Need betta help

[thisismyfishstick]

I'm a young adult and this is my first time caring for a betta and I need help. I have my fish, Stick, in a nice 5 gallon tank, no sharp decorations, real plants only, but I also have an African dwarf frog. I haven't really seen them nip or fight other than when my betta gets too close for comfort to the frog, but recently my betta ripped in fin twice, and now he has a large hole that looked like it was ripped.

You can see the rip and hole on the top of his fins and then at the bottom, part of his fins are shorter because they also tore. I don't believe any of this was caused by fin rot, but I'm not qualified to say that with certainty. One possibility is that the filter suction is too strong and he got stuck and tried to swim away. Another possibility is that the frog bit at him, which I really don't want to be the case, but if I have to retank the frog, the only other option is this tiny, half gallon "tank" that used to home my sister's African dwarf frogs, but they both escaped and probably died because we couldn't find them, so you can understand my worries about moving him. But I had my betta first, so I want to put his health first. Another thing I'm worried about is the water. I would like to get it tested, but I don't know how to go about doing that, do I test the water already in the tank? or do I test the tap water I use? And I had a real plant die in the tank, I took it out, but could that have affected the water negatively? If anyone has any advice at all about this situation or tips to help promote fin regrowth, that would be awesome. I'm really worried and I just want to be the best fish mom I can be.

 

[Essjay]

I would separate them.

Several years ago I had 2 African dwarf frogs in the same tank as my betta. It was nightmare trying to feed the frogs as bettas are well known pigs when it comes to food and he ate the frogs' food before they could find it. You should have seen the things I tried to make a betta-proof feeding place for the frogs, all of which failed.
The final straw came when I went into the room and saw a betta frantically swimming round the tank with a frog clamped onto his tail. I had a small tank which I immediately set up, split the filter media in the betta's tank between the two tanks' filters and moved the frogs.

Unfortunately, half a gallon is way too small for a frog. 1 gallon is the absolute minimum for one frog. Is there any chance you could get a tank around 2 1/2 gallons for the frog?

There is a thread on adf's which you may find helpful

African Dwarf Frogs

Here's a little guide I've written for a few forums that may be of use to you(it also has a couple of quotes from a fellow frog keeper) ; Common Name : African dwarf frog, congo frog; do not confuse this frog with the African clawed frogs(these will get much bigger and will eat small fish)...

www.fishforums.net

 

[HoldenOn]

It's a real drag that these frogs are sold so readily to be paired with fish. Poor guys can't keep up. You could probably keep 2 in their own 5 g though .

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I concur... remove the frogs from the Betta tank ASAP. Large daily water changes will help the bettas fins heal.

 

[hansgruber7]

Get the API Water test kit and test the water. Especially for ammonia. That's often the reason for fin rot in bettas.

 

[thisismyfishstick]

I would separate them.

Several years ago I had 2 African dwarf frogs in the same tank as my betta. It was nightmare trying to feed the frogs as bettas are well known pigs when it comes to food and he ate the frogs' food before they could find it. You should have seen the things I tried to make a betta-proof feeding place for the frogs, all of which failed.
The final straw came when I went into the room and saw a betta frantically swimming round the tank with a frog clamped onto his tail. I had a small tank which I immediately set up, split the filter media in the betta's tank between the two tanks' filters and moved the frogs.

Unfortunately, half a gallon is way too small for a frog. 1 gallon is the absolute minimum for one frog. Is there any chance you could get a tank around 2 1/2 gallons for the frog?

There is a thread on adf's which you may find helpful

African Dwarf Frogs

Here's a little guide I've written for a few forums that may be of use to you(it also has a couple of quotes from a fellow frog keeper) ; Common Name : African dwarf frog, congo frog; do not confuse this frog with the African clawed frogs(these will get much bigger and will eat small fish)...

www.fishforums.net

Thank you so much for your suggestions and the helpful thread! I'm a broke student, so I'm getting a one gallon tank secondhand, but I only have the one frog, so he should be okay. Do you have any suggestions for better betta care? My betta seems much more torn up than I originally thought, and I don't know where to go from here. I removed the frog from the tank and am planning a trip to the pet store for some things, including Indian almond leaves (have you tried those? Research I've done says they help but like I said I'm new at this.) Is there anything I can add to the water to help with healing? Any information is helpful

 

[vanalisa]

Welcome!
You're a good fish mon, dont worry
From my experience the only tank mates suitable for a betta are Nerite snails. Some people may have different opinions.

Luckily betta fins can heal!
You mentioned concern about the filter, although you saw the frog hitching a ride on Stick (great name!), that doesn't rule out damage from another source may be a problem. Send a picture of the filter and we can see if it may be causing problems, too.
There are easy ways to fix that...

 

[thisismyfishstick]

Thank you so so much for your help, it really means a lot! The filter I have came with the five gallon tank, but it seems a bit too strong, I added the sponge in the first picture because the flow of water would push my betta while he would swim in front of it, but it doesn't help as much as I'd like. I'm also somewhat confused because even though the water pressure is strong, I have an aquatic plant close to the filter and if the suction was strong enough, wouldn't it suck up the plant? The plant doesn't move or wave at all when the filter is on.

 

[vanalisa]

The plant looks sturdy so might not be disturbed by intake. If it were my tank I would get something to baffle the intake tube. This will slow down the filter for your betta which you mentioned was a problem.
I've tried so many different combinations of sponges and gravel to slow down filters until I found something that worked. They are inexpensive and you might be able to find it in stock at a chain store.
Slide it over the tube and if it doesn't stay on you can use a zip tie to tighten a bit. Make sure the edges are short and turn it away from where Stick swims.
I would check the tube first, as well, to make sure there are no obstructions to complicate things.
I believe the frog is the issue, but this will solve the strong flow causing less stress to your betta and his fins can heal.
Let us know how it goes!