Getting that wide 180 beautiful halfmoon tail?

[vundercoverdog]

I have a male silver blue HM betta. I've had him for about 6 months now and his tail is mostly clamped. I use to have a bright red Viel betta withs extended fins he could of passed for a delta! I LOVED that betta but i left it with my sister while i was on vacation and she killed it. So i had to scrape the tank of the dead fish she left in there and started my cycle again. It's cycled now but my fish is not happy. No nests, clamped fins, sluggish at times. How can i get him like my old betta the parameters are perfect 0ppm, 0ppm, 0ppm. 7.8 PH i added a little salt to see if maybe some bacteria in the tank was the problem. Thanks in advance!

 

[vundercoverdog]

Sorry here's the extra:

78-80F
Live sword plant
Lights on 12 hrs a day
HIkari food pellets.

 

[LPXnoob]

My experience shows bettas don't really enjoy pellets. Buy some blood worms for him. Also include rock fixtures so the environment is more enthralling for the fellow. I have 4 bettas at the moment, 2 HM's and 2 CTs that all stay flaunting and they are only in 2.5 gallon lightly planted with actual rock or drift wood in the tank with them.

 

[siva]

Hikari pellets are the perfect staple diet IME. I would supplement with a frozen food such as bloodworms 2-3 times a week, but no more. Too much protein in their diet can cause swim bladder disease.

You listed your parameters as zero accross the board...if the tank is cycled there should be some nitrates..?

What size is the tank? a 5 gal barely gives a betta enough room to move around so hopefully you aren't keeping him in anything smaller than that.

Is the temp just currently 78-80 or is it being steadily kept there by a heater? If the temp is going down at night due to no heater this can lead to illness that could cause clamped fins.

How is the betta's physical appearance besides the fins? Is it bloated, swimming normally, or does it appear to have a sort of copper dusting on it at all?

 

[vundercoverdog]

It's a 10 gal. The temp is constant throughout the day. He lays by the gravel most of the time then swims up to get air. He's by myself. I do 20% water changes weekly. Sometimes he lays on the side (bladder disease?) my other better had and I fed him half a pea.

 

[siva]

Your regimen sounds great. The laying on the side may or may not be a cause of concern. A couple of my bettas lay around all the time even when healthy.

It is a good idea to feed a few pellet sized peices of shelled blanched pea once a week to help avoid SBD.

If it is SBD, you should actually be able to see the bloated swim bladder. Look down at him from above and see if you see any buldge to one side. It would also cause his swim to the top to look abnormal. They typically have a hard time swimming straight when afflicted with SBD.

Also watch out for signs of parasites, since they can also cause clamped fins. Flashing is one indicator, that's when the fish appears to scratch or rub on plants or ornaments in the tank.

 

[vundercoverdog]

Bad News

Thanks but i checked and he does half a bulge to one side. I tested the water again (read the instructions) and i got this Ammonia- .25 ppm Nitrite 0 ppm Nitrate 10 ppm PH 7.8. So i will cook a pea and feed it to him. See what happens. I'll take a picture and upload later in the afternoon.

 

[siva]

Well I would actually fast today, feed a few pellet sized peices of pea the next day, and fast again for the next two days. It would also be ideal if you had an adjustable heater and could bump the temp by a couple degrees. SBD is usually cause by constipation and the heat can help them poo. I've also heard flaring can help them go, so you might want to let him spend a few minutes each day until he looks better in front of a mirror. Just don't forget and leave it too long or it will do more harm than good.

The tank shouldn't have any ammonia, so I would do a large water change. Clean water is the best medicine for most problems. Keep an eye on your parameters and keep the nitrates no higher than they are now, and try to keep the ammo and nitrites to 0.

Betta's are really quite prone to SBD. With a proper diet and clean water it shouldn't really be an issue. I recommend feeding a high quality pellet such as NLS or Hikari, about 3 of them, 3-4 days a week, a frozen food such as blood worms or brine shrimp 2-3 days a week, and a few pellet sized pieces of shelled blanched pea once a week. Avoid freeze dried foods. If you must use them, soak them for atleast 10 mins in tank water first, but really just get frozen if you can.

 

[vundercoverdog]

...

Well i fed him the pea today i'll fast tomorrow then another pea then fast for 2 days. I'll bump up the temp to 80F . I'll find a mirror. I'll buy some frozen blood worms this week if i can. Thanks a lot! i'll upload the pic in 2 min.

 

[vundercoverdog]

 

[vundercoverdog]

 

[vundercoverdog]