Betta fin damage or rot?

[haley_tichonuk22 1,157]

So I have been camping all weekend, and got home late last night... I go to feed my betta, and his fins are half gone!!!!!!! What the heck???? It doesn't look like tail biting to me, it looks like some kind of rot. The edges look all frayed and weird... I will get pictures when I get home from work, but I have had no time yet... can fin rot happen this fast???? And what do I do about it??

He is in a 5 gallon fluval chi, heavily planted, params are all zero, heater is set to 80, nothing added to water except prime..... umm can't remember the rest of the questions on the form lol. If you need to know anything else just ask, but I will get pictures when I get home

[DawnMichele 6,045]

Hope he feels better.

[Georgia 3,820]

I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope he gets better soon.

Here's the chart:

Please copy & paste fill the following form and fill it out to the best of your ability when requesting help for Goldfish Problems:

• Test Results for the Following:
  • * Ammonia Level(Tank)
  • * Nitrite Level(Tank)
  • * Nitrate level(Tank)
  • * Ammonia Level(Tap)
  • * Nitrite Level(Tap)
  • * Nitrate level(Tap)
  • * Ph Level, Tank (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines)
  • * Ph Level, Tap (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines)
  • Other Required Info:
    • * Brand of test-kit used and whether strips or drops?
    • * Water temperature?
    • * Tank size (how many gals.) and how long has it been running?
    • * What is the name and "size of the filter"(s)?
    • * How often do you change the water and how much?

• * How many days ago was the last water change and how much did you change?
• * How many fish in the tank and their size?
• * What kind of water additives or conditioners?
• * What do you feed your fish and how often?
• * Any new fish added to the tank?
• * Any medications added to the tank?
• * List entire medication/treatment history for fish and tank. Please include salt, Prazi, PP, etc and the approximate time and duration of treatment.
• * Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt," bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus?
• * Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, etc.?

We'll wait for pictures, but for now I'd suggest pristine water. Do large (50% or more) WCs daily. Clean water is always the best medication, especially when we deal with finrot on bettas.

Best of luck!

[haley_tichonuk22 1,157]

• Thank you for getting me the form Georgia!
• Test Results for the Following:
  • * Ammonia Level(Tank) 0
  • * Nitrite Level(Tank) 0
  • * Nitrate level(Tank) almost 0 (heavily planted tank)
  • * Ammonia Level(Tap) 0
  • * Nitrite Level(Tap) 0
  • * Nitrate level(Tap) 0
  • * Ph Level, Tank (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines) 7.8
  • * Ph Level, Tap (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines) 7.8
  • Other Required Info:
    • * Brand of test-kit used and whether strips or drops? API drops
    • * Water temperature? 80 celcius
    • * Tank size (how many gals.) and how long has it been running? 5 gallons, running for years
    • * What is the name and "size of the filter"(s)? The fluval Chi filter... not sure what it is called
    • * How often do you change the water and how much? On this tank I only do water changes every 2 weeks because the nitrates never climb since it is heavily planted. When I change the water I change about half each time

• * How many days ago was the last water change and how much did you change? 1.5 weeks, half the tank
• * How many fish in the tank and their size? 1 betta
• * What kind of water additives or conditioners? Prime, root tabs, excel when I remember
• * What do you feed your fish and how often? North Fin food
• * Any new fish added to the tank? Nope
• * Any medications added to the tank? Not yet
• * List entire medication/treatment history for fish and tank. Please include salt, Prazi, PP, etc and the approximate time and duration of treatment. No treatment ever
• * Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt," bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus? Frayed fins with a bit of fluffy looking stuff on the ends
• * Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, etc.? Nope

I will get the pictures when I get home from work for ya

[Marcus J. 72]

How old is your betta? the older they are the easier they get fin rot, because their immune system gets weaker and bacteria have a chance to cause fin rot.

[haley_tichonuk22 1,157]

I haven't had him for very long, so I doubt he is very old.

I forgot to take pictures last night because I got home really late and just fell asleep Crap

I definitely think it is some kind of rot though because I have never seen anything like this on my fish ever....

[Marcus J. 72]

hmm, I would raise up water changes to once a week and it´s very important, that the new water has exactley the same temperature as the old water
fin rot is mostley caused by stress, so you got to avoid any kind of stress to your fish.
Does he flare a lot, because he sees his own reflextions? You got to avoid this, because it means extreme stress.

[number20121 2,663]

While this is going on, I'd try to do 50% water changes every other day, after giving the entire tank a good cleaning. Even with the parameters being in check, after two weeks between water changes there may be some bacteria lingering in muck that's hiding in the substrate or filter media etc.

Salt to 0.03% (1tsp per 3gallons, so about 1.5tsp for your tank). If he is fine with that, double it 12 hours later, and then triple (to 0.1% total) another 12 hours later. Maybe, as a precaution, start prazi too, in case he is being affected by (skin) flukes.

I hope he gets better soon, and keep us updated!

[Narny105 1,992]

How's everything going, Hayley?