Is this Fin Rot?

[heavy_heart]

I am new to fish keeping so I don't know what this is. I will post pictures of Finn in chronological order so you can see what has happened with him.

1~ Fish: Halfmoon Betta male.
2~ Current Parameters: For all the tests except GH and KH I used the API liquid test kit. For the GH and KH I used the Tetra Easy Strips. Temp 80, pH 6.6-6.8 (can't tell with color chart), ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates about 2.5 (between 0 and 5 on the chart), GH 0, KH about 20 (?? it's lime green; there's no lime green on the chart Even in my tank at work the color is never right with this strips). Note: The strips say my pH is 6.2.
3~ Tank: Aqueon Mini Bow 5 gallons, has been set up and cycled for about a month and a half (was working on cycling it for about 2 months!).
4~ Filter: The Mini Bow filter that came with the tank, carbon filter (I'm not very knowledgeable about filters).
5~ Tank Inhabitants: The betta himself and one mystery snail who appears to be happy as a clam, very active, and growing like a weed.
6~ Water Changes: I did a water change three days ago. I vacuumed most of the gravel (a lot of gunk came up and it came out looking kind of brown in the bucket). I haven't gotten into the swing of things yet because of Finn's fin issues, but I have checked my water parameters and done it as needed. I plan on doing a change once a week, 25 to 50%. Is that okay?
7~ When I got the Fish: I got the fish and snail together about four weeks ago. To acclimate him I floated him in his cup in my tank. I added a tablespoon or so of tank water to his cup every 10 minutes and continued this for about an hour to an hour and a half. Did this with the snail also. To remove him, I tilted the cup a tad and let him swim out; I only let a tiny bit of his old water into the tank.
8~ New Stuff: Nothing new was added before this issue began. I set the tank up, cycled it, and put them in. I have an elephant figurine, a house with tunnel holes in it, a bridge, and silk plants. I also have one of those Betta Beds suctioned near the top, but he hasn't seemed to notice it. Could some of the decor be too rough for him? The bridge has lots of bumps on it, like tiny bubbles.
9~ Diet: I have been feeding him Aqueon Betta Food (tiny pellets) and occasionally Tetra freeze dried blood worms. He seems to really like both. I was feeding him 6ish pellets twice a day but realized that was too much, so I've switched to feeding him about 2 or 3 pellets twice a day (with the occasional blood worm treat as well). I'm also going to begin fasting him on Saturdays or Sundays (not sure which).

Oh, I should also say that when I noticed the fins fraying (it took a little while to sink in) I put him in a quarantine tank with no filter, no lights, and no gravel, just a couple river rocks, a figurine with a swimmy hole, and a thermometer. I kept the tank at 78 degrees and covered it with a towel halfway. I was advised to add aquarium salt, so I did. Unfortunately I only did half the dose I was supposed to because I'm an idiot. But he did start to improve quite obviously by the end of 10 days. I then transferred him to the regular tank with his snaily friend. He looked a lot better, but now I'm starting to feel like there are pieces of fin missing again. The first pic is when I got him, the second one is about 15 days ago, the third one is about 5 days ago, and the last picture was either this morning or a day or two ago (wow, my memory is really bad). Now that white outline you see doesn't look as prominent (like maybe it's disappearing) but maybe it's just me or the lighting. I'll look again tomorrow.

 

[HUKIT]

Yes looks like a mild case of fin rot, step up the water changes to 50% daily for 7-10 days and see if there is any improvement. I would also invest in a quality liquid test kit as the strips are notoriously inaccurate, such as the one from API. Low nitrates with a concentration of 5-10ppm here is the key. The fin rot is probably due to the fish going through the initial cycle, he'll be fine with some clean continuous water.

 

[heavy_heart]

Thank you for reading that whole thing and for replying. I do have the API test kit and that is what I use 99% of the time (it's what I used to get the readings I posted); I only use the strips to get GH and KH readings, which I rarely ever do.

Finn wasn't in the tank for the cycle. The tank was cycled when I put him in. Unless putting him and Scout in caused another mini cycle or something?

Another question...It seems when I do a water change (maybe it's just when I vacuum the gravel?) my tank gets a .25 ppm ammonia reading the next day or two and then goes back to 0. Is this going to harm Finn and prevent him from getting better if I'm doing daily water changes?

 

[HUKIT]

Have you tested your tap water for ammonia? If its only .25ppm the nitrogen process will quickly convert it without worry, just use a quality water conditoner such as Prime and keep up the daily water changes.

 

[heavy_heart]

I believe I have tested it and there's none. I am almost out of my aqueous water conditioner so I will look into Prime. I have this powder called Seachem Neutral Regulator too. Any idea what that's like? I haven't used it.

 

[HUKIT]

Toss it in the garbage, don't try to alter the PH with chemicals or additives. Stability is the key with PH, those products can cause PH swings which can be extremely harmful to your fish.

What is your PH?