Help - Fins Won't Open.

[kwarpinski3]

So I've had my first betta, Straight Up G (or Sugar for short.. hehe.) since Christmas time, and he's usually a beautiful, flowing fish. I've really grown attached to his quirks and how he always looks at me and interacts with me. Most of all, I just love how graceful he is!

But now, as of about 2 weeks ago, he can't seem to open his fins. I moved him from the tiny tank I had him in (less than a gallon) to a 2.5 gallon tank just today. That's as big as I can go in the space I live, so please don't suggest a bigger tank, it's just not an option. I also ordered some freeze-dried bloodworms to see if he is happier with some non-pellet food. I got him a small 2-5 gal heater, but I don't have a thermometer.

At any rate, he doesn't act sick, other than perhaps hitting himself against things a little more, not too often though. Maybe he's itchy from something. He doesn't look sick. His scales are clean and bright.

Here are the before and after shots.

Before:

After:

If you have any questions about how I care for him, please ask. I want to my friend's beautiful fins again. :[

 

[keithp]

One thing I suggest as far as food is feeding frozen or live food instead of freeze dried. Freeze dried constipates or makes them impacted. Frozen food all around is best, items such as frozen bloodworms,brine shrimp, and daphnia. You buy packaged cubes and keep them in the freezer (dont worry, they have no odor) I also suggest feeding Hikari betta pellets, variety is key in good betta nutrition.

As far as your other issue someone else will be better at helping you with that.

 

[kwarpinski3]

Ah. Well I haven't given him the bloodworms yet, and currently I have been feeding him two Hikari pellets every day or two.

 

[hamfist]

You don't mention any sort of filtration or water changes. My guess is that your water is full of ammonia/nitrites/nitrate from the breakdown of old food/poo. If you take a sample to your LFS they will be able to test it for you. At least you have a heater !

I would suggest 50% daily water changes, using dechlorinated water (using a product from your LFS), of the same temperature as the tank water. That should fairly quickly dilute the nasties in the water.... until your fish picks up.
Then, either get a filter, or be prepared to do very regular (ie. at least twice a week 50% water changes). I say, at least twice a week, it may need to be more frequent. One can only tell by testing the water.

That's my guess, using the information you have given us. What has been you regime of water changing so far ?

 

[loraxchick]

agreed with above. do a 50% waterchange today and them around 20% for the next few days. see if that improves his fin clamping.
clamping can be from illness, parasites or poor water quality. scratching/flashing can also be from poor water quality or parasites. also from stray voltage or exposure to household chemicals )perfumes,sprays,etc.).
great that you have a heater. without a filter with the feeding you are doing (2 pellets every day or so-which is PERFECT! bettas dont need in excess of 3 or so pellets every 2 days despite the "common" feeding regimens seen on the forum. more food is only asking for trouble with swimbladder or constipation down the line) and if all you have is freezedrie bloodworm to feed as a treat, soak them in tankwater for about 10 minutes prior to feeding. will allow them to absorb water before the fish eats them and decrease that risk of constipating him. same realistically should be done with ANY dried food be it flake, pellets or freezedried. er, ramble there for a minute. with your feeding you should realistically be doing 2 50% waterchanges a week. do you have an airpump? you can easily and cheaply MAKE your own small filter to fit easily in a tank that size. will help you out tremendously in the way of water quality for the fish. ive got DIY sponge filters in all my betta tanks (which range from 2-6 gal). please consider making one. if you need instructions, feel free to PM me. ive made dozens and give lots of folks the instructions. will take you about 15 minutes to build one. they are very simple

if you find that within a week or so of really keeping up on waterchanges that his fins are still "stuck", i would suggest getting an anti-parsitic med, as that would be the most likely next cause of his clamping/scratching behavior.
all the best. hes lovely!!!
cheers

 

[kwarpinski3]

Thanks a lot for the help, guys. I've been doing 100% water changes about every week in his tiny tank, which is probably what made him sick or sad now that I've done more research. I'll start doing those 50% changes now more often with his bigger tank.

I do have an air pump, but I'm not using it because bettas don't really need one. Why is it helpful?

