Betta_Nyx

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Hi all! I'm new to forums but I joined this one because I'm concerned about my betta. I got her at the beginning of March as a surprise gift. I've done extensive research and tried to give her the best care I can. I honestly can't believe how attached I've become
She's a feisty, flitty little thing who's very responsive. I haven't had many problems other than getting the tank cycled, but that's been fixed a while ago.

But last week I did something rather foolish. I went to Walmart and bought a leafy, plastic decoration. I know you're not supposed to do that with bettas but I have a friend who's had hers for years and never had a problem before. My betta, Nyx, also doesn't have very long,flowy fins, so I thought I could get away with it. I also bought some smallish rocks to put in as well. I washed both excessively and placed them in her tank last Sunday when I cleaned and changed the water.

For two days, things were fine. But three days ago, when I woke up, I realized her tail fin was cleanly split down the middle. I was alarmed and immediately took out the plastic decoration. I left her alone the rest of the day.

The next day, her tail was not only split, but also jagged. Her dorsal fin was also more jagged than normal. I was very concerned and immediately did a water change, cleaned the gravel, exchanged some old gravel and replaced it with newer gravel (from the same gravel) and added double the amount of API Stress Coat because the other forums I've read said it would help with injuries. I left her alone for the rest of the day.

Yesterday when I woke up, her tail was no longer split. It was still jagged, but it wasn't split down the middle. I thought she was getting better.
Today when I woke up, I noticed some stringy white poop trailing her and became concerned about a possible parasite.

My question is: what's wrong with her??? I'm still new to this and am doing my best but I need help.

I should note that this entire time, her mood has not changed. She's still acting like normal and eating plenty (I feed her freeze dried blood worms every day since that's literally the only thing she'll ever eat for me).

Her tank parameters:
Ammonia: 0pom
Nitrates (NO2): 1ppm
Nitrates (NO3): 0pom
KH: 120ppm
GH: 180ppm
Ph: 7.5
Temp: 78°
Size: 3.5 gallons
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(Sorry about the poor quality pictures. My phone doesn't want to focus and Nyx gets very excited when she sees me and won't stop moving. But she still currently has the poo trailing her. It just wasn't long enough for me to catch which she's moving.)
 
I'm impressed with the care you're taking for your fish! Does Nyx have any tank mates that might have nipped her fins, or do any of her other decorations have edges that could cut pantyhose if you ran it over them?
 
Could be fin rot...
Or she could have tore it.
Whichever one, water changes will help. Do a 75% water change every day for two weeks. This will help it heal and prevent secondary infection
 
I'm impressed with the care you're taking for your fish! Does Nyx have any tank mates that might have nipped her fins, or do any of her other decorations have edges that could cut pantyhose if you ran it over them?
Thank you! I try to do my best. No, she does not have any other tank mates. I tried to get her a snail about a month back but she constantly picked at him so I gave him to my brother to be put in his 20 gallon. As for other decorations, just the dull plastic rock structure, the smallish rocks I got from Walmart, two mini moss balls, a betta hammock (with a silk leaf), and a silicone/rubbery fake flowy plant in the back.
 
Could be fin rot...
Or she could have tore it.
Whichever one, water changes will help. Do a 75% water change every day for two weeks. This will help it heal and prevent secondary infection
Okay, thanks. How likely do you think it is fin rot vs injury?
 
The daily water changes will also reduce your nitrites, which are 1ppm and need to be 0ppm.

Is there a filter on the tank?
If yes, how often and do you clean it?
 
Your betta doesn't look like he's in bad nick to me. Keep up your maintenance and monitor. He may have just caught his fin as you guessed.

You do need to sort the nitrite though, can you retest three times to check accuracy. How old is the test kit too?
 

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