Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => Fish Health => Topic started by: Originalspin on February 22, 2022, 07:32:27 PM
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Hi, i have had a plakat betta for a couple of months now, at first he was very happy and healthy but over the last few weeks his fins have been gradually getting ragged and he's losing them.
Before i got him i made sure the tank was cycled (using media from my other tank), ammonia was 0 nitrite 0 and nitrate 10 at most.
But even so, as soon as i noticed his fins disapearing i assumed it was the water in some way so ive been doing 2 or 3 30% water changes a week for the last 2 weeks but he's still getting worse. Ive been testing and the water is still good.
His temp is about 26 or 27, PH is about 7.4 and he's in a 5 gallon tank which i know is on the lower end of the scale but from everything ive read is acceptable, and im pretty sure im not overfeeding.
I'm at a total loss now.....
The photo attatched was 2 weeks ago before his fins got really bad, i can try and get another but he's hiding in the anubia a lot and i dont want to stress him too much by moving it about
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It sounds as though you're doing everything correctly, having a properly cycled tank and water remaining stable and optimum with additional water changes lately. I don't have expertise with bettas - others do and would be better-placed to answer.
In the meantime:
* is there any sharp decor that the betta could be catching his fins on?
* has he been flaring a lot at his own reflection or generally?
* do you know what your water hardness is? If you don't have a GH+KH test kit, your water supplier website may give you an indication for your postcode in CaCO3/PPM or German degrees hardness; if it's a lot harder than 268ppm / 15 German degrees, that *might* account for or be contributing to the problem.
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My only additional thought is could the fine be being burnt by the heater?
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Im pretty sure its not the heater as it doesnt get that hot, or any decor, ive only got bogwood and a big anubias in there, and the GH is always about 11 so not excessive.
I went to the shop today and got some melafix, the bloke came up with one idea, it could be the temperature change when i do the waterchanges that are stressing him out maybe?
Im going to make sure i take the bucket of water to temp with a seperate heater from now on and see if it makes a difference
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Temperature changes will not make fins fall off.
I would treat it for finrot (with something stronger than melafix, such as Myxazin).
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Im going to make sure i take the bucket of water to temp with a seperate heater from now on and see if it makes a difference.
Yes, always best to ensure that the temperature matches (or is only a degree or so cooler than) that in the existing tank. I always ensure that the container of new water (cold water from the tap) is topped up with boiling water from the kettle to bring it to the appropriate temperature - in my case, it's approx 80% cold water, 20% boiling water. If you don't have a thermometer, you can judge it by hand.