Please help, my betta looks terrible!

[lolochlo11]

Hi all, and thanks in advance for reading!

My betta fish has recently started looking real scruffy, and occasionally looks red in the fins and head. I've attached pictures of him about 2 months ago, and a picture of him today so you can see the difference. He's still happily eating and doesn't seem lethargic, but he looks terrible! And I'm really worried There's nothing sharp in his tank. I've tried to cover all basis down below including water parameter etc.

Any help would be much appreciated!

.............

Housing:

• How many gallons is your tank? 2.2 gallons
• Does it have a filter? Yes
• Does it have a heater? Yes
• What temperature is your tank? 25°c
• Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
• Does your Betta have tank mates? No

Food:

• What food brand do you use? Aquarain complete nutrition, tropical and temperature flake flood
• Do you feed flakes or pellets? Flakes, occasionally bloodworms (not same brand)
• How often do you feed your Betta? Twice daily

Maintenance:

• Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? Once/twice weekly
• What percentage of water did you change? 25-50 depending on how long its been since the last change.
• What is the source of your water? Tap water, but with added tap safe
• Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? Vacuum gravel.
• What additives do you use? What brand of conditioner? API stress coat +. I also use Microbe-Lift bacteria starter if I have done a big water change.

Water Parameters:
His tank is due for a water change tomorrow or following day

• Ammonia: 0
• Nitrite: 0
• Nitrate: 0
• pH: 7.2
• Hardness (GH): 8
• Alkalinity (KH): 3

Symptoms and Treatment:

• When did you first notice the symptoms? A few weeks ago
• How has your Betta’s appearance changed? Colours less vibrant, more red and seems straggly
• How has your Betta’s behavior changed? It hasn't
• Is your Betta still eating? Yes
• Have you started treating your Betta? No
• Does your Betta have any history of being ill? No
• How long have you owned your Betta? 3 months
• Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? No

 

[ChloChlox]

Hi all, and thanks in advance for reading!

My betta fish has recently started looking real scruffy, and occasionally looks red in the fins and head. I've attached pictures of him about 2 months ago, and a picture of him today so you can see the difference. He's still happily eating and doesn't seem lethargic, but he looks terrible! And I'm really worried There's nothing sharp in his tank. I've tried to cover all basis down below including water parameter etc.

Any help would be much appreciated!

.............

Housing:

• How many gallons is your tank? 2.2 gallons
• Does it have a filter? Yes
• Does it have a heater? Yes
• What temperature is your tank? 25°c
• Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
• Does your Betta have tank mates? No

Food:

• What food brand do you use? Aquarain complete nutrition, tropical and temperature flake flood
• Do you feed flakes or pellets? Flakes, occasionally bloodworms (not same brand)
• How often do you feed your Betta? Twice daily

Maintenance:

• Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? Once/twice weekly
• What percentage of water did you change? 25-50 depending on how long its been since the last change.
• What is the source of your water? Tap water, but with added tap safe
• Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? Vacuum gravel.
• What additives do you use? What brand of conditioner? API stress coat +. I also use Microbe-Lift bacteria starter if I have done a big water change.

Water Parameters:
His tank is due for a water change tomorrow or following day

• Ammonia: 0
• Nitrite: 0
• Nitrate: 0
• pH: 7.2
• Hardness (GH): 8
• Alkalinity (KH): 3

Symptoms and Treatment:

• When did you first notice the symptoms? A few weeks ago
• How has your Betta’s appearance changed? Colours less vibrant, more red and seems straggly
• How has your Betta’s behavior changed? It hasn't
• Is your Betta still eating? Yes
• Have you started treating your Betta? No
• Does your Betta have any history of being ill? No
• How long have you owned your Betta? 3 months
• Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? No

Heyy, sorry to bother you, please note I’m not a fish expert by any means. To me, at least, it looks a little like fin rot. If so, then it’s quite common and treatable. When it’s happened to my betta, I used melafix for several days before doing a 25% water change. Most fish shops have it, if not, you can usually consult the employees and they can give you some advice. Again, I’m not an expert and it’s important to make sure the fish has the disease before using medication. I hope your betta feels a little better soon. X

 

[JuiceBox52]

While melafix could seem like a good idea....dont use it (or bettafix or primafix) it has oil in it. The oil sits at the surface of the water and when the betta (or other labyrinth fish like gourami) goes to the surface to breath it coats the laby
labyrinth organ and can suffocate the fish. This does not always happen but its better not to risk it.

Do a 75% water change every day for two weeks. See how he is after that.
You can also dose with aquarium salt

@Colin_T may be able to advise further

 

[FishGuest5123]

Is your tank cycled? Unless it is heavily planted, you should have some nitrates. Are you aware of the aquarium nitrogen cycle?

 

[Colin_T]

The fish is changing colour, some Bettas do that.

There is a bit of blood in the edge of the fins and that is normally caused by poor water quality or an infection. The infection gets in due to the poor water quality.

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Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for 2 weeks (as suggested by @JuiceBox52). Then do a 50-75% water change and gravel clean twice a week.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

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Add 1-2 heaped tablespoons of rock salt (aka: aquarium salt), sea salt, or swimming pool salt for every 20 litres (5 gallons) of tank water.

When you do the daily water changes, add salt to the new water before adding it to the tank so the salinity (salt level) in the tank remains stable.

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How often and how do you clean the filter?