Help! Advanced Fin Deterioration

[stonehel]

I have a male, veil tail betta. I got him from a PetsMart and I’ve had him for over almost a year and a half. Below is a picture of what he looked like when I first got him. Since then, his fins have been deteriorating. I've been reading all the sources I can find on this and have tried some medications and have been vigilant about water quality. Despite lots of research, spending, and effort, I only seem to see the fins clamping more and further deterioration. I'm not sure if it's fin rot, fin melt, or a combo- but the fins are changing colors- darker in some places, more translucent in others and severely clamped together. Strong medications make me nervous, since we've all heard tragic stories when they go wrong. So far, I've tried dosing with Seachem ParaGuard and Microbe-Life Artemiss. Early on (over 4 months ago), I was using salt but then read that bettas don't do well with high salt levels for very long so I've stopped all usage.

Living in an apartment, water quality is an ongoing concern. The pH in the tank has always been high. When I consulted an expert at an aquarium store, she said if the fish has been exposed to the same pH level for a year, that lowering it significantly could cause more harm than good, and it would be difficult for me to lower it since the water from the tap is the easiest (and affordable) for me to access. I have been doing 25% water changes every 3/4 days and mix bottled spring water with my tap water. With these water changes, I scoop out any matter on the bottom of the tank and once a week I rinse off the plants/decor. Once a month, I’m changing the filter by adding a new one with the previous one still in so the beneficial bacteria can grow. I have been noticing that even with the frequent water changes and low ammonia levels, there always seems to be a lot of waste on the filter pad. With every water change, I use Seachem Prime, Seachem Stability New Tank Stabilization System, and Seachem Stress Guard. All products have been used for over 2 months.

Details: He is an only fish in an Aqueon 2.5 gallon BettaBow tank with a MiniBow filter and a Tetra HT Submersible Aquarium heater. (Note- this filter came with the tank and I'm not convinced it's the best option but it does seem to keep the tank clean) The filter has some aquarium foam on the end because I was concerned about his fins sucked in. I'm considering adding some additional block to the water outflow to lessen the current even more. There is a plastic plant in the tank (no sharp edges) a ceramic log at the bottom, a floating log, a resting leaf, and 3 moss balls. The water is kept at 78 degrees. The fish is fed Aqueon Color Enhancing BettaFood, getting two pellets twice a day, fasting every now and then. PH is at ~7.8/8.0, total alkalinity is high around 200ppm, total hardness is high around 200ppm, nitrite is 0ppm, nitrate is 10ppm, and ammonia is at 0ppm.

He has been eating well. Doesn't flare as much with his gills as he once did (can’t really do much with his fins), but still pretty perky and doesn't really act "sick." I’m concerned that if the fins get much worse though, they could cause serious harm and make swimming difficult. He seems like he's been slowly suffering and it's so hard to watch I've been considering trying Kanaplex or methylene blue if I get really desperate. I'm also not sure if a better filter or higher quality food might improve the situation. Any help would be much appreciated- I’m desperate for a fix for my little friend!

Fins when first brought home (July 2015): https://d39a28rhl1iwx3.cloudfront.net/ah/img_8803.png

Fins in September, 2016: https://d39a28rhl1iwx3.cloudfront.net/ah/img_9135.jpg

Fins in November, 2016:https://d39a28rhl1iwx3.cloudfront.net/ah/img_9776.jpg

Current fins: https://d39a28rhl1iwx3.cloudfront.net/ah/img_9959.jpg

 

[Delapool]

Hi, I got back through the previous thread on this and apart from tank size, how clean is the substrate? I've shifted to a bare bottom 5gal tank for a betta and the amount of waste is amazing. Keep meaning to get photos up but very noticeable even with large cleans of the tank each week.

 

[Copplanes]

try daily 50% water changes with just the prime. you might be over de chlorinating the water. you shouldn't have to use something to replace his stresscoat.
just curious, why do to rinse the decor? your beneficial bacteria also lives on items in your tank.
your research is right, pristine water conditions are the most important thing. if daily water changes with basic water don't show improvement after a week or so, i've found great luck in using a mix of melafix and aquarium salt.
melafix can be scary if overdosed, but if used correctly it doesn't seem to have any adverse affects. i would recommend bettafix as it's just watered down and easier to correctly dose(id even under dose to be safe)
after a week of daily water changes and dosing with Aq salt and melafix my bettas fins started growing back rapidly. just my experience. like i said, i would try the basics before medication, and if you do medicate, monitor closely while managing your doses with great scrutiny. good luck!

