Hello!
I have a male betta who has developed holes in his lower fin.
I don't THINK that this is fin rot, as his fins look fine other than these holes.
We've had him for about five months and the holes developed slowly.
I freely admit that I am still learning about how to properly keep a betta.
He is currently in a 1/2 gallon fish bowl that got its first real cleaning just a couple weeks ago when I realized that I needed to change the water out more often. (Like I said, I'm still learning.)
Now as soon as I change his water I refill my 'fish water' jug with fresh filtered water, treat it (aquarium salt and betta water conditioner) and let it sit until the next water change so it will be at the same temp as the bowl water.
He has no plants to tear his fins on.
Could the holes just be damaged spots that didn't heal well because his water was getting dirty? (Which WON'T happen again I assure you!!!)
He looks pretty healthy overall, especially now that his water is fresh and his bowl clean. He fans his fins out and is pretty active.
Will the holes in the fins eventually heal? How long will it take for the fins to repair themselves?
What's the best way to catch him to change his water, or should I invest in a siphon tube and just suck all the gunk out of the bottom of the bowl rather than taking him out and dumping it all? I caught him in a net the other day and it made one of the holes worse...now he's developing a split from the hole to the edge of his fin. In the past I've simply scooped him up in a small glass or jar.
How often and how much should he be fed? The food container says to feed several times a day. The guy at the aquarium store says to feed him just a small amount every other day.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me!!!
Edited to add: How often should I be changing his water? Partial water change or full water change?
I have a male betta who has developed holes in his lower fin.
I don't THINK that this is fin rot, as his fins look fine other than these holes.
We've had him for about five months and the holes developed slowly.
I freely admit that I am still learning about how to properly keep a betta.
He is currently in a 1/2 gallon fish bowl that got its first real cleaning just a couple weeks ago when I realized that I needed to change the water out more often. (Like I said, I'm still learning.)
Now as soon as I change his water I refill my 'fish water' jug with fresh filtered water, treat it (aquarium salt and betta water conditioner) and let it sit until the next water change so it will be at the same temp as the bowl water.
He has no plants to tear his fins on.
Could the holes just be damaged spots that didn't heal well because his water was getting dirty? (Which WON'T happen again I assure you!!!)
He looks pretty healthy overall, especially now that his water is fresh and his bowl clean. He fans his fins out and is pretty active.
Will the holes in the fins eventually heal? How long will it take for the fins to repair themselves?
What's the best way to catch him to change his water, or should I invest in a siphon tube and just suck all the gunk out of the bottom of the bowl rather than taking him out and dumping it all? I caught him in a net the other day and it made one of the holes worse...now he's developing a split from the hole to the edge of his fin. In the past I've simply scooped him up in a small glass or jar.
How often and how much should he be fed? The food container says to feed several times a day. The guy at the aquarium store says to feed him just a small amount every other day.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me!!!
Edited to add: How often should I be changing his water? Partial water change or full water change?