# Small hole in fin?



## AngesRadieux (Oct 6, 2011)

So, I just got Salazar from petsmart about a week ago. I have him in a 5.5 gallon tank with a heater, filter, and some fake plants. He seems active and he's been eating, so he seems healthy to me. But today I just noticed a very small hole in his fin. It's a small oval and from what I can see the edges of the hole aren't jagged at all. I'm not sure if it's something new or if I just didn't notice it when I first bought him...

Should I be worried about some sort of illness or health issue or is it possible it's natural?

I can't get a picture of it because the only camera I have is the one on my phone, which can't take pictures that are high enough quality for the hole to be noticeable.


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## Littlebittyfish (Jan 5, 2011)

Pin holes can be an early sign of finrot...or he could have poked it on something...I would keep an eye on it and maybe do an extra water change throughout the week to keep his water really clean.It is possible he may have had it when you bought him..about half the bettas I have got had a bit of fin issues from being in the tiny bettacup.


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## MistersMom (Aug 9, 2011)

small holes in the fins can be and most likely are fin rot coming in. i would start imediately changeing the water every day, nice clean water every single day is the answer, and maybe medication if you can find one for fin rot, at walmart they have quick cure and on the box it says sit treats fin rot.


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## fishman12 (Sep 1, 2010)

The "best" antibiotic for fish is melafix, but it doesn't work well. Aquarium Salt is best for that. 1 teaspoon/ gallon and clean water. It could also be tailbiting, my first betta, Russell bit a hole in his fin.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Welcome, and congrats on your new little boy =)

Pin holes are also a sign of high ammonia, which could easily be the case since he just came from a pet store cup.

For now keep an eye on it, do regular water changes since it's still a new tank and you don't want to break up any natural cycle that it is going through with the filter.

In a 5 with filter you will be wanting to do 50% weekly water changes, every so often siphoning out the gravel.

If you wish to use something, Stress Coat works well with regrowth of fins. You can use that as a conditioner, or add in some drops along side your normal conditioner. (Always use full dose of conditioner when you do water changes.)

If you see black edging starting around the hole, or at the edges of his fins and it is flaking/crusty/shredding then you can start the AQ salt treatment.

1 teaspoon AQ salt per gallon, regular water conditioner (and/or stress coat) 100% daily water changes for 10-14 days. Best to put him in a QT container/tupperware/cup to make changes easier (premix the treatment in a gallon jug to make water changes easier when doing less then a gallon QT container) and float/tape the QT in the tank, 76-78*F to keep him from getting too cold.

I would wait on any treatment until you are 100% sure it is rot, because the salt can harm internally if in prolong use, as well as the bacteria/fish can easily become immune to the salt over time and it will highly diminish the beneficial/healing properties of the salt. AQ salt should only be used when you know for certain it is needed. 

Also don't just automatically go to the over the counter fish meds.. Quick Cure is actually not a good thing to use, neither is Bettafix, and most other "fixes" as they contain a tree oil that has potential to harm the labyrinth organ in which bettas use to breathe. Conservative is always highly recommended use over meds unless it is very severe. (Conservative = AQ salt & Epsom Salt)

Good luck and let us know how it goes =)


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Littlebittyfish said:


> Pin holes can be an early sign of finrot...or he could have poked it on something...I would keep an eye on it and maybe do an extra water change throughout the week to keep his water really clean.It is possible he may have had it when you bought him..about half the bettas I have got had a bit of fin issues from being in the tiny bettacup.


+1


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## MistersMom (Aug 9, 2011)

What is QT ????


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## missm83 (Aug 23, 2011)

my boy had the same thing....it was from a fake plant he liked to play in... it healed in few days..so remove anything with sharp edges just in case


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

MistersMom said:


> What is QT ????


Quarantine


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## MistersMom (Aug 9, 2011)

i KNEW IT!!! lol.


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## AngesRadieux (Oct 6, 2011)

I don't think it's fin rot because aside from that one small hole his fins look fine and he seems pretty healthy and active. I used a water conditioner that's supposed to help protect scales and fins to be safe. For now I guess I'll just keep an eye on him to see if he seems to be having issues with any of the plants in his tank... Thanks for all of the help.


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## AngesRadieux (Oct 6, 2011)

Whatever caused it, the hole is already all healed up, so I'm going to assume that it was nothing serious...


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## Littlebittyfish (Jan 5, 2011)

That is great!


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