# Fin Growth or Fin rot??



## maritzaa702 (May 6, 2014)

I just got my Betta fish last Saturday and I definitely don't remember him having white at the end of his fins, and they even look a little choppy (if that makes sense) What is this?? and How can it be treated??.. He's in a 2.5 gallon, filtered tank.. I used water conditioner.. Idk what may have caused this.. If anyone could help, me and Mr.Bubbles would greatly appreciate it!  
Oh and I'm unsure of how many times a day I should be feeding him and how much.. I switch off between Betta pellets and Dried Blood worms. 
And how many times should I be switching the water?
Thanks in advance!


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## Sabina88 (Aug 24, 2013)

It would be really helpful if you had a picture of what you mean 

I personally feed my bettas 4 pellets every other day so they wont get bloated. In your case I would suggest 4 pellets every other day and either supplemented once a week or what ever you choose or as a treat use the blood worms. If their freeze dried I would be a little carful with feeding them that since it contains a lot of air and can cause bloat in your betta. is it possible to get some frozen blood worms? Those a really good for bettas and their not full of air. Its good that your feeding him both pellets and blood worms since its good for them to have a varied diet. Some other things to try (try go get frozen) are brine shrimp and daphnia. Also some highly recommended betta pellets on this sight are Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets and New Life Spectrum betta pellets

As for water changes once a week isa average and you should change about 20-25% of the water each week. However if its not fully cycled then I would do a water change every 3 days. 

Is your tank heated?


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## maritzaa702 (May 6, 2014)

I have a picture but I'm a newbie to this website and have no idea how to upload it xD..

And thanks for your reply! I appreciate it greatly .
Do you feed them twice a day, or 4 pellets in one sitting? 
So every other day won't starve my betta? 'cause he loves to eat! I've usually been feeding him twice a day, 2-3 pellets (they're very small), or even feed him in the morning 2-3 pellets and later at night give him 2 Freeze dried blood worms.. He demolishes anything i give him.. but i may be overfeeding him ..
So maybe just once a week feed him blood worms as a treat?
I hear frozen blood worms can contain parasites that can harm him.. 
are those pellets small? I've had problems in the past with my prior Betta where the pellets were way too big for him to eat.

hmm what does fully cycled mean?  (mine is probably not fully cycled)
and i also have a question on water conditioner.. Do i just add that to the new 25% of water I'll be adding weekly? 

It isn't heated, but i have a thermometer to check up on the temperature.. my houses room temperature is 76 degrees F.. So the tank remains around that temperature.. I live in Vegas so lots of heat XD.. I do plan to get him a heater when fall nears..

Once again thank you very much!!


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## Sabina88 (Aug 24, 2013)

Your welcome 
I feed my boys and girls 4 pellets in one siting.
And yup bettas are little piggies and wont stop eating lol. Both brand of pellets are very small, and most bettas should be able to eat it with no problem. And it will last you a long time, I personally feed 15 bettas every other day and im not even close to half way of the container and their small containers. As for the blood worms I think once a week should be fine a treat, just make sure it doesn't cause him any problums after he eats. 

A cycled tank is your tank and filter are full of good/ the right bacteria that get rid of the ammonia and things that can harm your fish. Its is also starting the nitrogen cycle which is what converts the ammonia from your fish into things that wont harm your fish. This vid explains the nitrogen cycle well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK_D_1CyUCs. How long has your filter been running? 
Since im not super well versed in cycaling and how to explain the process well this will help you get the general idea http://bettasplendid.weebly.com/cycling-for-dummies.html If you ever have more question about cycaling their are tons of well informed people on this site 

As for water conditioner if I remember correctly you only add conditioner to the water your adding to remove any chlorine. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful on this part, were I live we have a well so I don't have to worry about ammonia in the water and adding conditioner.


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## Sabina88 (Aug 24, 2013)

To upload photos:

Just under were your typing you should see a button called Go Advanced, click on it. Then scroll down until you see a button called Manage Attachments and click on it. A new window should open up. Click on the Browse... button then select your photo from your computer. Then click the Upload button. Some photos may take longer then others to upload. Once its uploaded scroll up again to were you see the toolbar. (its the one with the Smilies, Fonts, Sizes, ext.) after the Smilies pull down bar you should see one called Atachments next to it. Click on it and you should see the name of your image in the pull down list. Then make sure you click in your typing were you want the photo to be then go back up to attachments click on it then click on the photo name. In your text it will read with some numbers in between the two attach. Once your done typing and adding photos click submit reply and your photo should show up. 
Hope this helps and wasn't to confusing


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## maritzaa702 (May 6, 2014)

This is a pic of when i first got him..






Not the best image, but do you notice how the tips of his fins are whitening and a little choppy :c...
Mission accomplished .. Thanks for teaching me!! Not confusing at all ..


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## maritzaa702 (May 6, 2014)

Well my tank is definitely not cycled .. Its been running for just a couple days 4-5 tops.. So how frequent should i be cleaning my tank :O??

Thanks for all the info


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## Sabina88 (Aug 24, 2013)

Since its only 2.5 gallons I would say 25% every three days should be good until it gets cycled. 
It might be helpful to get a test kit to help you determine how your tank is doing and how much ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and PH you have. I recommend the API Master Test Kit. Its a bit expensive but worth the buy. 

As for your boy im leaning twords new fin growth. He deffinitly looks like hes grown. How long have you had him?. Although his fins look a tinsy choppy its most lickely that he has a tad of crowntail in him or that's the way his fins are growing. 
With fin rot usually the fins look shreeded and youll start to notice a decrees in his fin length. 

















I think he should be fine just keep an eye on his fins. If it starts to look like the above photos or his tail has these symtoms, post back and we can help you out.
Also welcome to the forum 
•Ripped looking?
•Bright red at the tips or around tears?
•Dull and grey or brown/black, and not part of their natural coloring?
•Fuzzy at the tips or around injuries?
•Beginning or already receding towards the fish's body?
•Frayed or tattered looking?

If you want to learn more about fin rot:
http://bettasplendid.weebly.com/fin-rot-101.html


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## maritzaa702 (May 6, 2014)

Definitely needs a cleaning today then .. And I'll definitely look into buying a test kit.. Just recently my Betta of 3yrs passed RIP Fishy, and since I didnt have much knowledge of care, I started researching so I could give my new betta the best care possible . I haven't even had him for a week, its been 4 days , he actually bit me today xD, I had no idea he had teeth .
What a relief to hear that , I'll definitely keep an eye on him and if it starts to lean towards fish rot (fingers crossed it doesn't) I'll be back.. Thank you very much for your time and help!  Hope your Bettas are doing wonderfully


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## Neecy (Feb 15, 2014)

Looks like new growth to me too ;-)


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## Sabina88 (Aug 24, 2013)

sorry to hear about your loss 

Bettas teeth are actually pretty far back in their head they use them for chewing, there also really really tiny :0 What we feel when they bite us is their mouth hitting our skin. But it does kinda feel like teeth lol

Your boy is deffinitly looking good, im glad hes in a good home 
And thank you, my fishies are doing well.


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## Sabina88 (Aug 24, 2013)

Never mind I just looked it up, aperently their teeth are closer to their mouth then I thought but their wicked tiny


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## maritzaa702 (May 6, 2014)

Thank you.. I wish I coulda done more but it was his time :/.. I literally watched him suffocate </3 ..

I'm glad to hear your fishies are good ..

They're super tiny, can't even see them .. He's bit me twice xD

I appreciate the info


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