Recurring Betta Finrot

[Neha]

I have a half-moon betta, his name is Frodo. He lives in a 10 gallon planted tank. He has had a setup change from a 5 gallon tank. His tank setup is currently new and lightly planted. Below are tank parameters:

Ammonia: 0

Nitrates: 10

Nitrites: 0

ph: 7.6-8

gh: 300

kh: 120

Temp: 78

I've attached a picture of his current fin rot situation which I'm currently treating with salt as I've done two other times. So here's the problem: I have had him for a year and this is the third time he is suffering from fin rot. The first time and the second time happened when I was not at home, so I couldn't figure out the cause. The second time he had a chunk missing from his tail and looked like he had been biting it off. At the time he did not have any tank mates so I associated the cause to be his loneliness. I added 12 pygmy corydoras which seemed to solve the problem until this happened. He lived alone in a planted (not so balanced) 5 gallon for three months and was doing great. I set up his 10 gallon about 1.5 weeks ago and he developed a fin rot 4 days ago. This time it does not look like he has been biting his fins, it looks like his fin has been burnt just like a paper.

Now the change in water parameters from his previous dwelling to this 10 gallon has been in terms of gh, kh, and ph. After his 5 gallon he lived in store bought spring water/drinking water for a few days since we were traveling. Could the change in these parameters have caused a fin rot? Or is it because he is lonely in his 10 gallon and hence could be having stress?

Please let me know what you think. As always, grateful to be a part of this awesome group!

Edited September 19, 2022 by Neha
I had forgotten to put in water parameters :P

[BAT]

Was his 10gallon tank cycled?

[Neha]

On 9/19/2022 at 7:16 PM, BAT said:

Was his 10gallon tank cycled?

Yes

[Neha]

Came home to this. What do I do? There's a heater and sponge filter in this tank, why is this happening?

[Colu]

 I would recommend treating with kanaplex in food feeding a small amount twice a day for 7 days as most cases of fin rot are caused by gram negative bacteria it is possible he's nipping his own fins out of boredom if that the case you might want to add some dither fish to district him

[Neha]

On 9/20/2022 at 6:35 PM, Colu said:

 I would recommend treating with kanaplex in food feeding a small amount twice a day for 7 days as most cases of fin rot are caused by gram negative bacteria it is possible he's nipping his own fins out of boredom if that the case you might want to add some dither fish to district him

Thank you very much for your help. I saw the aquarium coop video for treating fin rot with maracyn and ichX, so right now I've done that. I'll update here with progress. Again, appreciate your help very much.

[BAT]

How is he?

[Neha]

On 10/1/2022 at 12:11 PM, BAT said:

How is he?

He is doing much better. I spend more time with him and also give him mirror exercises, and he hasn't bitten his fins in a while. They are growing slowly. I also ordered a group of ember tetras for him but they are currently in quarantine. Thanks for asking!

[Hally M.]

Good decision on your part for providing dither fish!! I’ve kept bettas for years now, their one of my favorite fish just because of how you can create special little bonds with them. Enrichment is always important in my opinion specifically for bettas just because of how active they can be, but also because people keep them as solitude fish it’s always good for them to have something to keep them occupied, wether that be toys or other fish. If you have a sensitive little guy the tale biting can be caused by a few factors, stress, boredom, or maybe it’s even a habit formed thing. I see it as a human who bites their nails. When u ask why do people bite their nails. Same reasonings essentially. Possibly moving tanks around and switching everything up for him may have been stressful at first, like a person moving houses. Change is hard. It sounds like he’s adjusted tho which is great news for you I’m sure!! Hope you and your little guy have a fantastic day!! He’s very lucky to have you

[Neha]

On 10/2/2022 at 4:12 PM, Hally M. said:

Good decision on your part for providing dither fish!! I’ve kept bettas for years now, their one of my favorite fish just because of how you can create special little bonds with them. Enrichment is always important in my opinion specifically for bettas just because of how active they can be, but also because people keep them as solitude fish it’s always good for them to have something to keep them occupied, wether that be toys or other fish. If you have a sensitive little guy the tale biting can be caused by a few factors, stress, boredom, or maybe it’s even a habit formed thing. I see it as a human who bites their nails. When u ask why do people bite their nails. Same reasonings essentially. Possibly moving tanks around and switching everything up for him may have been stressful at first, like a person moving houses. Change is hard. It sounds like he’s adjusted tho which is great news for you I’m sure!! Hope you and your little guy have a fantastic day!! He’s very lucky to have you

Thank you so much for writing this. He is my favorite fish and also my very first. I am very attached to him, he's been with me through some very difficult times. I am happy that he's adjusting to his new tank now and doing much better. You have a great day too!