Betta Sick Or Deformed?

[cathig]

Jupiter is a year old. He's never had big beautiful tail, but it seemed to look a lot more weird yesterday. I was worried it might be fin rot, so I got anti-fungal stuff, but it doesn't look ragged, so I don't think that's it. Is he sick or is his tail just kind of deformed?

There is a picture of him here:
http/www.flickr.com/photos/cathig/2922469968/

 

[Honeythorn]

It looks black on the end which would suggest finrot to me. He may be a tail chewer perhaps? Also the bowl doesn't help . How often do you do water changes?

 

[Phoenixbaby]

imo i would not say he is a tail chewer, looks like finrot to me

There is nothing wrong with bowls, as long as regular water changes are carried out

What size in gallons (uk) or litres is the bowl?
Is it heated?
Filtered? if not how often are water changes done?
water stats?

Clamped fin with black edging seriously says finrot, maybe post this up in emergencies and ask wilder the best medication for it

 

[newfishy]

it looks like clamped fins and the begining of fin rot, how often is the water in the bowl changed, it apears to be about 1 gallon.

also is the bowl heated in any way, or is it the same temp as the room.

 

[Phoenixbaby]

it looks like clamped fins and the begining of fin rot, how often is the water in the bowl changed, it apears to be about 1 gallon.

also is the bowl heated in any way, or is it the same temp as the room.

weve already asked that lol

Ps. no im not having a dig

 

[azulfire24]

looks to be finrot, clean water is best,

 

[modaz]

clamping and esp with the red tip suggests internal bacteria rather than finrot, finrot could happen at a later stage but this is an internal bacterial infection, i would water change daily atleast 80% and treat after the water changes, a general anti bacterial will sort this out, trust me! dont use the anti fungus it wont have any effect.

 

[cathig]

I change the water 100% (except for the bit he hangs out in while I'm changing it) about every two weeks. It's not filtered and it's room temperature. He's always making bubble nests, swimming around and showing off, so I've assumed that means it's often enough. The bowl is a little less than 1 US gallon (sorry I don't know the UK conversion).

Today, he's acting perfectly normal, except that he hasn't made any bubble nests. I don't know if that's because he feels sick or because he doesn't like the antifungal stuff and aquarium salt I added when I changed the water yesterday.

I'll continue with the water changes and I'll post in the emergency section. Thank you!

 

[ReMz]

Antifungal medication will not do anything for this. This is bacterial. Also, are you adding the proper dosage of aquarium salt? Overdosing in a tank that small can be fatal.

Now onto other things. Water changes every 2 weeks in an unfiltered bowl is not even CLOSE to enough. you should be doing water changes every other day! This is most likely the cause for his symptoms. Don't believe some of the things you read. Ammonia is very detrimental to a fish's health even in very small traces, and ammonia can only be removed with water changes in an unfiltered setup.

I strongly urge you to consider a more suitable home for this guy. Even 2.5 gallons is fine. This way you can include a filter and heater. A 10 gallon setup can even be purchased for very little money. Bettas are just like any other fish and have the same requirements to thrive, with the exception of being able to breathe surface air.

 

[Phoenixbaby]

Also be careful using meds and salt, sometimes they cannot be used at the same time, I would also strongly recommend that you do what Remz has suggestion and upgrade is tank, under 1 gallon is not nearly enough space, and these guys do prefer swimming space, also id add a heater aswell, they are tropical fish, not coldwater.

As remz said you can pick up a ten gallon cheap, dont worry about brand new, a 2nd hand one for pennies will work just as well

Also you need to change his water more often, id say with under 1 gallon, every day, but every other would work too

Good luck