Help Please? New Betta's Fin Problem...

[Winterlily]

I've had this little guy (Halfmoon Betta) for just over a week. He's in a cycling tank (3 gallon), but ammonia and nitrites are zero or VERY close to. Doing daily water changes, sometimes more than once a day if test results warrant.

He's always been a big "rester" on the bottom (and leaves etc), but was doing it a lot this morning (not sideways at all, but not always totally on his belly, either - seen him do similar before though, a weird betta thing I think) and I notice that his dorsal fin is looking...shredded. He's in there alone, of course. Silk plants only. I don't see any white spots or anything like that, but his fins are so long that they are rarely sort of fully open if you kwim. Here's 2 pictures of what he looks like this morning (Please note that the big white spot toward the back of his dorsal fin that you see in that first pic is just camera artifact) :

I looked back to pics taken some days ago, and found this one (of him eating part of a pea) from 3 days ago:

And finally, from the first day he was here (over a week ago) - not a great shot, but:

So you can see it was always a bit like that, but seems like it didn't always look as bad as it does now. He's also doing this thing where he'll all of a sudden swim realllly fast, like ZOOM from one place to another and his body sorta shimmies - the best way I can describe what it looks like when he does it is like it looks like he got a chill. (I know he didn't - just trying to describe how it looks.) Then he goes and rests again. (He's always done the resting thing a lot.)

He is still a lot interested in food and eating.

Help please!? Do I need to get some meds in to him or....???

(Edited to add that my husband said he thinks the dorsal fin has always looked like that, it's just the he's spreading them out more now so it's more obvious. I dunno... Also his activity level has picked up and he's swimming around much more - normally and also doing that weird "chill" looking thing. Awaiting your thoughts.)

Thanks......

 

[CTlovesKS]

Well It does look like something is going on.

Have you got any pics of the fish before the fins started to become damanged?

what is in the tank... Anyway it could of be nipped by other fish. Tank heated and filtered? What type plants do you have (Fake Slik or real) Also any sharp rocks etc?

 

[Winterlily]

Have you got any pics of the fish before the fins started to become damanged?

Nope. I've only had him a bit over a week, and that very bottom picture is the best I have of him on the day I got him.

what is in the tank... Anyway it could of be nipped by other fish. Tank heated and filtered? What type plants do you have (Fake Slik or real) Also any sharp rocks etc?

He's alone in the tank. Not heated - it stays around 80 all day and drops to about 76 overnight. Filtered yes - he's in a 3 gallon Eclipse. Plants are all silk, no rocks of any sort or anything else sharp. Just silk plants and a small terra cotta pot on its side as a cave-type thing.

His fins were like this to some degree (tail too) when I got him as you can KIND of see in that bottom picture; it just looks a lot more pronounced to me today. (My husband says he doesn't think so.)

Also his color has changed (so gradually that I didn't even notice until I looked at those pics from the first day he was here. His tail, for example, used to be all purple and just tipped in red. Now it's almost all red - just the base of it (near his body) is purple now. Don't know if that's just normal for young bettas or something or not? Or if it points more to a problem?

 

[CTlovesKS]

Are you sure he is HM and not a CT ?
This might be why you got him like this etc...

Well heating isnt that inportant if you can maintain the temp like you can - Thats not a problem, thought I believe that the 3G is the min you can have him in though. Well as nothing is sharp and all plants are slik then there is nothing he could split or cut his fins on. the pot should be fine, dont se problem in this...

If you got him like this from LFS or breeder (Whoever) then its most likely he could be a CT... could you tell me if he was with anything else (Fish wise) in the shop or anything sharp he could of cut himself on ? It might be the fact that you are worring about him, and it looks worst then it is etc...

If it is Fin rot the fins were be white or a grey colour at the ends of the fins... Maybe you could get us a picture of his fins closer up ?

Coloure change could be anything. Stress, illness or just plann he has settled down with the tank etc... Bettas do this alot... If its settled down in the tank then there is nothing to worrie about. Just keep an eye on it. When he starts be turn a dull colour or white then you should worry.

 

[Winterlily]

Okay, let's see:

He's not, I don't think!, a CT. Here is what he looked like before he left the breeder who said Halfmoon:

thought I believe that the 3G is the min you can have him in though

I know - it's too small for him. We're in the process of deciding on a big tank - either 40, 45, or 55. It'll be divided so each betta has their own space - he'll probably have somewhere around 8 gallons or a bit more. So, this 3 gallon is temporary.... but in the meantime, I'm trying to keep him as comfortable, healthy, and happy as I can until I can move him to the bigger home.

could you tell me if he was with anything else (Fish wise) in the shop or anything sharp he could of cut himself on ?

Not a clue. He's right from a breeder; I suspect he was kept alone. Can't know for sure, though.

It might be the fact that you are worring about him, and it looks worst then it is etc...

Could well be. My husband, more sane than I, says it doesn't look any worse, it's just that he's spreading the fins out more now or something so it appears worse. I dunno.

If it is Fin rot the fins were be white or a grey colour at the ends of the fins... Maybe you could get us a picture of his fins closer up ?

Will do my best to do this before the night is over - probably once I get my 3 year old down for the night. it's SO hard to tell though, because his fins are so long, they sort of accordion onto themselves, if you kwim?

 

[CTlovesKS]

Well from that pic. He is defo a HM. no lie there then lol... Nice fish Wish I had one like this...

