with water and treat it. I add a sponge filter to the bucket, to circulate the water. Let it stand for 24 hrs, then use the water to do a 100% water change. You only have to refill the aging bucket every 2 weeks, and you always have water ready, and treated. Just my opinion on water changes, but I think the water quality controls the stress levels of the fish, which controls the diseases.

 

[bettacrazy]

you guys are so great!! i really appreciate all your comments and helpful tips.

boo (my betta) had pin holes when i first go him a little over a year ago. just that seems like they have gotten bigger.

f250fisherman, i do 100% wc once a week for his 1.17g. sometimes i do another one before the week is over depending on how much he pooped. never had a problem until now. and as for the flakes, boo hates them... he would just look at it and let it eventually all falls down. he does gets freeze fried bloodworms (like 1-2) once a week, and hikari pellets everyday. aside from the pin holes, he's pretty active for his standard.

however, i'm starting to suspect the water. if you read my other post, 'clamped fins', about my girl - molly... i changed both their waters on the same day. it is just kind of coincidental that they are both having problems - i.e. molly has clamped fins and boo's pin holes getting bigger. i did change molly's water again early in the week, and did a 50% wc yesterday....

what do you guys think? do you think that it just so happens that water i was using that day had some kind of problem? i always pre-conditioned the water with aquaplus and aquarium salt in 4L jugs 1-2 days before the wc.

 

[zelandonia]

Hi BC,

I just thought of something that might help. I used to condition my water with the dose recommended for chlorine. I also used to have some unexplained fish deaths. A while ago I doubled the dose of water conditioner which is supposed to be good for chloramines and chlorines. Since then, my aquarium has been much more stable and I have lost no more fish. Since we are in the same city we are using the same source of water- maybe there are chloramines in the water and this is causing problems? Not sure but it seems like you've tried everything else.

z.