Betta fin disease?

[GlennJ]

Trying to identify what appears to be consuming my Betta's dorsal fin.The fin looks like it is swelling or rolling back on itself.The area where it is occuring have a bronzish gold color compared to his normal deep blue.No other parts of his body or other fins seem to be affected,and doesn't seem to affect his normal behavior.He is feeding,flaring,building bubble nests as usual.He is the only fish in a Marineland 6 with the same plants and chunk of Mopani wood that was setup over a year ago.No additions to tank or changes in diet(Hikari pellets,no fresh or frozen foods that might have introduced parasites or bacteria).Weekly pwc's of dechlorinated water since setup.Sorry no pictures,don't have a digital camera.No inflammation or ragged edges or wooly spots.

 

[dkpate]

So is it fin curling? If so, it can be from dirty water or genetics. You can try changing the water more often, and see if that helps.
How big is the tank? If it is 5 gallons or smaller, then the water needs to be changed 25-50% 2-3 times a week. Is there a heater and filter in there?

 

[GlennJ]

Yes there is a filter and heater.Water is good.I guess I could Google,but I'll just ask for an explanation of fin curling here.The back of the fin is curling but the middle of his dorsal looks to be slowly retreating towards his body(that section has the bubbley,pimply look).I imagine it could be something genectic,but it's only shown up in the last few weeks.As mentioned in earlier post it doesn't seem to be distressing him.Thank's for any info.

 

[dkpate]

Hmm, I am trying to picture it. So he has pimple looking things? Or is it just bubbly looking because of the fin curling? If so, try the water changes every day for a while and make sure you use dechlorinator and the water temp is as close as possible to the water in there.
One of my bettas almost lost his whole dorsal fin a while back, and I am thinking he got too close to the filter or something and it tore it. I am still not 100% sure, but I had no other explanation. It is now growing back. I had another betta bit his tail fin off all the time... I ended up covering the filter intake with plastic craft mesh so his fins couldn't go in there. I actually covered all of the filter intakes.

 

[GlennJ]

Will try covering the filter inlet(He does like to sack out behind the Mopani that hides the filter inlet).Will also try more frequent PWC's.If someone can provide a link on the fin rolling it would be appreciated.Than you DK for the help.

 

[dkpate]

Here's a pic of fin curling, with rot:
Google Image Result for http://lh6.ggpht.com/__BXFKFhwyog/SDLvPV7qt0I/AAAAAAAAFFY/ZmzZT2lCYgw/100_3953.jpg

Here's a pic with curling, but it's not too bad:
Google Image Result for http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/98/fishright.png

Here you can see curling on the dorsal fin:
Google Image Result for http://farm1.static.flickr.com/37/91599214_f5744fdb55.jpg

 

[dkpate]

Here's the pic/thread of my friends fish who had fin curling:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f70/5g-betta-tank-132285.html

 

[Jason7894561230]

Well DK i think you are all over this

 

[GlennJ]

Yes DK is!Checked out the links she provided and it looks to be the problem (fin curling).The salt treatment sounded like a last ditch effort,so went in search of Stress-kote but local shop only carries API.Since the fin curling seems to be related to fin rot decided to try the Melafix.Good or bad decision?Thanks for the info past and future!

 

[dkpate]

If you use meds, only use 1/2 doses with bettas. Usually you can just give him clean water and he will heal up on his own. It might take a month or so, but it will get better.