Well thats nice of you too be looking into getting a bigger tank. Im sure him and his new betta neighbours will enjoy their bigger better tanks more. If he is generaly acting himself (With the fin problem) then there isnt much to worry about too much.... Im sure he is generaly alright in a small tank for the moment. I have and heard of people keeping betta perfectly happy in 3-4 G before without problems.

If he was from a breeder sounds like he would of been kept on his own which is a good thing

Well its hard for us mothers or owners lol not to worry about them. i done the same today when I couldnt find my my little kuli loach haha. Thats not a problem. Thats good news if his colours isnt fadding anymore. Also a HM is naturaly spread fins so he will be doing his best to amintain that even know, he hasnt much fins left lol...

Well when its best for you about the pic. If its fin rot it wouldnt really spilt up the fins it would only take 'chunks' out the fins on the end/edge. Also could you maybe net him and once out the water fun you fingers gently throught his tail fin. They the fin is breaking off then thats a problem or he might have fish lice (Not sure if its just goldfish that catch it though) my goldfish had some problems with fin and turned out they had fish lice...

Another opinion is that he is biting his tail... But that would only explain the tail and not the anal or dorsal fins...

Umm this is a hard one lol

 

[Winterlily]

Okay, 4 pics here - all closeups of his fins. The first is his tail and dorsal, the last 3 are just his dorsal fin. Impossible to see in real life, but in looking at these pics, I wonder if all the clear bits are new growth and the reason it looks worse to me today is because some pieces have a lot of new growth, making them longer and so, making the bits next to them look shorter? See what I mean? Could that be? I don't see gray, white, or darkening or anything else that's like what the description of fin rot is? Except it certainly looks like chunks missing. Could he just have gotten bashed around in shipping and gotten damaged and it's all just regrowing now? Or am I grasping at straws here? Have a look:

Tail (nice and clear) and dorsal:

Dorsal fin - 3 pics:

What do you guys think? You all still think it looks like fin rot?

Thanks!

 

[loraxchick]

it certainly looks damaged but i dont see any signs of fin rot (thanks forthe close ups). i sometimes get all paranoid too if behavior changes. but he is only a week old to you so his zooming is probably normal. dont know about the shimmying. i know sometimes that is a symptom of disease, but in this case im not sure.
his color seems good. and hes eating ok for you so that's a relief.
id say just keep doing those water changes and keep an eye out. you can add a bit of aquarium salt if you have any- helps deter things like ich and fungus and some bacteria.
i would not medicate him for anything unless you are certain about what EXACTLY it is you are medicating for.
i hate to admit it, but perhaps your husband is right on this one with his fins spreading more and you just thinking it's worse
good luck with him

 

[karigupi]

In the first picture his fins do look clamped & damaged, it could be because the tank is still cycling, as he is in a small tank, the ammonia, nitrite & nitrate levels can creep up very quickly.

Can you test your water this morning & post the results? It may be that you need to do water changes more often.

 

[Winterlily]

Can you test your water this morning & post the results?

Sure! I test 2-3 times day. This evening's result was ammonia at zero or near zero ( I can't tell if it's fully yellow or has a SLIGHT greenish tinge or if that's my imagination - API's liquid test), and nitrite again starting to creep up slightly as it was this morning (again, API's kit). Definitely not that nice light aqua that means zero - it's a definite blue, but not as dark nor as purple as that first level on the results card. I did about a 70% water change.

Will of course test again in the morning and take pics of the results and post 'em here.

 

[loraxchick]

i wouldnt worry so much...in the close ups you posted you can see new growth. seems fine tome.

 

[Winterlily]

loraxchick: There wouldn't be all that clear new growth if it was fin rot?

And, as promised, here are the photos of the results of testing this morning. Ammonia was that sort of in-between yellow and yellowy-green, and nitrites were up again to I'd say about .25. Grrr... Did an 80% water change and will test midday again. I was HOPING the nitrite rise meant I was halfway through the cycle, but the ammonia ought to be a true zero in that case I thought?

Here's what it looked like a tad over 5 minutes into the test:

Ought I be adding Melafix (or bettafix - whichever) to his water to help regrow those fins? At every water change, I add API's tap water conditioner AND some stress coat - should I not be doing that? Assuming we're not dealing with fin rot here (that the general consensus?) and just damage to his fins probably from shipping (?) and not made better by being forced to live in a cycling tank, what should I do?

 

[loraxchick]

if i were you, id just keep doing water changes as you have been. there is no better remedy for fin issues than clean water. if you have your heart set on using melafix, use a half dose as some bettas are sensitive to it (you will learn this the hard way).
your readings look good. nice to see nitrites and no ammonia. and the nitrite reading isnt too high.
test and water change as you have been doing and those fins will heal in NO time
good luck

*if it reassures you that his fins are healing, you should take daily or every other day photos of his fins to compare and see for yourself that he is getting better. its like having a dog that got fat and you wonder -when did my dog get so fat?... you see the animal everyday so you dont realize that they are gaining weight (or regrowing their fins in this case)

 

[Winterlily]

Thank you so much - I was so worried yesterday. Felt better when I took those really close up pics and saw that what sort of looked like whitish to my eye, was actually clear when the macro lens on the camera got it. And now feel lots better reading your last post, too. Thank you ever so much for all the time and help - can't tell you how appreciated it is!

(The really low ammonia and rising nitrites means I'm about halfway through this blasted cycle, yes? Oh and for the record, nitrites were around .25 again this afternoon, so I did a 70% or so change - again. I'll do what I have to to keep the little guy healthy through this thing, and will not ever again do a fish-in cycle!)

And your suggestion about taking pics every 1-2 days is a great one. I will do that!

Thank you lottttts, again!

Samantha