# Betta's fins are fraying :(



## inareverie85

My little betta, Sashimi, is only about a week and a half in my care. About 5 days ago, I noticed that his tail fin was starting to become a bit frayed, so I immediately started doing 50% water changes every other day. But now it looks as though his tail is beginning to split in half, and his bottom finnage is starting to look pretty bad, too.

I'm not sure if it's fin rot, because there is no discoloration or black areas around the trouble spots.. or anywhere else, really.

He is in an Aqueon Evolve 4 at the moment. I realize that the flow of the tank is a bit high for him. I am waiting to finish setting up my Biocube before putting him in there..

His tank is currently cycling.. Could that be it?

But now I'm afraid to put him in the biocube if he potentially has a disease that can be spread to other fishies. 

The tank is all-natural planted. No plastic plants.

Substrate is Flourite, which might be rough, but for his tail??

I have some driftwood in there with java fern and anubias, but that's about it as far as plants go.. 

I might rescape it with some clippings I'll be receiving soon. Maybe more soft plants for him to rest on and block the flow will prevent him from resting on the substrate.

I'm not sure what to do for him, but I've grown rather attached. I would greatly appreciate any advice you could offer so that my fish is well and beautiful again


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## Snowflake311

I have kept bettas for many many many years. The fin rot does not spread bettas get it very easy. It's due to do water quality. If you do a 25% or more wc every do days it will start to grow back. I let one of mine get really bad nice due to being a new mom with little time. With time his fin got better but was never the same yet it grow back. 

As long as you don't see any bloody spots on the fin it's just good fin rot. extra wc and it will clear up. If you find red spots that could be a bacteria infection.

It takes more then just a week of extra water changes. It can take a month to see regrowth. Add a tiny bit of salt can help. 

Also a Split in the tall could be a rip. They can rip a fin nice and clean on sharp decor. 

A photo would help.


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## wendyjo

If you are cycling the tank then yes poor water quality can be the cause. How high are you letting the ammonia and nitrites get?


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## inareverie85

I will continue with the aggressive WCs then.

I just didnt think it'd be the cycling, cause I'm using Seachem Stability and Seachem Prime.


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## atom

Could he have snagged it on the driftwood? Also if the flow is too high for him his fins can get whipped in all directions. I small tear can easily become a bigger one.

Warm water, a bit of salt and water changes and it will grow back in no time.


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## jemminnifener

I've got the same problem with my betta. The fin rot just looks like it's getting worse. It started with a split in the tail and now it's frayed and losing more and more webbing. I'm thinking of moving him from my 2.5 gallon to my 10 gallon which should have better water quality and more consistent parameters. I don't want to do it if the new environment will shock him and/or the disease will spread to the existing fish in the 10 gallon.


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## bdresser

If the fin rott gets really bad there are antibiotics that will clear it up in a jiff...water changes are KEY and maybe look into Melafix, but if it is really bad then antibiotocs will help. I recently cleared up a case of fin rott using Maracyn II and it worked great. However, clearing up the original cause, poor water quality, is the more important or it will just come back.


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## Alaizabelle

I have been working with the worst case of betta neglect that I've ever seen for the past month or so. Someone had kept a beautiful halfmoon in a tiny cup, never did water changes, and let it evaporate to barely an inch of water. 

When I rescued him, the poor guy only had nubs for tail fins, and his top and bottom fins were rotting and frayed. His poor gills were so inflamed, too. 

With frequent water changes and a good diet, his fins are growing back now! They won't ever be as pretty, but it's so nice to see him swimming happily around his little tank. (A random note: I tried putting him in a 5.5 gallon like my other bettas, and he would hide in a corner. Now he's in a planted 2 gallon and much happier, ,the open spaces seemed to stress him out! Poor guy)

Just keep with the water changes, and maybe stick a sponge in the intake so the flow will lessen for him!


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## ValMM

How active is your betta? Every time my betta is super active, his tail gets shredded. When I first got him, he was so aggressive to his reflection that he had ribbons hanging from him. Make sure to watch the water quality and keep it clean so he doesn't get an infection.


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## pwolfe

when I experienced this I was also recomended to switch to a high protein diet. Once I resolved the tearing, which in my case was fin rot cured with anti biotics, a diet of live foods seemed to heal the rips in a matter of weeks. Plus he was just all around a happier, more active fish.


