Betta in sick tank

[mandalay10]

Hi guys, I’m new and looking for advice please
I have a community tank with a Betta fish in it, his name is pinky, - before anyone thinks what a travesty - he is very friendly, not aggressive, gets on with other fish super well, he’s also been so good that I added him a girlfriend, bluey lol
However recently I’ve discovered that his fins looking shredded is not normal. They sort of were like that from fish store but maybe become more prominent or I just started to notice it more. So I’ve popped him in a small 15l sick tank and applied fin rot treatment to water. It’s from love fish, says 7 days.
My questions are: he seems a bit depressed in that tank alone, if that’s possible. I’ve added a couple of his old mate guppies to keep him company but he still seems depressed.
How long do I keep him in sick tank? It says 7 days on the love fish treatment but I read that it can take weeks for Betta fish fins to grow back..

Please let me know ur thoughts on how you would handle this?

Thanks
Kristina

 

[Aiken Drum]

Is bluey another betta?

 

[ADsnail]

In his regular tank, what plants and decor is in there? Things that shred fins, like plastic plants, rough rocks, anything with sharp edges? That's what I'd look at first. I can well believe he's depressed, he misses his friends and active home environment and probably wonders why he's being punished in (relatively) solitary confinement!

 

[mandalay10]

Yes pinky (boy) bluey (girl) but bettas

My main tank Ia 235l aquatic soil substrate, driftwood and plants, no rocks, no plastics, nothing altificial

How long do u recon I have to keep him in sick tank? X

 

[Aiken Drum]

Having 2 bettas in a tank is a really bad idea. The likelihood is that one will kill other. There will obviously be some very rare instances where they live together without incident, but yours doesnt seem to be one of those. Generally males and females are only kept together for very short periods of time to mate and are then seperated again.

Bettas are very territorial and the likelihood is that what you are seeing is due to either aggression between the two or stress from having another betta in his territory.

Pick one or the other betta to keep in your community and either return or get another tank for the other betta. Clean water and a stressfree environment will do more to help your betta recover than anything. Observe your fish and when all signs of infection are gone and you see some fin regrowth then consider returning him. But not while there is another betta in the tank. All you will get keeping those fish together is issues.