Betta fin problem

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 5/17/2023 at 9:46 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

I stand on my ongoing statement. Betta fish are not easy fish. Hope you figure it out my friend.

Thinking back to a conversation with my friend. 

Me: “I just set up a tank for a betta. Trying to decide what type of betta to get.”

Friend: “Do you want my betta?” (Geppetto)

Hmm… this friend is not one to adopt out fish. I knew he was a problem child. Picked on her snails and very likely the BNP after dark. Then he was surfing up and down next to the divider she put to separate him from tankmates. 
 

He’s got a history for sure.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

25% water change, Maracyn course completed. Good parameters. Dosed the tank with Fritz dark water. Made a shelf out of a breeder box thing in case he thinks his fins are heavy.

He put the kickstands down and tried it out.

His tunnel is there for him too.

 

 

He was super excited about his bloodworm breakfast.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Lennie]

Is Gepetto halfmoon or veil tail?

Edited May 18, 2023 by Lennie

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 5/18/2023 at 7:30 AM, Lennie said:

Is Gepetto halfmoon or veil tail?

Veil tail.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

So I have some free time.  Do you think I should just go ahead and scape the 10g he is in for QT (he'd be in a holding area during this, of course) or should I wait til I see regrowth?  Given that he chewed his tail during recovery, IDK if it's feasible to wait for regrowth first. He could just do that again.

Thoughts? 

I don't want to rush things.  But if treatment is environment instead of meds, maybe I should just go for it. (?)

Edited May 19, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[nabokovfan87]

I would use the dorsal as a tracking point.

Something like tigerbarbs and other semi aggressive it's common to have meds on hand and add them to the tank on a need be basis for healing.

There are some meds that would impact plants, but it's overall a better environment for the fish to be treated in their usual tank with all the things (I assume).

It's difficult to say. I would definitely try to get the tank cycling and plants going either way.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 5/19/2023 at 12:01 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I would definitely try to get the tank cycling and plants going either way.

He’s in the tank. That’s the thing. Move him (for awhile) to do the setup? Or just monitor? Got a seasoned sponge filter ready to go as well.

My gut is telling me to just monitor. I just worry if qt is too boring he’ll bite. Then again, I think he’ll bite regardless. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Dorsal could indicate illness vs biting though. Idk what I’m doing at this point LOL

Edited May 19, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/19/2023 at 11:12 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

He’s in the tank. That’s the thing. Move him (for awhile) to do the setup? Or just monitor? Got a seasoned sponge filter ready to go as well.

My gut is telling me to just monitor. I just worry if qt is too boring he’ll bite. Then again, I think he’ll bite regardless. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Ah ok.

Given all of the circumstances I wouldn't be afraid to get things going.  You do have the QT setup if you need it as a backup.  Hopefully the interaction and the care on his tank makes him happy enough not to bite. 

Has the shelf been helping at all?

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 5/19/2023 at 2:17 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

You do have the QT setup if you need it as a backup

I’m not following. The QT tank is the tank he is in and also the tank that I hope to make his permanent home because it’s bigger.

On 5/19/2023 at 2:17 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Has the shelf been helping at all?

I see him using it a lot, actually.

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/19/2023 at 11:21 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

On 5/19/2023 at 11:17 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

You do have the QT setup if you need it as a backup

I’m not following. The QT tank is the tank he is in and also the tank that I hope to make his permanent home because it’s bigger.

On 5/19/2023 at 11:17 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Has the shelf been helping at all?

I see him using it a lot, actually.

Sorry, I thought you had a QT Tote?

Good to hear!

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 5/19/2023 at 2:22 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Sorry, I thought you had a QT Tote?

I was using a tote for a while. I still have it and can set it up if needed. I bought this 10g to make my quarantine area now because it’s easier to see symptoms.

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/19/2023 at 11:24 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

I was using a tote for a while. I still have it and can set it up if needed. I bought this 10g to make my quarantine area now because it’s easier to see symptoms.

Yeah, definitely!  That's all I was saying.  Apart from plants and filter, I would think all of that is fine to add to the tank right away.  The only thing I would be cautious about is some sort of active substrate.

Edit:  If you do add some sort of planted substrate, stratum or something, then you'd only have to do water changes which may go in the way of meds, but probably helps everything too.  When I was setting up mine, I did changes every 2-3 days for the first week, then doubled it the following week, etc.

Edited May 19, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Reporting back in.  No real improvement on the tail or dorsal.  Therefore we are back to Kanaplex.  Kanaplex has worked well in the past for this issue. 

While Maracyn is "supposed to" treat fin rot, I did not see any results or benefits in this particular case.

A stand came in yesterday for his 10g, but I will hold off on doing any upgrades until I see some improvement from him.  Moving him around and planting things, scaping things, replacing water, moving the tank - all of that could stress him.

Edited May 22, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I've gotten most of my best results from kanaplex in treating a lot of disease. Hopefully he'll turn it back around. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

The photo was taken this morning, and this afternoon I checked on him again and noticed new, clear growth in that split area of his tail. You might be able to see a little in the photo above if you zoom in.

Progress!

Got the new stand put together today as well.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Regrowth

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Geppetto got a tank upgrade to the 10g! I had it like this:

but he wouldn’t stop flaring at the back wall.

So it is now this:

 

2 leaf hammocks

1 pipe

2 swim thru rocks 

livin the good life

The shrimps live next door and he can watch them.

 

I used all the stuff from other tanks so it’s already cycled 🙂 

Edited May 27, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

When I cleaned out Geppetto’s old tank I found a surprising amount of decayed plant matter in the sand from unsuccessful grass runners. While I wasn’t getting any undesired parameter readings, I wonder if that could have played a factor in his health.

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/28/2023 at 11:12 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

When I cleaned out Geppetto’s old tank I found a surprising amount of decayed plant matter in the sand from unsuccessful grass runners. While I wasn’t getting any undesired parameter readings, I wonder if that could have played a factor in his health.

I had the same thing.  You can use a phosphate test kit.  I would imagine the organics help to feed things like those protozoan type of critters in his tank.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Fin progress

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

The dorsal fin continues to fill out and his other fins are lengthening. He hasn’t bitten his tail since the tank upgrade.

[nabokovfan87]

Knock on wood.

Nice work little dude. Keep it up!

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Sorry for so many updates but I noticed that overnight the bottom fin reconnected a lot more and the tail split is reconnecting too!

 

Edited June 2, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

He follows my signals.

(He got treats after)

Edited June 3, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea