Does my Betta Splenden have fin rot, or is he tail biting?

Fin rot or tail biting?

  • Fin rot

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Tail biting

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0
  • Poll closed .
Jul 22, 2015
2
0
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Manchester
#1
I've had my betta enzo for almost 10 months now & never had any issues with him. He lives in a 5.5 gal tank with filtration and a heater set to 28 degrees Celsius. As betta are not such strong swimmers I have my filter set to a low flow rate, so the current in the tank isn't as strong. To keep the surface of the water moving he also has a small air bubble ornament to keep the tank oxygenated & he loves swimming in all the bubbles!

However, a couple of weeks ago I noticed his fins looked shorter, as if someone had just bluntly cut away the ends of his fins, it happened all at once! One day his fins were lovely and long & the next there were chunks missing! I clean his tank every week & do 50% water changes each time. I also test his water as weekly maintenance & the readings always come back as 6.6pH, 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite and 5ppm nitrate.

Upon noticing my bettas fins I originally suspected fin rot, and so began doing 50% water changes 2-3 times a week, as well as adding some aquarium salt into the tank. The ammonia, pH, nitrite and nitrates have remained the same throughout.

After a few weeks there were no changes, his fins hadn't gotten worse but they haven't seemed to improve either. After reading up on fin rot in bettas I also noticed mine didn't have the 'symptoms' of fin rot, such as tattered fins ends, blackening of the fin ends, red tips on the fins. I added some pictures so that you can see for yourself. enzo fins.jpg enzo finsss.jpg

I also read that betta fish also have tendencies to tail bite, although it is not known why they do it. Does he have fin rot or is he simply biting off the ends himself? Either way some advice on the situation would be great & if it is fin rot/tail biting what else can I try? He seems generally happy in himself, he is active throughout the day & has a good appetite, & I am also going to try putting some Inidan Almond Leaves in his tank to help de-stress him.

Any other suggestions? Thanks!
 

CAPSLOCK

Elite Fish
Jul 19, 2004
3,682
33
48
38
Cape Cod
#2
To me it doesn't really look like tail rot. The edges of the tail actually look clean and not infected or "gross." It makes me wonder if he even just tore it on something? Anything sharp or jagged in there? Driftwood?

You could also try melafix to help it heal / regrow. Or they also make "bettafix" - the same thing as melafix except they dilute it and charge more.
 

May 11, 2016
3
1
1
#3
To me it doesn't really look like tail rot. The edges of the tail actually look clean and not infected or "gross." It makes me wonder if he even just tore it on something? Anything sharp or jagged in there? Driftwood?

You could also try melafix to help it heal / regrow. Or they also make "bettafix" - the same thing as melafix except they dilute it and charge more.
Bettafix don't always work