My Betta's fins have gotten smaller

[Elisabeth83]

Hi,

I've had my male Betta for a year now and I noticed when looking at pictures of him of when I first got him that his fins were a lot longer and more flowing. Now though they are a lot shorter. Like his top fin used to hang down onto his tail but now it's like half the size. Also the 2 fins that hang down from his neck area one of them is half the size of the other one..like it fell off or something.

I have seen fin rot but my Bettas fins don't look like that. Theres no reddening at the edges nor is there white. They arn't ragged either ..pretty smooth..just a lot shorter.

Well I'm just curious as to what this means so I thought I'd write and ask

Thanks!!

 

[Logitech]

Is your betta in it's own tank by itself? Because it may be the cause of fin nipping fish. Or maybe it stunt it's growth or something.

 

[Elisabeth83]

He lives by himself in a 1.5 gallon bowl so it couldn't fin nipping by other fish. I don't think it's growth has been stunted because he's had long fins before it's just lately the last month or 2 I've noticed that they are a lot smaller.


Hmmm....

 

[Logitech]

The water conditions of your betta's tank could possibly be the cause of this.

 

[Elisabeth83]

Yeah I was thinking that.

How often does their water need to be changed?

I usually just take a cup or two off the surface 2-3 times a week and about once every 2 weeks I clean the whole bowl. I keep some of the old water though.

I have been trying to step up the water changes and I've been adding salt lately too.

I wonder though maybe he had fin rot and I didn't know about it and now his fins are just damage forever??

I don't know a whole lot about bettas so I'm sorry if I sound dumb

He is healthy though...eats and is so active ...I'm just concerned about his fins.

I did post about a month ago about his not making a bubble nest anymore and was told it's probably old age and to try and put a mirror up to him occasionally and I have been doing that but he still doesn't make the bubble nest.

Could he maybe be too cold? I was going to buy one of those tiny lamps and position it over the bowl so it warms the water up...especially now that it's getting colder here in Sweden.

 

[Logitech]

Yeah I was thinking that.

How often does their water need to be changed?

I usually just take a cup or two off the surface 2-3 times a week and about once every 2 weeks I clean the whole bowl. I keep some of the old water though.

I have been trying to step up the water changes and I've been adding salt lately too.

I wonder though maybe he had fin rot and I didn't know about it and now his fins are just damage forever??

I don't know a whole lot about bettas so I'm sorry if I sound dumb

He is healthy though...eats and is so active ...I'm just concerned about his fins.

I did post about a month ago about his not making a bubble nest anymore and was told it's probably old age and to try and put a mirror up to him occasionally and I have been doing that but he still doesn't make the bubble nest.

Could he maybe be too cold? I was going to buy one of those tiny lamps and position it over the bowl so it warms the water up...especially now that it's getting colder here in Sweden.

You're doing a good water change with your betta, I myself do the same. And for the bubble nest he wasn't making, you could've fed him some live or frozen bloodworms. That usually gets my betta to make a bubble nest. And I don't think it's because the water is too cold, but even though, you could still heat up the water. HTH
Oh and another thing, do you give your betta a variety of different foods? Because sticking to one type of food may be causing this also.

 

[Elisabeth83]

Hi again!

Glad to know I am doing pretty good

Yeah actually I do feed him frozen bloodworms. I used to feed him mostly frozen bloodworms but was told that too many bloodworms can be bad for a Betta so I cut down on giving him them and started feeding him more flakes instead. He seems to love both equally. He's so active at feeding time he leaps towards my finger for the food

I mean he seems happy...I just don't understand the whole fin situation.

He used to make bubble nests like crazy.

I have had him for a year though and I am sure when I bought him he was probably already a year old because he was full grown. Maybe he is just getting old and can't be bothered making a bubble nest anymore.

Well still if anyone knows any reason why his fins would become shorter I'd love to know!!

 

[Whiskerz]

I'm having the same problem with one of my bettas
on my betta it looks like its been ripped off but he's in a 1 gallon by himself and none of his fins were at the bottom of the tank so I have no idea where they went (He's in my signature, second pic at the top, Gus Gus)
So if u ever find out what happened to your betta, plz let me know lol

 

[Elisabeth83]

Hmm that's really werid!! Well now there are 2 of us with the same problem lol

Well I guess I'm not going to worry about it as my Betta seems happy...but If I do find out what it is I will definately let you know and if you find you please let me know

 

[Logitech]

Hmm, I'm thinking they'll grow back. As long as your betta still swims perfectly, it's ok.

 

[AlexsDaddy]

This happened to one of mine also. His fins were getting really long and flowing, then he got some fin rot, and they have not really grown back that much since it went away. I wish they would grow back though. He was cool lookin.