Twisted fin

[Damiri]

We have a tank at work with a new Betta named Jean-Luc Picard. He has been with us for a week now. He has a 5 gallon tank and seems healthy and happy but today i noticed that his top fin is twisted into a thin string at the end. He doesnt seem to be acting any different but it worries me. Any idea what could have caused it? Is there anything i can do about it?

 

[Tyler_Fishman]

His fins are clamped, they do this when they are stressed

 

[Damiri]

He seems to hang out by one spot only all day today. He is sitting on top of the tank thermometer of all places... I checked his water on Friday and it was fine. PH is a bit higher than ideal but i dont want to add any chemicals to lower it drastically. I will be supplementing his water with naturally low ph water as i do water changes. I am not sure what could be stressing him.

 

[DoubleDutch]

Sorry misread the OP's post

Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-G925F met Tapatalk

 

[DutchMuch]

what exactly are your parameters...

 

[Damiri]

I tested on Friday but did not write down the parameters. I remember ph at 7.6 and ammonia at 0.25, temperature is 78-80 F. I will bring the test kit tomorrow to recheck everything and will post it.

while googling the symptoms i saw something called fin melt that looks alarmingly like what i see on his fins..

 

[DutchMuch]

Ammonia is highly toxic to any fish, and can easily kill them no matter how high over time.
Ammonia should Always be 0ppm, your tank isn't cycled then. Most problems with fish's health is caused by Bad Water Quality, huge debate over this but its true. What is your WC schedule?

 

[Damiri]

No, the tank was not properly cycled but since i filled half with water from an existing healthy tank and added the water stabilizer for 7 days prior to introducing the fish I was hoping i can get away with it. He has been there a week now and in Friday i did about 15% water change. Was planning on doing it weekly.

 

[DutchMuch]

doing weekly water changes is a must for fish period.
Tisk tisk tisk...

 

[Damiri]

So i am on schedule since fish has been in for a week and i did one water change during that time I will keep doing it. Just hope he recovers.

 

[Tyler_Fishman]

So i am on schedule since fish has been in for a week and i did one water change during that time I will keep doing it. Just hope he recovers.

put a mirror in front of him, see if he displays

 

[Damiri]

I just re-tested the water in the tank. Here are the parameters.
ph 7.6
ammonia 0.25
nitrite 0
nitrate 0

i put a mirror up to him and he went nuts, floating up and down and flaring the fins. He also ate with appetite all the pellets i gave him. He is blowing bubbles and acts normal but his fins are definitely not ok. I think i can see a translucent spot on his tail fin too now.

 

[DutchMuch]

ammonia should always be 0ppm

 

[Damiri]

What is the best way to lower it now? I imagine that doing 20% weekly water changes and cleaning up any debris (hardly any right now after just a week) will do it but slowly.

 

[DutchMuch]

doing weekly WC's is a must in any aquarium, ammonia is a sign of a uncycled tank