Does my betta have fin rot? Or a crown tail betta?

[mkm1174]

Hellooo,

I’m not sure if my beta has fin rot or he is just this way.. he eats and explores normally and often, he does like to flare at me here and there but he’s overall active and hungry.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Please take a read through the "unhealthy fish" sticky and answer all the questions as thoroughly as possible.

Before posting about unhealthy fish, read this!

Answer these Qs to ensure we have as much information as possible about your ailing fish and its environment: 1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.). 2~What are your tank...

www.aquariumadvice.com

Fin rot usually happens slowly over a period of time and looks mushy. Damage from fin nipping, catching their fins on aquascape or even chewing their own fins, usually happens more quickly, and are cleaner looking wounds.

 

[Andy Sager]

Unfortunately due to the lack of stricter genetic breeding, it's very possible to have fish with mixed genes creating different looks. While our fish does not have the true " Crown Tail" appearance, it could have crown tail genes causing the fish to have spikes instead of sold webbing. This means that you need to take other things into consideration. Has the fish always looked this way or is this a new thing? Is there any red or bleeding at the edges of the fins? The rest of the questions are in the link in Aiken's post. Please post the answers.

 

[mkm1174]

to answer your questions:

2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.

8.2 pH, 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, 30ppm nitrate

3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?

10g, been set up for 4 months approx


5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?

1 male beta fish
6 harlequin rasboras
3 albino catfish

6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?

2 days ago, usually 10-20% water changes 1-2 times a week

8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?

Nothing new

9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?

Flakes, pellets and blood worms.

I will attach a picture of what he looked like the day I bought him, about a month later I noticed him “maturing” with his colour and fins started to grow like the original pictures.

 

[Andy Sager]

I see a couple of potential issues: 1) The nitrate is high enough for this to start becoming a problem. 2) The Rasboras could be nipping at his fins. 3) The food you are feeding is not top quality causing the fins not to remain healthy.
So getting back to my previous question, do you see any blood or redness at the edges of these deteriorated areas? If not, this is not typical " Fin Rot" but one of the 3 things above.

 

[mkm1174]

I do not see any blood or deteriorating edges on his fins. The rasboras are usually peaceful and stay away from the beta but I don’t see everything..

I can do more water changes more often.
I can get better food, what do you recommend?

I will see if these things help, if not I will transfer him to his own tank

 

[Andy Sager]

I do not see any blood or deteriorating edges on his fins. The rasboras are usually peaceful and stay away from the beta but I don’t see everything..

I can do more water changes more often.
I can get better food, what do you recommend?

I will see if these things help, if not I will transfer him to his own tank

That's good to hear. Most likely then it's a nutritional thing or water quality thing. Doing more frequent water changes is highly recommended. Nitrates are actually an acid which is why the higher they are, the more they affect pH and can cause fin rot. Keeping them as low as possible is the best if you do not have live plants. Then the numbers need to be within reason for the plants.
As for food, I suggest you read this: Best Betta Fish Food | What to Feed & How Much - Bettafish.org

 

[mkm1174]

Thank you!

I do have many live plants, they grow like crazy so I’ll make sure to water change x2 a week. That good??

My beta still eats and is active throughout the tank so hopefully he is healthy

 

[Andy Sager]

Thank you!

I do have many live plants, they grow like crazy so I’ll make sure to water change x2 a week. That good??

My beta still eats and is active throughout the tank so hopefully he is healthy

I would try to get the nitrates down to under 20 PPM because your plants apparently are not using a lot of nitrate to grow. ( People with lots of plants quite frequently have an almost 0 level.) So the amount of water changes will depend on how much the nitrate level rises in a set amount of time so I would get the nitrates down to under 20 ppm then see how fast it gets back up to the 30 PPM and adjust accordingly.