Veiltail Betta Help!

[Kari_Franky]

Hi everyone! I'm Karina and my fish is named Franky Milagros (Miracles..you'll see why below)

I purchased Franky from the pet store back in August. In late October I had to go out of town for a bit being that I was so new to being a fish parent I was very worried about leaving him alone I asked a friend to take him home to feed him and watch over him. He had a safe journey and stay with my friend but on his way home there was a major traumatizing situation. His tank spilt even after being wrapped around with towels and a seatbelt. Franky took a dive and fell between the seatbelt hole of the back seat of the car. I was in tears looking for him and about an hour or a little more later we found him under the backseat. By some miracle he was still alive! (Hence his last name) He was clearly traumatized and slow but ever since then his tail just looks tattered. I know it was an accident but still breaks my heart to look at the before and after. I tried tail rot medication I think 3 times and got him a new tank for Christmas. He doesn't have the same amount of energy as he used to doing laps in his tank and such but still likes to hang out on his leaf hammock and in his floating log that Santa brought him. Is there anything I can do to help his tail grow back healthy or will it not grow back and these are just his permanent scars? Any information or insight would help. Thank you in advance!

 

 

Edited January 15, 2021 by Kari_Franky

[Will Billy]

First off I am so sorry to hear about your little guys tragic accident. I’m glad to hear he is alive and has a great owner like you to care for him. Betas tails get torn quite easily, as they are about as thin as a tissue paper. They do heal from tears, so long as the rays are not damaged. The rays coming from his tail is the main blood supply ( and therefore nutrients ) that the fins grow from. As long as his rays are good his tail should heal. I would recommend keeping his tank clean in his injured state as ammonia and nitrite can lead to further complications. I would also recommend some Indian almond leaves or catapa leaves as they release tannins into the water that have antibacterial and antifungal properties to keep him healthy and prevent infection from setting in. The tannins will darken your water to a tea like color but that will go away with a few water changes. Good luck to you and Franky. Any other questions or concerns feel free to ask. 

[Colu]

Treat with aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 2 gallons

[Daniel]

Some of that tattering is probably permanent. I had a similar event with a female betta that was out of the tank for long enough to be crispy dry when I found her. Eventually she recovered and she went on to breed, but her fins were never the same after that.

[Just a Pygmy Corydora]

Aww, I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope your Franky heals well! Best of luck. 😉

[Dwayne Brown]

I would treat with aquarium salt and sure to feed him nutritional food. In my experience fishes fins grow back relitively easily after something like fin rot. Im not sure about tearing hi it should probably be fine. I had a pristilla tetra once that lost its entire dorsal fin from fin rot and had trouble swimming 3 weeks later its fin had completely grown back and was lookin great.