Thinning Fins

[muliebrity]

I know that these forums get a long string of similar threads, but in the interest of not hijacking someone else's problem and the fact that I have no idea what is wrong, I've started another.

Earlier this week, I bought a fish (Anurak) for companionship and a birthday treat, but he seems to have lost a bit of his fin volume, and I'm concerned I may not be keeping him properly.

I did change his water, since the bowl that I bought was only one gallon, and I was worried about the quality affecting his health. But he doesn't seem to have improved.

Before: DSC_0061.jpg

After: DSC_0032.jpg

Can anyone offer some insight into what might be the matter? Thank you sincerely in advance.

Allison

[Bettas]

You shouldnt keep a betta in a bowl at first just because pet stores say its fine because they live in worse conditions where the come from.
The ph level should be 7 to 7.5.
Temperature at 24- 26C about 82F.
And do water changes 1nce a week like normal depending on the size of its tank.
Feed it betta pellets and you can add some variety of live or frozen bloodworms and brineshrimp, about his fins you could get something that will help treat fungus and fin damages like some sort of antibiotic.
Hope this helps.

Good luck.

[iLikeFish]

oh dam thats a shame prolly stress or fin rot

[BettaLu&Meg]

Refer to FishMomma for this topic, She's a health and tank expert on this forum!
Also look up her threads and posts and you'll find useful info on your problem.

[FishMomma]

Glad to help! Thanks, Luis!

First of all, congrats on your new friend! You'll enjoy having him around and will discover that these guys have great personalities! Now, down to business!

I don't think this looks like tail or fin rot, at least not a serious case if it is. There are several things that you can do to help this fella get well quickly. I must say that for one Betta, the recommendation is to have at least 2-10 gallons for them to live in. Putting them in a one gallon space or bowl isn't really the best situation for them but since that is what you have, we'll work with it. Do consider getting a bigger "house" for him if and when you get the chance, though. You'll be surprised how much more active and responsive to you he'll get.

Now for what to do . . . . First of all, on the water change, DON'T ever do a 100% water change! If you did, don't panic, many Bettas have lived to tell about it. From now on, however, since you don't have a filter, do a 75%-85% water change once or twice a week but no more than that since it can stress out your fish. Clean water is the prevention for many things including tail/fin rot. You don't want to do a 100% water change because it will do nothing except get rid of any beneficial bacteria that have started to grow and that will help keep ammonia and nitrIte spikes low. Use a water conditioner like API's Stress Coat to remove harmful chlorine and chloramines that can be harmful for your Betta. Next, add 1/2 teaspoon of AQUARIUM SALT to your tank. (Dissolve the salt in conditioned water before adding to tank.) **Be sure to use AQUARUIM SALT and NOT table salt since it contains iodine. Also, don't add salt to the tank everytime you do a water change since it doesn't evaporate and isn't filtered out. Add it on every 3rd water change if you continue to add it after the first time. The salt will help your fish produce a thicker slime coat and will give him some extra protection against infection that may set in while his tail is thinner. the other thing you should do is get some of API's Betafix and add it to the water per instructions. This is a natural treatment for tail/rin rot and will help his tail regrow and treat any bacterial infection that may have caused the tail issues.

Also, on another note, get some JAVA MOSS for your bowl. It is one of the best things you can do for your fella. It acts as a natural filter since it lives off of your fish's pee and poo thus keeping ammonia and nitrIte levels from getting too high and unsafe. (Ammonia and nitrIte levels should always be zero.) Most local pet shops don't stock this so you can get it where I get mine at Aquarium Garden online. It will grow anywhere even just floating in the water and if it gets too big just tear off a chunk of it.

Hope this helps! Please, let me know if you have any other questions!