# Betta fish tail shrinking??



## purpleunicorn11 (Apr 23, 2013)

I LOVE my betta fish Fantasia! He is well over a year old now. He has had ick a few times which I treated successfully. He lives in a half gallon bowl. Lately, he has been acting and eating normal. His bluish red color has faded some. The biggest problem is his (not sure the real name) top and tail fin are shrinking. There are no white spots or anything suspicious. I just put some of the ick treatment I used before in with a little bit of salt, but I don't want to make anything worse. Does anyone have ANY ideas on what could be wrong and how I could fix it? :-(


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## JellOh (Mar 13, 2013)

It sounds like fin rot, but fill this out-


Housing 
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?


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## purpleunicorn11 (Apr 23, 2013)

Housing 
What size is your tank? 1/2 gal, it is a bowl
What temperature is your tank? 70
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? no
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? tetra bettamin
How often do you feed your betta fish? every other day a good sized pinch

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? once every two weeks
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? none

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? his top and tail fins have suddenly shrunk closer to his body and his color is more dull 
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? no 
When did you start noticing the symptoms? a few days ago i noticed his fin size
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? i put a few drops of an ick treatment and a little bit of table salt in but that is it
Does your fish have any history of being ill? hes had ick a few times but nothing else
How old is your fish (approximately)? a little over a year


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## bettacrazygirl86 (Jan 21, 2013)

Tank size, food, temperature, and water changes could definitely be a problem here. A half gallon is far too small for a betta. Also, bettas prefer water that is 76 to 84 degrees. Any colder lowers their immune system and can make them sick. You would need to buy an aquarium heater to make the water warmer. Bettamin is also not a good fish food, at all. Flakes are bad for bettas. Pellets are much better. Recommended food brands are Omega One Betta Buffet pellets and New Life Spectrum Betta Formula pellets. In a half gallon tank, you should be doing way more frequent water changes. Water changes should be at least every other day. You should also be using some form of water conditioner to take the harsh metals and chemicals out of the tap water.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Bettacrazy is correct.. 

Betta fish are tropical fish and do best in warmer waters such as stated above.. in a half gallon you will not be able to find a heater that will fit, nor be safe in that size. I would get no less than a gallon tank with a 15-25 watt heater. Cold water such as that will lead to weak immune system, slow metabolism and less of a life span.

The food.. flakes aren't bad for bettas as long as they are flakes specific for bettas. Regular tropical flakes have too much plant matter in it, whereas bettas are insectivores and carnivores and require more of a fish/meat meal type of food. Make sure the food you purchase has fish or meat (even if it's "meal") as the first ingredient.
Fish should be fed daily - best to have 2 small meals per day to keep their energy and nutrition up. They are (should be) swimming most of the time outside from sleep and they require lots of energy which is brought on by food. 

Water changes are the top priority when it comes to all fish. For that size of a tank I would do water changes ever 3 days. A betta doesn't let off as much ammonia as most other fish due to their labyrinth organ, but they still do in their waste. You don't want the water too clean/sterile, but it can't become bad either.. so for a half gallon, you are looking at a 100% every 3 days.. a one gallon it's 1 50% and 1 100% per week.. and then the bigger the tank the less water changes (to a point) - you will always need to do water changes each week regardless of the size - it's the % that will change depending upon tank set up.

Water conditioner is a must to remove chlorine, ammonia and heavy metals.. dose for full volume of the tank each water change.

Having ick a few times and only had him a year isn't good on his system, correct water changes, conditioner, food and warmth will help keep him healthy. He is most likely eating his fins or he has fin rot which is brought on by a damaged fin that is in poor water and bacteria has set in and is eating away at the fin. Good water quality (water changes) should help reverse that.. if not he may need to go on a salt treatment.. pictures, if you can, will help us determine whether it's bacteria (rot) or fin biting from stress.

Bettas don't live in puddles and they (the wild type, but the domestics we breed still require the same care) come from tropical climates.. where they have miles of water expanse and heated well into the 80s. Bettas are sold in cups for their own safety, and because of that sadly, people assume they are fine in small bowls with no heat or water changes. It's a myth that has been around for decades, and I don't blame people for not knowing.. but it is a good thing you came here so you can get the proper knowledge on their care. They are easy in a sense that they don't need a filter and can live in smaller aquariums (like 1-5 gallons) easier.. but they still have the same requirements as other fish when it comes to basic care.

I wish you luck..


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