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## inareverie85

My betta was pretty active. He would even try to swim against the current, and when he'd see me in come into the room, he'd swim to the front of the tank.  I really love my little guy.

I don't want to risk things getting worse, so Ive made a hospital tank out of a one gallon plastic container. I have his heater in there with a few plants. I'm dosing Maracyn. Will go out for live foods soon as well.

It's tough to get a clear photo of him, but Im trying.


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## inareverie85

Thanks for the help again, everyone.  I medicated him in a plastic container for 5 days and then put him back in his 4 gallon planted tank. Since then, the fraying has stopped, and a diet of bloodworms and brine have proved helpful in new fin growth.  They havent colored up yet, so I'm excited to see what they will look like. I've heard that betta fins don't necessarily grow back the same color.

I also rescaped the tank while he was having treatment. I originally had a few anubias petites growing on lava rock, but I think the rock was probably a bit rough, and he liked hanging out by his anubias.. So instead, I have some very smooth driftwood in there with some java fern and wisteria.


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## blacksheep998

I used to have a blue veil-tail betta who lost about 1/4 of his tail fin to rot. Clean water and a little aquarium salt stopped the rot and the fin grew back over a couple months, but it never went back to the color it used to be. The regrown piece of fin was much paler and not as thick as the original fin was.


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## wendyjo

inareverie85 said:


> Thanks for the help again, everyone.  I medicated him in a plastic container for 5 days and then put him back in his 4 gallon planted tank. Since then, the fraying has stopped, and a diet of bloodworms and brine have proved helpful in new fin growth.  They havent colored up yet, so I'm excited to see what they will look like. I've heard that betta fins don't necessarily grow back the same color.
> 
> I also rescaped the tank while he was having treatment. I originally had a few anubias petites growing on lava rock, but I think the rock was probably a bit rough, and he liked hanging out by his anubias.. So instead, I have some very smooth driftwood in there with some java fern and wisteria.


Did this tank finish cycling? If not you may end up with the same problem again.


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## angelda16

*my betta*

my betta has fin rot from where i bought him and he had it i have been treating him and doing 25% water changes every day and i have them in smaller tanks right now to treat them and he is isnt swimming around like normal and his fins arnt getting any better and its like the 5th day. im confused and dont understand what i am doing wrong there is no filter right now just a heater


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## WaterLife

angelda16 said:


> my betta has fin rot from where i bought him and he had it i have been treating him and doing 25% water changes every day and i have them in smaller tanks right now to treat them and he is isnt swimming around like normal and his fins arnt getting any better and its like the 5th day. im confused and dont understand what i am doing wrong there is no filter right now just a heater


You said "them" a couple times, is there more than one betta you are treating? Pretty sure you just meant one, if not the betta may be getting his fins damaged by another fish.

But a red flag is the "no filter", as with no seeded filter, the ammonia can build up to toxic levels quickly, making the water unhealthy. Healthy water is the most important thing for good fish health. Without healthy water, even meds won't help much. The unhealthy water (ammonia is toxic) is probably killing the betta. Your water changes may not be enough (depending on size).

Fin rot is not contagious, it's just that all fish in the same water get fin rot because the water they are all in is unhealthy. So I would advise putting the betta back into a filtered tank and just treat the whole tank.

You could heal fin rot with just healthy clean water changes, but if damaged has progressed to far or for too long, which sounds like they have with the betta swimming abnormally, then meds may be necessary.

What medicine are you using now?

Melafix can help heal fin rot and damage, but it is said to use caution using this med on Bettas and other labyrinth fish (gourami, etc). Use the BettaFix formula or dose half and observe the fish if they are tolerating the med alright.

Kordon Ich Attack and Kordon Rid Fungus (Same ingredient) can work as well and are very safe.


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## Nordic

If you can't afford maracyn, get some methylene blue, and do regular 30 minute baths in double dose.
This will kill all the external bacteria around the wounds..


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## brenna.saxton

bdresser said:


> If the fin rott gets really bad there are antibiotics that will clear it up in a jiff...water changes are KEY and maybe look into Melafix, but if it is really bad then antibiotocs will help. I recently cleared up a case of fin rott using Maracyn II and it worked great. However, clearing up the original cause, poor water quality, is the more important or it will just come back.


Do NOT waste your money on Melafix. It is literally just diluted Tea Tree oil. Just buy some Tea Tree oil and do 1 drop per 2 gallons of water.


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