 

[stonehel]

I use a gravel substrate- used to have marbles at one point, but it was too hard to keep clean. I'm afraid to go to a bare bottom because when I was previously over-cleaning the gravel, I threw off the cycle of the tank :/

Good suggestion with the over de-chlorinating! I've been a little concerned about the Prime because I accidentally purchased a much bigger bottle on Amazon so the dosing is only 5 drops which is difficult to not screw up. The stress guard was to help promote healing.

The plastic decor parts of the decor in the tank (suction cups) quickly develop a brown, slimy coat. This could definitely be beneficial bacteria that I'm mistaking for waste product that I'm cleaning off. Should I just leave everything in the tank completely alone?

Thanks for the advice! I have since done a couple things- switched out the old betta hammock I had in the tank (it was looking gross, color eroding) for a new one, added an extra buffer for the filter water output, decided it was finally time to replace the filter cartridge (which I was nervous about because of the good bacteria, but it was really dirty and the manual says to replace monthly and it had been over 2 months), and I also gave my betta bloodworms as a treat- and he's looking much perkier today!! I'm not sure which of these helped, but he definitely is swimming more, so hopefully his fins will start to look better too!

 

[Copplanes]

I use a gravel substrate- used to have marbles at one point, but it was too hard to keep clean. I'm afraid to go to a bare bottom because when I was previously over-cleaning the gravel, I threw off the cycle of the tank :/



Good suggestion with the over de-chlorinating! I've been a little concerned about the Prime because I accidentally purchased a much bigger bottle on Amazon so the dosing is only 5 drops which is difficult to not screw up. The stress guard was to help promote healing.



The plastic decor parts of the decor in the tank (suction cups) quickly develop a brown, slimy coat. This could definitely be beneficial bacteria that I'm mistaking for waste product that I'm cleaning off. Should I just leave everything in the tank completely alone?



Thanks for the advice! I have since done a couple things- switched out the old betta hammock I had in the tank (it was looking gross, color eroding) for a new one, added an extra buffer for the filter water output, decided it was finally time to replace the filter cartridge (which I was nervous about because of the good bacteria, but it was really dirty and the manual says to replace monthly and it had been over 2 months), and I also gave my betta bloodworms as a treat- and he's looking much perkier today!! I'm not sure which of these helped, but he definitely is swimming more, so hopefully his fins will start to look better too!

my ratio with prime is 2 drops a gallon. i've been using it recently but i don't know how great it is, my betta seems more lethargic when i use that versus a more basic dechlorinator.

the filter itself harbors the most bacteria in your tank. you should RARELY have to replace a whole cartridge. every month or so, swish around the filter in a bucket(that's never been used with detergent) with some aquarium water and get the excess debrees off of it. the reason your cartridges tell you to replace so frequently is because the carbon loses its effectiveness. simply open the cartridge and replace the carbon, which you can buy seperately at any pet store. the only time i would replace the filter is if i had a second one running in there for a while to build up enough bacteria on it.

you might have totally thrown off your cycle by changing the whole filter. check your levels with API master test kit the next few days to make sure your ammonia and nitrites don't spike.

i'm not totally sure about the gunk on your auction cups. that happens to me too. if anything in your tank looks super gross or eroded it would be time to take it out. for the most part i would say just leave everything alone.

 

[stonehel]

I think I need to look into a new filter to begin with. I have the Aqueon Betta Bow 2.5 tank, which comes with a filter. It's kind of annoying because the tank was designed to have that filter, so I would have to buy an internal one to replace so the lid still fits right. These are the disposable cartridges the filter uses. I tried the rinsing with tank water to clean off extra waste, but the cartridge just got dirtier and dirtier and didn't clean well or seem to do a good job of cleaning. I am definitely going to monitor levels very carefully because I was also extremely hesitant replacing it.

Do you have a good betta filter suggestion for a 2.5 gallon tank that wouldn't effect how the lid sits on the tank?

 

[Copplanes]

I think I need to look into a new filter to begin with. I have the Aqueon Betta Bow 2.5 tank, which comes with a filter. It's kind of annoying because the tank was designed to have that filter, so I would have to buy an internal one to replace so the lid still fits right. These are the disposable cartridges the filter uses. I tried the rinsing with tank water to clean off extra waste, but the cartridge just got dirtier and dirtier and didn't clean well or seem to do a good job of cleaning. I am definitely going to monitor levels very carefully because I was also extremely hesitant replacing it.

Do you have a good betta filter suggestion for a 2.5 gallon tank that wouldn't effect how the lid sits on the tank?

i love the whisper 10i. it comes with a biowheel too so you wouldn't have to worry as much about filters destroying your cycle because it comes with a bio wheel for bacteria to grow on. it also just hangs off the ledge, so it fits in all the tanks i've had.