Missing Fin

[spankysalad]

My new betta is missing one of it's front fins, not the pectorals, but one of the ones that just hangs down. I dunno if you'd even call it a fin, but anyway, it only has one. I'm pretty sure it doesn't have fin rot as all its other fins are in fine condition, but i have given it a 3 day course of wide spectrum medication that states fin rot as one of it's cures just to be safe. I'm guessing it was either bitten off by one of the fish it was kept with in the tank at the shop or lost it during its transport to the shop itself.
Anyway, is this going to be a problem for the fish? It doesn't hamper it's swimming ability at all, because as i said, it just hangs down anyway. Also, will it eventually grow back even if the fin is missing completely?
Thanks

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

My new betta is missing one of it's front fins, not the pectorals, but one of the ones that just hangs down. I dunno if you'd even call it a fin, but anyway, it only has one. I'm pretty sure it doesn't have fin rot as all its other fins are in fine condition, but i have given it a 3 day course of wide spectrum medication that states fin rot as one of it's cures just to be safe. I'm guessing it was either bitten off by one of the fish it was kept with in the tank at the shop or lost it during its transport to the shop itself.
Anyway, is this going to be a problem for the fish? It doesn't hamper it's swimming ability at all, because as i said, it just hangs down anyway. Also, will it eventually grow back even if the fin is missing completely?
Thanks

Just keep an eye on him and make sure there is nothing wrong with his fins over the next week or so.

It won't matter it's not there (my betta has a bent one of those fins)

 

[Athena]

Is it definitely missing and not just that he's clamping them together? sometimes they can look like one long fin hanging down.

But to answer your question...yes, their fins do grow back eventually.

When I first started out keeping fish I will ill-advised by my LFS as to compatibility in my tank - you wouldn't believe the mix I had together - anyway, amongst the community I had a male AND female betta, yes in the same tank. But not for long...I came home from work one day to find the female attacking the male and she had bitten off ALL his beautiful flowing finnage. He was as bald as an egg LOL. I mean the female had more finnage than the male - his was bitten off right up to his belly.

I quickly rescued him and put him in a little hospital tank. He was barely alive and just sat on the tank bottom, unable to swim about!

But with lots of TLC and attention, regular water changes, few drops of Melafix, that poorly betta made a swift recovery. Once he was eating again and showing signs of perking up, I moved him into a tank of his own and within a few weeks his fins were growing back. After a couple of months he was back to his normal glorious self (although the very ends of his fins had lost the blue colouration). He lived for 3 years after that. So it just goes to show that even when they are at death's door, they can sometimes surprise you with a full recovery.

So I don't think one missing fin will be a major problem for him.

Regards, Athena

 

[Athena]

Oh, just noticed your name and it rang a bell with a post about a betta over on the emergency forum. Is this the same betta that was sitting on the gravel, very lethargic until you turned off the filter?

If he had lost a fin during his stay at the LFS, or during transportation, that could have been why he wasn't very happy and taking longer to settle in perhaps?

Anyway, hope he's doing better now.

Regarding the filter - if your other filter was too powerful/noisy and you don't want to use it, you could always look for a smaller filter with a spray bar attachment that you can direct towards the back of the tank just below water surface. Or maybe you can get the spray bar attachment for your current filter?

Would save on you having to do daily water changes.

Regards, Athena

 

[spankysalad]

Athena
Yeah, it is the same betta. The fin is completely gone, the other one is trailing quite far from the other side. He's on his own in the tank so i don't have to worry about further damage. I will continue with the fin rot treatment just in case, but as i said i don't think it's that, so i think he will be fine.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[BethK]

try feeding him brime shrimp in garlic or soaking his food in garlic. it will help his immune system and recovery x

 

[betta fish]

It may be that he was just born this way or lost it very early on in life as a fry, I have bred bettas quite a few times now and every now and then I get a few that grow up missing 1 of their ventrals which are the long hangy fins just behind the pectorals, it should not affect the betta in the slightest but unfortunately will never grow back, usually a fin that was bitten off or torn by some other injury will but then part of it still needs to be there in order for it to regenerate.

 

[BethK]

some bettas, as frys, are bottom sliders. Where the ammonia has burnt their ventrals off, they get about absolutely fine, so i wouldn't panic x