Betta Fish Fins Curling
Betta Fish Fins Curling
My betta’s fins are red and torn!?
My betta fish tore his front swimming fins (not quite sure what they are called) a week or so ago, and I figured it was his filter, because he always curls himself around it and his fins get sucked up the filter. Anyways, I called a pet store, and they said that it was just stress, but I’m getting really worried, because the tears are now bigger and they are bright red at the ends. I’m figuring this is not normal and I need to know what is wrong and how to help my fish. PLEASE!
P.S. My betta is in a 1-gallon tank, and no I cannot get a bigger one, because my mom won’t let me, so those of you who say, “Oh how cruel!” or “You are a horrible owner!”, please refrain from doing so and just skip on past this question. Thanks!
I’m pretty sure red is not his natural colour, because we’ve had him for almost a year, and he has never been any colour other than green/purple colour.
A one gallon tank is fine, as long as you perform daily water changes. Have you changed the water in his tank? For a tank that small, you don’t really need a filter, since it’s very easy to clean the tank by yourself. Consider removing the filter, if you think it’s damaging his fins – bettas prefer calm water anyway, in order to build their bubble nests.
Another possibility is fin rot, a disease most bettas are susceptible to due to their large fins. It’s caused by flesh-eating bacteria that progressively eats away at fish’s fins, until it reaches the fish’s body – by then, your fish would have died because the bacteria will begin to consume vital tissue, or because it’s unable to swim away from hungry, cannibalistic tankmates. Do a google image search for ‘fin rot betta’ and see if it matches the disease on your fish.
You can google a cure for fin rot, but personally I’d just add salt (aquarium salt, but table salt *should* be okay if you can’t get your hands on any aquarium salt) to a level tolerable for fish, but intolerable for bacteria. Due to osmotic pressure, the increased salt concentration in the water should cause bacterial cells to lyse. Keep in mind though, you might need to go buy some antibiotics because bacteria have cell walls, which increases their resistance to lysis somewhat. If you decide to add anything to water i.e. salts/antibiotics, you need to be really careful how much you add to the water – a one gallon tank allows you to control your dosages better, but it also makes it easier to overdose your fish. Dosages vary – be sure to look up dosing methods for whatever you decide to use, and make sure that it’s OK for the volume of water in your tank.
Like I said, change your water often while your fish is sick – whether he’s losing his fins to infection or physical trauma, clean water will help his immune system fight his infection better, and remove potential infectious agents from the tank. Make sure that his tank is heated (to around 26-28 degrees celsius), and that the water you put in is dechlorinated, if possible. Also, try to reduce water levels or put in a ‘rest’ platform (I use a red beer pong cup) just below the water line, so he can rest there and doesn’t have to expend too much effort to swim to the surface for air. You mentioned that he tore his swimming fins (do you mean the pectoral fins? bettas use those for locomotion, and those are one of the two sets of paired fins present on all fish), so he might have trouble swimming, but I doubt it’s his pectoral fins since they’re comparatively tiny compared to his other fins – by the time they get torn, his other fins should be in tatters.
Anyway, good luck – I’m trying to save a sick betta too, though my betta has a different disease. Don’t feel too bad if you lose him; most people don’t care about their fish, and just let them die. You kept yours alive for almost a year, that’s not great, but not bad either compared to 99% of betta owners out there.
my betta tending his nest
