Betta Damaged Tail

[cybergibbons]

Hello All,

On Saturday morning after doing my weekly 30% water change, I noticed a couple of small rips in the end of my betta's tail. They didn't look bad.

We were away overnight, and came back late Sunday. The two minor rips appears to have mostly healed up already, so I was reassured by this.

This morning, Monday, his tail is quite badly damaged. It just appears to be splits near the end.

This is what it looks like:

It is a 38l tank, 27C, ph 7.2, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 20. Tank has been cycled for approx 2 months, and he has been with us for 3 weeks. His tank mates are 6 cory catfish. I have removed any decoration that may harm him.

His behaviour seems mostly normal, though we did have a toddler in the house at the end of last week which I think may have stressed him out a bit.

Any guidance?

 

[KittyKat]

It looks like fin rot: I prefer to treat with eSHa 2000.

I see some plants and decor in the background there, does any of the decor have sharp edges or are any of the plants plastic? It could be a possible cause of tears.

 

[cybergibbons]

Thanks - I've removed the piece of bogwood which may have been a bit sharp, though when I checked before I put it in, it felt OK.

I presume if I use eSHa 2000 I would be best moving him to a hospital tank.

 

[KittyKat]

I have never had any problems using eSHa 2000 with plants nor with Corys. In my experience, bogwood has never been cause of torn fins (altho not impossible), so I should think that if it felt smooth, then it is probably fine.

p.s. I have also found that using IAL (Indian almond leaves) decreases the likelihood of fin rot.

 

[cybergibbons]

I've done a 50% water change and dosed with Interpet Anti Fungus and Finrot 7ml for 38l of tank.

It doesn't seem to have got any worse during the day, bar the piece hanging on by a thread. He seems happy enough as do the cory.

 

[cybergibbons]

Can cory nip betta fins? I've just noticed that two of the leopard cory seem to be paying a lot of attention to Fiche, but he's still capable of moving very fast... hmm.

 

[KittyKat]

In practice, it is almost impossible for the average Cory to nip anything which isn't lying still on the bottom of the tank.

 

[cybergibbons]

Thanks. Fiche doesn't seem to have got any worse over night - some of the tears seem to be becoming more rounded out now, so hopefully it's been halted.

Will order some eSHa 2000 just in case for next time though.

 

[cybergibbons]

Fiche's tail was mostly better yesterday - all the tears had rounded out, leaving only one bad one that was gradually getting better.

I get up this morning, and the top is in shreds again.

I'm just not sure what's going on here!