Help fix my daughter's betta

[NatheadTN]

Hello,

My daughter's betta fish has some ripped or raggedy fins. He is not acting sickly or different than normal.

We just took out a little tree that might have been sharp or pokey to him. It wasn't too hard but we took it out to be safe.

I added a dose of API Bettafix to his water. His tank is heated and gets partially changed about every two weeks.

The aquarium is 3 gallons, he is the only resident except a plant. I don't have exact tank parameters only the dip sticks.

I can attach images, does this look like fin rot or damage from tank decor?

Thanks in advance for your help,

NatheadTN

 

[NatheadTN]

More images

 

[Andy Sager]

Sharp pointy things would shred the fins. Fin rot or an improper diet or poor water quality would make the fins shorten. Do you know the nitrate level? If it's above 40 PPM, that's a problem. I'd be doing weekly water changes even tho the tank is 3 gallons and there is only the one fish. Uneaten food can still cause ammonia which will break down to nitrates and for Bettas, the lower the number, the better. With the marimo ball, a level near 10 PPM should be enough for the moss unless you are adding fertilizer.
On a side note: Marimo balls, even tho they are sold for Betta setups, really do better in cooler water ( 65F-75 F) while Bettas do better in warmer water ( 78F-84F). Because of this, they really aren't a good mix.
What are you feeding the fish? A good balanced mix of foods is necessary for the fish to regrow fins. Bettas should have a mixture of meat and vegetation as part of the diet. Pellets, Frozen foods like bloodworms, Brine shrimp and Blackworms should all be part of the fish's diet. There is even a " Gut loaded" brine shrimp which is brine shrimp fed spirulina algae so that knocks 2 birds off with one food. If you can't find this at your local shop, flake foods containing vegetable protein is an acceptable substitute.

The key to keeping Bettas healthy is clean water and a good diet. In my hatchery, my Bettas got 100% water changes twice weekly or for the ones on my drip system, about 10%-15% change daily. That's how they grew strong and healthy. Here are some of them: This last fish is actually a female. Check out the length of her fins. So you see, it doesn't matter how much water they are in, as long as its clean.
Hope this helps.

 

[NatheadTN]

Thank you for your reply, it is very helpful.
Those fish look very healthy!

We have removed the pokey ornament, and will start doing a weekly water change.

She normally feeds it Aqueon betta pellets and once or twice a week freeze dried brine shrimp

 

[Andy Sager]

Thank you for your reply, it is very helpful.
Those fish look very healthy!

Thank you. FYI, I did not feed pelleted or freeze dried foods. I'm more a frozen or live food guy because they are easier to digest and don't tend to cause constipation.

We have removed the pokey ornament, and will start doing a weekly water change.

She normally feeds it Aqueon betta pellets and once or twice a week freeze dried brine shrimp

Sadly, neither of those would be considered really good brands of foods. While there are a gazillion foods for Bettas on the market, Fluval Bug Bites has a Betta formula that comes highly recommended as does Dr Bassleer Caviar & Acai along with Ocean Nutrition's Betta pellets. I would make a switch to these when your pellets run out or sooner if you see no new growth of the fish's fins within say 3-4 weeks. But even with the new pellets, Bettas need a bigger variety of foods. Feeding the fish 2 or 3 times per day would also be helpful but you need to be careful not to feed the same food at each feeding. Brine shrimp, while not the most nutritious or high in protein, is very good for digestion because it has chiton in it's exoskeleton. Also to alternate with the Brine Shrimp would be bloodworms ( preferable frozen vs freeze dried) as these also contain chiton in their exoskeleton so either of these should be fed daily. I used these as my last feeding of the day to help keep the fish's " plumbing" flowing. Keeping in mind that the stomach of a Bettas is about the size of it's eyeball, a feeding schedule of a couple ( 2 or 3 depending on what size the pellet is) pellets for one feeding, flake or a another higher protein food for a second feeding then a laxative type food like Brine shrimp, bloodworms or frozen daphnia as a last food for the day. The more variety you feed the fish, the healthier they will be as long as you feed a healthy food.
Hope this helps.

 

[Enchantress]

That is 100% fin rot, and quite bad by the looks of it Mechanical damage would look like individual holes or ribbon-like tears, it wouldn't cause 1/3 of the fins to dissolve. Get a targeted fin rot medication, make sure the water is crystal clean (liquid tests, not strips!) and add some catappa leaves/extract to the water. With proper care, it should heal up nicely.