beta's fins

[kmlong]

what can i do to help my beta get his fins back in shape. Ever since i've gotten him his fins are horrible, like a bunch of fish ate them off. He's not sick or anything, just ugly fins!

 

[rubysoho]

I've heard that fin loss can be due to many different things including stress, plastic/fake plants, water perameters, other fish, and also I believe someone mentioned that bettas can go through a stage termed "blowing their fins" or something like that where they just loose their pretty fins but they grow back longer and prettier (that is what I got from the explanation, hopefully I didn't miss anything). Right now my betta's fins are a little ragged and I am trying to figure out what is causing it. I have left a post on the board about it to, so hopefully someone will come to our rescue! (you can see my post in the general discussion forum under "betta doesn't seem very happy"). Check your water perams just to make sure this isn't a water quality issue. Also, check the edges on any plants or ornaments in your tank to make sure your betta isn't catching his fins on those. Finally, keep an eye out for white fuzz and treat appropriatly with meds if you see any. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will come by and help us both out Once the problem is fixed (or he stops "blowing his fins"), the fins on your betta will grow back.

 

[Menagerie]

What kind of decor is in the betta tank? What other fish (if any) are in the tank? What are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)?

I don't know about the "blowing fin stage" of life, but I can say that some bettas are just not healthy. I had a male betta that got fin rot if I looked at him funny. Meanwhile, the female bettas that I have kept seem to do quite well.

 

[rubysoho]

yeh, I'm not entirely sure on the "blowing fin stage" but that is what someone had mentioned in the past on this site.

 

[kmlong]

No, he is actually very friendly and comes out whenever someone looks in the tank. He'll follow my finger all around the tank like a dog, its funny. His fins were like that when we bought him and i just figured they were still growing but its been 4 months now and they are still the same. He's in the tank with 3 danios, 3 red minor tetra's, male guaramis, 4 rasbora's. I didn't want him to begin with in the tank with those fish but my girlfriend wanted him and petsmart said it was ok to put him in there just as long as no other male betta's were in there. He stays away from the plants(fake) and likes to hang out in the rock cave but comes out right away when someone is near. He eats like a horse, no fuzz or anything on him, very brilliant colors. The only fish he has a problem with is the male guaramis and i've seen him chase the tetra's once in awhile. It might be coming down to him getting his own tank but it does not appear that bad. Water parameters are fine, right where they're supposed to be.

 

[rubysoho]

hmm... have you tried watching your fish at night to see what might be happening? Just dimmly light the room and watch for a while to see if anyone might be nipping at your betta's fins... I guess that would be my only suggestion. What size is the tank?

 

[QTOFFER]

The gourami is likely fighting with him and the tetras might be picking at his fins.
He'd probably be better off in his own 5 gal tank - or, you could divide the tank you have and keep the gouramis and tetras away from the betta.

 

[kmlong]

yeah i've been wondering about those tetra's, they are nippy with eachother and have seen them charge at the betta but never actually seen them take pieces off. The gourami is very calm and gets away from the betta, he looks very innocent but i could be wrong

 

[tamtam]

IME bettas and tetras don't mix well at all. My poor betta was being picked on so bad I had to give him his own tank, His fins were all raged, the color was awful looking and he rarely did any swiming. But I got him his own tank and hes away from the tetras and hes happier than ever. I also had to remove his silk plant cause he was getting tangled at night. I plan to replace his silk one with a few real ones prolly a few java ferns.

Does the rock cave have any sharp edges or pointy parts??? Its just a thought but he may be hurting himself on it if its sharp in anyway.

 

[kmlong]

betta fins

the rock cave doesn't really have any sharp edges on it. it doesn't matter anyways, we're getting him his own tank. we were looking at the small setups at wal-mart like a 2.5 or 5 gal. I'm sure its the tetra's.

 

[An t-iasg]

If you are getting him a separate tank, I would get the 5 gallon tank rather than the 2.5 gallon one. In the 5 gallon, you can have a 25-watt heater and a sponge filter, or other small filter. There won't be any temperature fluctuations to stress him, and the good bacteria in the filter media will keep the tank cycled (you could add some media from another tank or some gravel from the other tank to speed the cycling). He will be very happy away from the tetras!