Hello! I'm new here! I have a question about my male Betta fish. I hope someone can help me!

[shurielle]

Hello!
I have a male betta fish. I bought him last July 1, 2017. I bought him a small tank. I also added ceramic decoration and plants. On his first two weeks, he was happy and kept swimming in his tank. But then few days from now, like 2 - 3 days.. he started eating slowly. I thought I just overfed him. Then I noticed he just stays at the bottom and hiding behind his ceramic decor. I tried switching his food from pellets to dried minced shrimp. He likes shrimp, he started eating the way he did before. I wash his tank about 2 - 3 times a week. And today I changed his water, I used to grab him with wet cloth to put him at his temporary aquarium but them he went wild and his tail fin fell off! Will his fin grow back or heal? Now he looks like an anchovy, but I still love my pet fish. I hate myself it happened. I'm so sad... I hope someone can help me..

 

[Demeter32]

Hello

You bought him pretty recently, so it sounds to me you didn't cycle the tank before you added him. I would do some reading on the Nitrogen Cycle.

What size is the tank and can you provide pictures of the fish? Is the tank filtered and does it have a heater?

Basically what seems to of happened is the bad water quality caused him to get fin rot. The not eating normally and hanging on the bottom are all signs of bad water.

When you tried holding him with the wet cloth (that's a no-no, always use a cup to gently "scoop" a betta out) it caused his already frail tail to fall of. I can't imagine his tail just falling off if it was healthy before then.

 

[SiberianSiren]

Bettas like warm water. I keep mine around 80F. When you change the water, make sure you use a water conditioner and do not wash with soap as a friend of mine was doing! I have mine in a 5 gallon with heater and filter and I never change more than half the water at one time.

 

[shurielle]

Hello

You bought him pretty recently, so it sounds to me you didn't cycle the tank before you added him. I would do some reading on the Nitrogen Cycle.

What size is the tank and can you provide pictures of the fish? Is the tank filtered and does it have a heater?

Basically what seems to of happened is the bad water quality caused him to get fin rot. The not eating normally and hanging on the bottom are all signs of bad water.

When you tried holding him with the wet cloth (that's a no-no, always use a cup to gently "scoop" a betta out) it caused his already frail tail to fall of. I can't imagine his tail just falling off if it was healthy before then.

Thank you for the information.. This will help... To be honest, it's my first time petting a fish. His tank is pretty small because I read that a betta requires atleast 3 gallons of water.. His tiny tank is only 10" x 10".. I also reviewed the Nitrogen Cycle.. Im planning to buy him a bigger tank (enough for 3 gallons of water), a filter and a test kit. I'll buy after some time because my work now is pretty hectic About holding him with a wet cloth, Im very sorry that I was wrong (I have a very sensitive skin and too dumb about it) and so yup, I bought him a new ladle :3.. I feel sorry that I did not review first before buying a fish... I was so excited

 

[shurielle]

Bettas like warm water. I keep mine around 80F. When you change the water, make sure you use a water conditioner and do not wash with soap as a friend of mine was doing! I have mine in a 5 gallon with heater and filter and I never change more than half the water at one time.

Thank you for the information.. That will help.. I will buy him a filter, bigger tank and some test kit to check his tank... Yup, before I washed his tank with soap(I know, I was so dumb).. Hopefully a week or two from now, I can buy all his needs... I cant take a break from my hectic work... I feel bad being a bad owner I did not take a review before buying first.. I feel sorry for my pet

 

[fluttermoth]

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with your little fish x

I just wanted to say that, as your tank is quite small, and you don't have a filter, the best thing you can do right now is keep changing the water.

By that I don't mean moving the fish and scrubbing the tank clean; that's too stressful!

Change about half your fish's water, every day. Use a jug or cup to take the water out, and carefully refill with water that's been warmed a bit (to match the temperature of the water in the tank) and dechlorinated; I hope you've got some dechlorinater? It'll be some drops you add to the water to make it safe.

Clean water is the best first aid for fish.