And I would like to learn to make those easy sponge filters. :]

 

[keithp]

Meant to also say gorgeous red betta!

 

[nessar]

The airpump is needed to make the DIY sponge filter. The link is this :
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/85297-super-simple-5-minute-sponge-filter/
the sponge filter helps keep the water clean of dirt you can see, and will house bacteria that will eat the poisons in the water that you cant see, once it has cycled. You will still have to change water after cycling, but only about once a week.
Here is the thread about cycling using fish:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=224306
i also suggest buying a test kit for ammonia, nirites and nitrates. Like I said, the poisons are invisible, and odourless, so its te only way to detect them.
And he looks just like the kind of betta I want to get, hes very pretty.

 

[Big_eyes]

Get him a filter and heater, with a weekly water change of about 20%

I don't get why people think bettas can live without them???

Do LFS's have them in tanks without heaters and filters?

 

[kwarpinski3]

Get him a filter and heater, with a weekly water change of about 20%

Pretty sure I said multiple times that he has a heater.

 

[ellena]

Get him a filter and heater, with a weekly water change of about 20%

I don't get why people think bettas can live without them???

Do LFS's have them in tanks without heaters and filters?

Yes, which is exactly why people think they can live like that
While 2.5 gallons isn't dreadful, its not ideal and a 5 gall tank esp. a tall one like a hex type won't take up any more space. The problem with a small tank isn't just lack of space for the fish, but they are difficult to heat and filter properly.

 

[theshadowinc]

Get him a filter and heater, with a weekly water change of about 20%

Or a 55gal fish tank.......

I don't get why people think bettas can live without them?

?

?

They can??

Do LFS's have them in tanks without heaters and filters?

hmm... at my LFS yes they do they keep them in TANKs with no heaters or filters

I Keep 1 in a 1gal tank... never ever ran into an issue how ever I put 2 males in seperate tanks that are 5gals and guess what I am trying to cure bac infections, finrot...... take them out and put them in little containers with daily waterchanges and wow all better with no treating of anykind
G I wonder what he actual problem was with them!!!! And yes this is a real life story!

 

[kwarpinski3]

Sugar is getting better! I'm so excited. Every day his fins are opening little by little. And I tore a little mirror out of one of my bronzer containers and even got him to puff up more. :] Thanks everyone for the help. ..Granted, I didn't make a single change to the tank or routine since I posted.. but still, I'm happy he's getting better. He seems perfectly fine without a filter.

Happy fish, happy me.

 

[Assaye]

When a fish isn't looking 100%, do two things: do a large water change (about 50%) and test your water.

Use a liquid test kit and test for ammonia and nitrite. Other important tests are pH, KH, GH and nitrate but ammonia and nitrite are the most important.

Most of the time when a fish is generally off-colour (well, you know what I mean), there is something wrong with it's water. Do you have a filter?

If you don't have a filter you'll probably need to be doing three 100% water changes a week and daily 50% water changes. You need to keep the chemical waste (ammonia) at an undetectable level at all times. If you get your own test kit and test for ammonia daily you'll soon learn how long it takes for ammonia to show up - always do a water change the day before that happens!

His temperature should be at about 27 C / 81 F. Get a thermometre - you could be over heating or underheating his tank.

Sugar is getting better! I'm so excited. Every day his fins are opening little by little. And I tore a little mirror out of one of my bronzer containers and even got him to puff up more. :] Thanks everyone for the help. ..Granted, I didn't make a single change to the tank or routine since I posted.. but still, I'm happy he's getting better. He seems perfectly fine without a filter.

Happy fish, happy me.

That's good!

However, please take what we have said on board. With fish you can't run a load of complicated medical tests to see if they are actually OK and you also can't trust their behaviour to tell you if they are OK. What fishkeepers have to do is make sure their fishkeeping is tip-top in order to eleminate any environmental reasons for fish to get sick and also to make sure that the fish are actually getting better, not just seeming better.

As owners we have a responsibility to do what is genuinely (tried and tested) best for the animal, not just what seems OK and what is easiest for us.