Split fin...

[invid]

I just looked in on my Betta a couple days ago and I noticed something that disturbs and worries me. There has been a small pin-hole in the dead center of my Betta's tail since I got him 4 months ago, but other than that, he has been in perfect health. In the past 4 months, the hole hasn't gotten any bigger, or changed at all, but in the past two days, that litle pin-hole has torn from the center of the tail out to the edge. He now has a bifurcated tail. I need to know wether or not this is the onset of fin-rot. I have only seen fin-rot in the latter stages, not when it's just starting. There are no other deformities with the tail other than the split, and the tail had the little hole (a little bigger than a printed text period) for the past 4 months and it just now tore through. Sorry if I'm rambling... I love my Betta and don't want to have him get sick.

 

[SPLiSH]

Don't worry, you're not rambling: just being a good betta parent.

It doesn't sound like the onset of finrot to me; that usually starts with the ends of the fins disintegrating and having a black edge. And I don't think finrot could split half a tail in two days.

It sounds like he may have caught his tail on something and as the hole was a weak point, it tore. Have you got any plastic plants or rough decorations in the tank? That might be the problem. Or if he was flaring a lot or very aggressively, that may have 'blown' his tail too.

It will most likely heal in a few weeks, provided he is in warm, clean water.

Hope he recovers soon!

 

[WILDER]

http/www.petfish.net/finrot.htm

 

[invid]

That does make sense... Do you think the small hole could have been a previous injury that healed almost completely? I always thought it was weird. Anyway... I have several silk plants in the tank, but it was more likely one of two things... I have some pretty spiky sea shells at the bottom of the tank holding some plants down. And, I just put a mirror near the tank about three days ago, and I noticed him flaring at it once or twice. I just moved the mirror away, So We'll see if that was it. The shells, however, have been in there since I set the tank up five months ago, and he stays away from them for the most part, and they haven't posed much of a problem. I'll put them on probation and if it looks like they'll cause any more injuries, I'll remove them. Thanx for all the help.

 

[SPLiSH]

You're welcome.

Yep, I think he probably hurt his fin at the LFS or breeder and it was almost healed when you bought him. I don't think the flaring did it... if he only flared a bit I don't think it would be the problem. Just, if he was at it all day, he could blow a fin.

Sounds to me like it was the sea shells... it was a good idea to remove them. And just so you know ,you probably do but just to be safe, sea shells (real ones) can alter the pH of a tank drastically.

 

[invid]

Truth be told... I had never heard that real shells could alter the tank's PH. All the research I've done on getting fish tanks set up and that little fact seems to have slipped by me. Weird. Does it usually raise it or lower it? I don't want to have my Betta getting stressed out from too sharp a change in PH while he's recovering from the split fin and all.