Shredded, Bloated Betta

[VenBetta]

Hi. I'm a new betta owner, and I bought my fish about two months ago. I took care of him for the first month, and he was shy but healthy. After a month of vacation and leaving the fish in my fathers' care, I am very stressed with his new appearance. Although he is happy and friendly, is eating well, and is building a massive nest, he looks very unhealthy. Here are a few photos from his first week at home, before the vacation:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vJlEjaqWBgqO7lVTJPGJHqjE_bRgMdjU/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uz-congyb7Bd6UlXR1jeobFWBcqG4o_D/view?usp=sharing
Here he is now:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GuJapYN2-XVkgzWSyXwvzq7fN8o73fbG/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V9ppfOAmRMYr6mWs_lSR90bgs2gc36rV/view?usp=sharing

I am very stressed out about this. During the first few weeks, I would look at him constantly and make sure he was okay because I was very stressed with making sure he was healthy. Now, I am even more stressed with how bloated and ragged he is. Feel free to leave comments on the images. Please help Moonie... He is a Black Orchid Halfmoon from PetCo.

Possible causes of shredding I have thought of:

• Fin Rot
• Stress
• Getting parts caught in net of scoop when water is changed
• Getting caught in play-cave
• Getting caught under plants

Possible causes of bloating I have thought of:

• Overfeeding
• Wrong diet (betta flakes with dead shrimp)
• Constipation

 

[Essjay]

Can you tell us how big the tank is please. It looks quite small from the photos.
Is the tank filtered and heated?
Are those plants plastic?
What are the ammonia & nitrite readings?
How often and how big are the water changes?


Although shops will tell you that tiny tanks are fine, bettas should have a minimum of 2.5 gallons (9.5 litres) with 5 gallons (19 litres being much better. The tank should also be filtered and heated.
Plastic plants are not good for bettas because they have sharp edges which can damage their fins. Real plants, or silk plants are much better. Decor that has sharp edges can also cut their fins - all decor should be smooth, and any rough patches can be sanded down to make them smooth.

Netting the fish out of the tank to do a water change is very stressful for them, they should be left in the tank during a water change. You just have to be careful not to catch their fins as they're nosey fish which will come to see what you are doing.

Bettas should be fed on specific floating betta food. Pellets are better than flakes.


For now, the best thing you can do is a 50% water change every day and clean the gravel at the same time as trapped food and fish poo can cause poor water conditions. Leave the fish in the tank and just siphon around him - carefully. The new water should be dechlorinated and at roughly the same temperature as the tank.
If the tank is very small, get him a bigger one. And if there is no filter or heater, get one of each. Sponge filters powered by an air pump are perfect for bettas as they don't create much current.

 

[VenBetta]

Can you tell us how big the tank is please. It looks quite small from the photos.
Is the tank filtered and heated?
Are those plants plastic?
What are the ammonia & nitrite readings?
How often and how big are the water changes?


Although shops will tell you that tiny tanks are fine, bettas should have a minimum of 2.5 gallons (9.5 litres) with 5 gallons (19 litres being much better. The tank should also be filtered and heated.
Plastic plants are not good for bettas because they have sharp edges which can damage their fins. Real plants, or silk plants are much better. Decor that has sharp edges can also cut their fins - all decor should be smooth, and any rough patches can be sanded down to make them smooth.

Netting the fish out of the tank to do a water change is very stressful for them, they should be left in the tank during a water change. You just have to be careful not to catch their fins as they're nosey fish which will come to see what you are doing.

Bettas should be fed on specific floating betta food. Pellets are better than flakes.


For now, the best thing you can do is a 50% water change every day and clean the gravel at the same time as trapped food and fish poo can cause poor water conditions. Leave the fish in the tank and just siphon around him - carefully. The new water should be dechlorinated and at roughly the same temperature as the tank.
If the tank is very small, get him a bigger one. And if there is no filter or heater, get one of each. Sponge filters powered by an air pump are perfect for bettas as they don't create much current.

My tank is about 2.5 gallons, a semicircle out of glass. The plants are plastic, bought from a pet supply store and cleaned with hot water. I have not yet purchased an aquarium water testing kit, unfortunately...
His water is completely changed each week, and only then do we use the heater since the water otherwise remains in the suggested temperature range.

I will take your advice and sand down his cave, as well as maybe buy some silk plants.

During a water change, he is netted out into a heated container while all the gravel and the inside of the tank are washed with hot water. Then, new water is poured in and heated until it reaches the right temperature. Afterwards, he is put back into the tank.

I will try to wean him onto pellet food slowly. He very much likes the shrimp in the flake medley, should I keep feeding him those?

I will also try to save up money for a sponge filter.

Thank you for your advice. I'm new to bettas, and I just have one last question: If I follow your suggestions, will he heal and be back to his normal appearance? Within how long?

 

[Colin_T]

If the water quality is good the fins should heal up by themselves over the next month or so.

just do daily water changes and stop handling the fish.

 

[Essjay]

I would not wash the tank or gravel in hot water. The gravel is, or should be, home to a whole host of micro-organisms that are necessary for a tank to run properly. Cleaning the gravel like this will just kill them all. You just need a fish tank siphon to remove old water and at the same time suck all the debris (fish poo, uneaten food etc) out of the gravel. Like this

Since the tank does not have a filter you need to change half the water every day. Filter bacteria do grow on all the surfaces in the tank as well as in the filter but you are killing the ones on the gravel and tank walls every time you wash them in hot water.


I recommend that you get a test kit - if not a full kit, then testers for just ammonia and nitrite. Both of these are toxic to fish and I suspect they are the cause of the fish's problems. If you do daily water changes until you have a filter. This will remove any ammonia and/or nitrite and help his fins heal. Once you have a filter it will take a few weeks to grow all its bacteria, then once both ammonia and nitrite stay at zero - and his fins have healed - you can start doing weekly water changes using a siphon and leaving him in the tank while you do it. Just keep an eye on where he is.