Betta fish sick. Please help.

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Sprentice221221

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Feb 24, 2020
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Hello all. I am really asking for some help here with my little guy. I have a paradise male betta fish. I adopted him in October 2019. He had been very happy and healthy until about a month ago. I noticed about a month ago that he clamped his top fin. We think this happened when our electricity went out with a storm and his heater turned off. Other than his clamped fin, he was acting completely normal and eating great. I noticed a few weeks later that his clamped fin was bleeding on the very tip. I think this happened when he maybe got stuck on an ornament in the tank. I have since removed the ornament just to be safe. I then noticed one eye became cloudy. The eye does not appear to be swollen and looks the be the same size as the other eye. He has increasingly gotten paler and hides in one of the ornaments but continues to eat well every meal. He has the same housemates he has had since I got them which are two snails. He’s in a 6 gallon tank that is heated and has a filter. I’ve had the water tested once a week since I noticed him being off and every time they say the water parameters are perfect. I do a 25% water change once a week and change the filter once a month. The snails are acting completely normal. I don’t see any signs of velvet or white fuzz. He just looks pale and sort of lethargic. He hasn’t flared since he clamped his fin and now the fin just looks very tattered. Every time I go to the closest fish husbandry store (reputable...not a typical pet store) they say he looks fine or that he’s just stressed and keep watching him. I just feel like I’m watching him get worse and that I should be doing more. Prior to this he seemed very happy and healthy. Any advice? Below I’ll attach three pictures. The first of him when I first got him. The second of his bloody and clamped fin. The third of how pale he is tonight.
 

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A lfs telling you your water is fine may be right may not be. If they’re using strips you’re trusting that they’ve stored them well they are not too old, haven’t gotten damp. Also many stores use strips that don’t even have ammonia tests and that’s one of the major culprits.

I’d do a 50% water change just in case. Won’t hurt; may help.

Then go back and find out how they are testing and the numerical result. If they’re using strips I’d recommend getting your own liquid test kit to confirm.
 
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