RachelM

Okay, I think I will buy a cheap heater in the meantime and order yours which will hopefully come in a few days. In the meantime, I'm struggling to find information online about fish recovering from being shocked and how to ensure that it doesn't happen again. After I unplugged the heater I continued to feel a shock for a bit but I don't feel it anymore. Do you have any knowledge about something like this happening and how to help my betta heal?

Okay, so I have a fairly strong theory now... I think Irene is right and that my heater is shocking my poor fish. I touched the water today to test it and I got a little shock. I immediately removed the heater and now am quickly trying to get a new heater today to see if that helps. Do you have thoughts on the top fin compact 5-10 gallon heater? I see that I can pick that up this afternoon so that the temp doesn't fluctuate too much. If not, what heater would you recommend? Irene, I think you are right! I think my heater is shocking my poor fish. I touched the water today to test it and I got a little shock. I immediately removed the heater and now am quickly trying to get a new heater today to see if that helps. Do you have thoughts on the top fin compact 5-10 gallon heater? I see that I can pick that up this afternoon so that the temp doesn't fluctuate too much. If not, what heater would you recommend?

Hi Corey, I have attached a few pictures of the aquarium today. The water is dark because of the Indian almond leaves. I have a heater and a separate thermometer (see photos). The thermometer corroborates what the heater is set too. I got this betta in early January of this year and he started to show subtle signs of fin rot (or other stress) by mid March. I thought originally that it was fin rot caused by dirty gravel. I have been using a siphon tube to change the water but I realized in March that I hadn't been getting close enough to the gravel to clean it and was instead just changing the water. I realized this mistake shortly after he start showing fraying of his tail. I've been very thorough about cleaning the gravel during water changes since then. I got his food around the same time that I got him, so early January 2022. I've been doing frequent water changes because I've assumed that it's fin rot and that is what other folks have recommended in order to keep the water as clean as possible. I have moved the java ferns up out of the gravel but I'm not sure if they are healthy or not because they have black spots on them. You can get a closer look at them in the attached photos. I just checked the parameters and attached a photo. The only thing that looks a little low is the PH, which looks closer to 6.5 instead of 7. Would you recommend a specific brand of crushed coral to elevate the PH? Otherwise I also see the API PH Up. Additionally, I was thinking of doing medicated food that Colu recommended earlier. Do you have thoughts on that? Hi Irene! Thanks for reaching out! I do not feel a noticeable shock when I touch the water but I will keep an eye on it. Was the shock very noticeable for your friend?

Torrey, I so appreciate your responses. I have been beating myself up because I love the little guy and want to do well by him. My sponge filter should be delivered tomorrow. I have not tried colu's medicated food but I will quickly buy the ingredients if you think it will help. When looking at your and Colu's previous posts, I've gathered that I will need kanaplex, focus, and better betta food. Would you recommend using xtreme aquatic nano foods 2207 or hikari bio-pure freeze dried daphnia (both from amazon) to mix with the kanaplex and focus? Would you then feed the medicated food twice a day like normal? I have the tank at 80 degrees so I will turn it up to 82 degrees and I will start doing two water changes daily instead of every other day. Further, I will add more AIL leaves because it seems like my water is not as dark as what you're describing. Finally, regarding what you shared about removing anything rough from the tank, I have a structure in the tank that, although it doesn't have any sharp edges, it is a rough structure. Would you recommend removing this? My betta really likes to hide in it so I don't want to stress him out by removing it but I also don't want him to tear his fins worse. You can reference earlier pictures to see the structure. Thanks again!

I haven't used the maracyn since I've modified my tank with more plants and less light so perhaps that will help? I would love any other advice that anyone has!

Thanks for sending this video, Torrey. I did take out the carbon filters while I used Maracyn and the AIL leaves but did not have a sponge in the filter during that. Sadly I have not seen an improvement in my bettas fins. I can buy for maracyn and try that again but I'm not sure what else to do.

Also, I am using the marina slim filter s15. I have one more packet of maracyn but that hasn't helped in the past. I just did a water change and added some new AIL leaves/extract.

I haven't been testing daily. I test every few days when I do a partial water change but haven't noticed any big fluctuations. I only have the API test strips for the water so I'm wondering if I should get a more precise testing kit.

Hello All, It has been a week since I originally posted but sadly my bettas fin rot has not improved. I have several Indian almond leaves in the water, have kept the light off for the majority of the day, and I taped black cloth on the back of the tank to reduce stress. I have attached a photo of my betta taken yesterday. I would appreciate any advice that anyone has!

Torrey, I really appreciate your comment. That beautiful photo was from a few weeks ago before the fin rot had really set in. Attached is a photo from today. It makes be really sad to see his (Nova is his name) fins torn but hopefully it will get better from here! I have some IAL supposed to be delivered tomorrow so I will add that asap. I will also look for some of those plants that you recommended. Do you just let the roots of the floating plants dangle in the water? Regarding the amount of light in the tank, do you think even leaving the light on during the night would be too much (roughly 8 hours)? Would it be better for him to just be in the dark overnight? Again, I appreciate your time and response!

Cory, thank you very much for this information. I have filled up the tank water and taped some black cloth to the back of the tank. I have attached a picture of how it looks now. I have noticed frequent algae growth but cleaned the tank and substate yesterday. Do you think having the light off during the day but on during the night would be okay. Or would that still be too much time with the strong light? Additionally, how often would you recommend dosing the aquarium salt. Weekly? I have bought Indian Almond Leaves and will hopefully add those to the tank tomorrow. Finally, I have attached a photo of the food that I have. I usually give him a flake in the morning and a blood worm in the evening.

Hi Cory. I appreciate your response. The picture below is the best photo of the tank that I have on me right now. It is a 10 gallon tank and my betta is the only fish in there. I have two java fern plants and the temperature stays between 79-80 degrees. When you say tail biting are you referring to him biting his own tail? The light is usually on all the time although I did turn it off for a few days but didn't notice a big difference. However, I wasn't doing as frequent of water changes then so perhaps I should turn the light off now. The tank is completely clear around all four sides. There is a local petsmart near me. I could call and ask if they can check my water levels but I am not sure if they do this. Please let me know your recommendations.

Thank you so much for your response! My betta is in a 10 gallon tank, so you would recommend 10 leaves? Some websites (ModestFish.com) recommend just one leaf or two per 10 gallons so I just want to double check. Additionally, if I have to go the medicated food route could I use dried blood worms to mix with the kanaplex? Thanks again.

Hello All, My betta started showing fins of fin rot about a month ago. I changed my tank cleaning regiment, thinking that would be enough. After a few weeks went by and his fins didn't get better or worse, I watched the Aquarium Co-op's video on fin rot and bought maracyn. However, I have seen no change and today I noticed that his fins seem to be frayed much worse. I am really worried about him and don't know what else I can do. I have the API testing trips and it doesn't look like the nitrites or amonia levels are high at all.