What's Happened To Giles' Fins ?

[Glod]

So last night when I checked up on him at bed time he seemed fine. Today when I woke up, I checked up on him as usual and I find his fins seem to have been damaged !

I've been wracking my brain trying to see how his fins got damaged, there is nothing "sharp" in the tank that I can see he could have caught them on. The inflow for the fluval 1 plus filter isn't that strong. The only things in the tank are a few small plants, a piece of mopani wood and some rounded gravel.

Is he ill ? Did he bite his own finnage ?

Here are couple of pics so you can see, there was some minor damage to the tips of his fins when I got him, I just put that down to net damage at the local fish shop.




You can click on the pics for a larger image. *56k warning, the images are large*

Any advice for me please ?

 

[SPLiSH]

Hi Glod,

It looks as though he either bit them himself of tore/snagged them on something. Do a water change, adding some aquarium salt. Keep the water warm and clean and it should heal soon.

How strong is the current in his tank?

 

[Glod]

Hi Glod,

It looks as though he either bit them himself of tore/snagged them on something. Do a water change, adding some aquarium salt. Keep the water warm and clean and it should heal soon.

How strong is the current in his tank?

There is a bit of current along the back of the tank from the filter output, I've watched him play in it from time to time. the current at the front of the tank is negligible, as is the current at the wood since it's blocked. He certainly seems to be able to hold position with minimal effort.

Do you think the current may be too strong ? Should I be looking for an alternative filter ? The fluval 1 plus doesn't have any adjustment available, I suppose I could change it to face the front of the tank but wouldn't that just mean a stronger current in part of the tank ?

The fact that it's the webbing in his fins that seems to have been damaged makes me wonder, it's like the web part has been damaged leaving the "spines" intact.

He seems to be quite happy, and still as inquisitive as ever with no difficulty swimming... But I'm worried about him now.

 

[SPLiSH]

It definately sounds to me as though the filter is the cause - if it was finrot he would be moping, with faded colour etc. You probably don't need to get a new filter, just alter this one... could you put some filter foam over the output so it is softer?

 

[Glod]

It definately sounds to me as though the filter is the cause - if it was finrot he would be moping, with faded colour etc. You probably don't need to get a new filter, just alter this one... could you put some filter foam over the output so it is softer?

Thanks again for your help Splish. I'm headed out now to pick up some aquarium salt so I can add a small amount when I do the water change this afternoon. How much should I add in the 10 gallon tank ?

I'll look around and see if I can find something to break up the flow from the filter, even if it's something I have to cobble together, maybe a sponge stuck over the whole filter output.... might be overkill but it should work

Just a thought... there is abolutely minimal current near the surface since the filter is near the bottom of the tank and I know bettas like to hang near the surface to breathe... Still got no idea what he got caught on, I'll have a good look when I get back.

Thanks,

Glod

*edit: seems I can't type aquarium today...

 

[Glod]

Ok, I found a spraybar kit for the fluval 1 plus and fitted that with the output directed at the back glass. There seems to be only a tiny current now.

Hopefully now with a little TLC Giles will soon be back to full health ! He certainly is inquisitive tho... even while I was trying to fit the spray bar he was in about my hands and I had to shoo him out of the way

 

[Liberty802]

Sounds to me like he may be a fin nipper, I have one, one day he'll have a nice tail, and the next day half of his tails missing. If the edges are jagged with no sign of finrot, and theres nothing else for him to really do to occupy himself then hes probably chewing his tail. My charlie had a beautiful tail for 6 or so months, and then one day I guess he just woke and decided it would be fun to eat it, lol. So IDK why they do it! Just keep his water crystal clean with a little salt and he'll be fine

 

[Glod]

Well, his fins are even worse today, despite the reduction in filter flow. His caudal and anal fins seem to have no membrane left at all and the colour on the back half of his body has paled to nearly white.

I'll get another pic, sec.



I did a 25% water change and tested yesterday ammonia/nitrite were reading 0, nitrate was about 5-10ppm. PH sits around 7.4 which I know is probably higher than he may like but I don't want to go messing with ph adjusters unless I have to.

I did a further 50% water change today, I'll test the water again tomorrow and see how it is. I also added some aquarium salt and turned the heater up a degree. His water was about 24.5c/76.1f it's now about 25.5c 77.9f.

The only other thing I added was dechlorinator, the same one I use in the big tank downstairs.

Obviously I don't want to medicate him if all he needs is some TLC, but I'm new to bettas.

Thanks for the advice so far, I just hope he gets better !

 

[Ravenwing]

Is it me? Or do the 1st set of pictures show his color a bit brighter then the last one?

I do agree with everyone else though, it looks like he probably tore his fin on something....or bit it....

Make sure his water is clean, and keep up with using the dechlorinator. Also, I usually add "stress coat" to my betta's water....I'm not sure if others would agree...but it's supposed to help add a layer of the slime coating to there bodies.

Keep a very close eye on the edges of his tail. If they turn black or red, then they may have gotten infected. If it stays clear, and new areas start having clear tips, that's the regrowth =)

Good Luck!

If you do determine it's fin rot, I'd suggest using Maracyn-Two made by Mardel Labs.

-Ravenwing

 

[Glod]

Is it me? Or do the 1st set of pictures show his color a bit brighter then the last one?

Yes, he was completely red/purple in the body a couple of days ago. It looked red, the blue tint only really showed in pictures. It's almost as if the colour has drained from his rear half

I can't see anything that looks like fungus on him, but I really don't know what I'm looking for. I did check out finrot on some other sites and it doesn't look like that to me tho I could be wrong.

 

[Glod]

So I watched him all afternoon, and apart from being a bit poorly looking with no fins he seemed ok, he even ate when I fed him. Had to go out this evening, just got back.

I checked him just now and found him lying on his side unable to stay vertical for any length of time. Looks like there is some kind of fungus on his body it seems a bit furry when he's horizontal. Wish I had noticed it this morning so I could do something sooner

If he makes it through the night I'll get him some anti-fungal I guess, tho I'm tempted to put him out of his misery. Poor little guy, I've only had him for a couple of days...

 

[Liberty802]

awww poor boy

 

[ulster exile]

Sorry but it looks like finrot to me. My fella has it as well and he has lost his colour quite a bit too.

I'm treating with Myxazin (broad spectrum anti bacterial) and more frequent water changes. In fairness to my little man, he seems as happy as larry, but just looks a ragged.

Fingers crossed for yours as he looked loverly before the illness.

 

[Glod]

Sorry but it looks like finrot to me. My fella has it as well and he has lost his colour quite a bit too.

I'm treating with Myxazin (broad spectrum anti bacterial) and more frequent water changes. In fairness to my little man, he seems as happy as larry, but just looks a ragged.

Fingers crossed for yours as he looked loverly before the illness.

Yeah... but these things are always easier in hindsight. Perhaps if I had medicated him yesterday he would have had a chance. Now... I fear even if I can bring myself to leave him overnight it is too late.

 

[ulster exile]

You can only do the best you can for them - as long as you can go to bed tonight and say to yourself that there was nothing else you could have done (knowing what you knew then), then you can't beat yourself up over it.