Worried About My New Betta

[nleslie]

Hi guys! I'm new.

I came home with a new betta yesterday, but I'm kind of worried about him.

This is him:

And I use the term 'him' loosely, because I'm unsure as to whether it's a female, or a male, or a male with fin rot. :\

When I first bought him he wasn't very energetic, but I've waited for him to settle in and he's been very active today. He eats fine, a little more slowly than my other betta, but othing too concerning.

I am getting quite worried about his fins, though. They seem to be very jagged and short. Should I be worried? If so, what should I do?

Thanks in advance, guys, and I hope you're having a great day.

 

[nleslie]

I guess it decided not to attach. :\

Here's a link to the photo:

http/img63.imageshack.us/img63/2824/img3703u.jpg

 

[woodstock]

Where did you buy him/her? Check for an ovipositor (I think that's how you spell it) underneath the belly, if it's an adult. I think for much younger bettas, this method isn't as reliable.

Well, I don't see fin rot at all - 0% of it. No darkish rim, ends don't look screwed up (I really do mean screwed up), they're only "spiked".

Just judging by the tail, I would guess female. Never kept them before, though. Still, it could be a plakat male.

And is the angle distorted? S/he seems pretty long, unless you just took it at an angle.

If you're really worried about fin rot, do frequent frequent water changes IF it's still cycling.

Where did you buy him/her? Check for an ovipositor (I think that's how you spell it) underneath the belly, if it's an adult. I think for much younger bettas, this method isn't as reliable.

Well, I don't see fin rot at all - 0% of it. No darkish rim, ends don't look screwed up (I really do mean screwed up), they're only "spiked".

Just judging by the tail, I would guess female. Never kept them before, though. Still, it could be a plakat male.

And is the angle distorted? S/he seems pretty long, unless you just took it at an angle.

If you're really worried about fin rot, do frequent frequent water changes IF it's still cycling.

 

[nleslie]

Where did you buy him/her? Check for an ovipositor (I think that's how you spell it) underneath the belly, if it's an adult. I think for much younger bettas, this method isn't as reliable.

Well, I don't see fin rot at all - 0% of it. No darkish rim, ends don't look screwed up (I really do mean screwed up), they're only "spiked".

Just judging by the tail, I would guess female. Never kept them before, though. Still, it could be a plakat male.

And is the angle distorted? S/he seems pretty long, unless you just took it at an angle.

If you're really worried about fin rot, do frequent frequent water changes IF it's still cycling.

Wow, you have no idea how reassuring this is!

I bought him at the local pet store. Not the best place by a long shot, especially for their bettas. Housed in tiny cups with no room to move. Now he's in a half gallon, which will be upgraded very soon.

It was taken at an angle, yeah. The tank I have him in now has curved edges and it's hard to photograph the fish.

He doesn't have any red/pink/black around his fins, they're just really jagged and I haven't found any pictures of bettas online that have fins like him/her. Maybe I just haven't been looking hard enough. Sometimes the fins look really short, other times a bit longer. It's confusing.

S/he's resting right now, but when I feed it tonight I'll be sure to check for an ovipostor.

Here are a couple more pictures I just took, just to be double sure.

http/img519.imageshack.us/img519/352/img3726.jpg

http/img19.imageshack.us/img19/1551/img3725b.jpg

Also, I'm thinking I might hop into Petco tomorrow and pick up something like this, just to have on hand? Like I said, I have two bettas now and it might not be a bad idea, especially since I doubt I can get that where I live now.

 

[woodstock]

Aww, the poor thing! Treat it well, both of my bettas are store bought as well. And I intend to keep that going.
His/Her tail looks clamped though, so there's still something with it... Maybe a disease (uh oh )Perhaps he's cold. When I got my betta, he came home with VELVET, so don't be surprised with anything.

http/www.bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm

This is a good website I refer to. Try looking through it and see if s/he has ANYTHING of the sort. I don't know if bettas clamp their fins in a new tank (mine didn't, but who knows, mine could've just been different). He's new, so be vigilant for the first few weeks! And hopefully you upgrade very, very soon!

I rarely use medications, since I try to stray away from them at all times possible, but its' always good to have some on hand. I would say go ahead and buy it, but I've never used it before. I'm pretty sure someone else has...

Beautiful betta, by the way. Love the color!

 

[Mauricia]

A lot of my bettas have had clamped fins when moving into a new tank or with large water changes before they got more used to it. Keep him in a dark, clean tank with lots of hiding spots and he will probably cheer up. It is possible he's sick though, so look him over carefully and regularly for other symptoms, clamped fins could mean parasites or bacterial infection.
He looks like a male plakat to me, doesn't really look like a girl, but I could be wrong it's hard to tell from those pictures.

 

[nleslie]

Aww, the poor thing! Treat it well, both of my bettas are store bought as well. And I intend to keep that going.
His/Her tail looks clamped though, so there's still something with it... Maybe a disease (uh oh )Perhaps he's cold. When I got my betta, he came home with VELVET, so don't be surprised with anything.

http/www.bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm

This is a good website I refer to. Try looking through it and see if s/he has ANYTHING of the sort. I don't know if bettas clamp their fins in a new tank (mine didn't, but who knows, mine could've just been different). He's new, so be vigilant for the first few weeks! And hopefully you upgrade very, very soon!

I rarely use medications, since I try to stray away from them at all times possible, but its' always good to have some on hand. I would say go ahead and buy it, but I've never used it before. I'm pretty sure someone else has...

Beautiful betta, by the way. Love the color!

I really appreciate all your help!

That website is fantastic, thank you! Her being cold is definite since it snowed today. I plan on looking for a little heater tomorrow at Petco, since I really need to get her one and my store only had large ones.

And I say 'her' pretty confidently now. I checked and there looks to be like what the websites I've looked at have described, and after comparing her to my male betta there's definitely a difference. So that's good to know!

The medication is cheap and from what I've read it's good stuff, so I'll get it to have on hand.

And thank you! I was so excited when I saw her in the store!

 

[woodstock]

Yup, hopefully she's "just" cold, but work as fast as you can on that! Don't stress her out, obviously, since she's been through so much... and congratulations on a new girl! Lol

I'd bookmark that website, it definitely helps a lot. Never bad to have medication on hand. Good luck with it all!

 

[OohFeeshy]

I'd disagree- male. The body isn't the right shape for female (too long and thin rather than chunky) and the fins are longer than you'd expect in a female. It's also less likely to be a female with that colouration.

 

[woodstock]

I think the long body was because of the angle of the camera and tank, as the OP said. But I've never kept females before, so I can't really say. The only thing I know of female and males is the ovipositor.

 

[Mauricia]

Yeah the body really looks male to me. I've never seen a female shaped like that. But I'm not 100% sure.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Compare body shape to, say, this http/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Whitebetta.jpg

They just look completely different, and the anal fin is pointier too which applies to males of most labyrinthy species.

 

[woodstock]

Well I'll be sure to keep that in mind then.

But to the OP, did you get a heater yet?

 

[nleslie]

Yes, I found a heater and moved him into a 5 gallon. He's doing a lot better now, and his fins aren't clamped any more. Thanks for all your help, everyone! <3

 

[woodstock]

Great to hear! New pictures? ?