# Betta's fins are completely gone, what do I do?



## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

So one of the bettas at work, one of the ones in a community tank, had all his fins eaten last night by normally peaceful tetras, except for one of his side fins. My managers let me take him home for free, so i bought a betta condo to house him until his fins grow back.

What can I do to help his poor fins? There's NOTHING left of them. He can swim a little with just his body, but because of his missing right fin, he swims in circles.


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## xjenuhfur (Jan 30, 2012)

I would say to just keep the water clean and warm, use some stress coat, and possibly lower the water level so it's not too much work for him to get to the surface or air.

If you want you can also add a little bit of aq salt (1tsp per gal) for no longer than 10 days.


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

Do you think his fins will grow back?


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## xjenuhfur (Jan 30, 2012)

Yes.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

High protein foods will help him regenerate his fins, such as mosquito larvae, but if you cannot find some or make some of your own, food brands with higher nutritional value like New Life Spectrum, Atison's, Omega One, and Hikari Bio-Gold will help a lot. Adding of stress coat will also help, AQ salt will ward off any infections, and clean water!

Also a note to add is that once a Betta's fins are gone they will probably never return it's former glory.


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

He's going to be sharing my ten gallon for now in one of those betta condos that stick to the side. Can I just give him salt water baths in a cup while he recovers? Would frozen foods be good for him since I can't get mosquito larva? How long do fins normally take to grow?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

If he's having trouble swimming maybe lower the water level. A big space can stress him out if he can't easily patrol his whole territory.
Do you have soft water? His fins will regrow much faster if you can soften his water up.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

I would say that frozen foods have barely any nutritional value that live mosquito larvae offers. The reason why they're used as treats is because they're treats, their staple diet is supposed to be either flakes or pellets or both. If you're using those Betta Condos, I would skip the salt treatment, just keep the water extra clean. Since most of his fins could ripped off, it could take a good couple of months to regrow his fins given that he's living in the right condition.

Also I need to note that him living in a Betta Condo might not be a good idea, he can see other Bettas and will try to flare, overflaring causes stress and leads to rips and tears of the fins, if there are any fins left.


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

I moved my current betta two condos down from him, with the colored separators keeping them appart. Sora's mad, but the injured boy is relaxing on the piece of hornwort I gave him. It's only temporary; I'm working on a new 2.5 planted tank, he'll live in that when he recovers with some ghost or cherry shrimp. I have live plants so the water is pretty clean even between water changes. My entire area has hard, high ph water, which the cichlids at work LOVE, but is a little hard on bettas. How can I soften the water? I'm looking for a decently priced solution, btw, I'm a week from payday and nearly broke.

I've also decided to name him Hope, because I hope he makes it.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Buying distilled water and using 50% distilled water and 50% tap water will cut your hardness by half, using 75% distilled water and 25% tap water will cut your hardness by 3/4. 

Got it?


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

I'll definitely try to do that then. I think I can get good amounts of distilled water next door to work for a decent price. And the distilled water won't hurt my other fish? If it would, I'll partially fill the tank that's going to become a NPT and use distilled.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Only filling your tank with just distilled or any sort of purified water will hurt your fish, since distilled water doesn't have any minerals in it, it'll literally suck minerals out of your fish.

You won't run into any issues with plants either I believe, since you're doing a NPT, the soil you're using will provide nutrients for the rooted plants, if you have floating plants, may be best to dose some fertilizers once in awhile like Flourish by Seachem.


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

it's freeze-dried that doesn't have many nutrients in it. frozen is fine, just like frozen food to us.

if you can get Indian Almond Leaves, or naturally fallen and dried oak leaves, adding one of those to his water will help him out alot, too.


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

Does anyone have pictures of what regrown betta fins look like, btw?


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## bahamut285 (Dec 10, 2010)

They look pretty much the same. The rays might be a little wonky but they grow back.

My orange dalmation when I got him and then about...two weeks of ultra clean water and high protein food


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## Cargo (May 25, 2012)

Keep the water CLEAN. Add stress coat to regrow his slime layer and help regrow fin. Add aquarium salt.


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## bahamut285 (Dec 10, 2010)

This was a picture I took of him about a month ago, I've had him for almost a year. I couldn't find earlier pictures, sorry


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

I'm adding the stress coat, but I don't have an aq salt on hand, plus he's in a ten gallon with other fish(sort of, in a closed off shallow place) and I don't know how it would affect them. Also, his fins or lack therof are way worse, but it's good to know they can possibly regrow to nearly their former splendor. 

He seems to be handling swimming okay right now. He's a bit front heavy but he uses the sides of the container and the tiny banana plant I put with him for a place to rest to stablize himself. Upon closer inspection he has both "arms" still, it's just one is terribly ripped. And his body is sooo tiny compared to my Sora. He's about half the size. He's either very young or stunted. He's only been in the store for a few weeks, so I'm hoping young.

Also, for an idea of how bad his fins are, I thought he was dead when I first found him. He's nothing but a body. I don't even know if his beard is still there. When Sora saw him next to the tank before rearranging everyone, he didn't even try to flare, poor boy.


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## xjenuhfur (Jan 30, 2012)

): there was a thread on here about a little girl who didn't have a back fin at all! She somehow managed to swim around. 

Your boy, as long as he is stress free, warm, clean, and well fed, will be good.  IAL is nice but not necessary, neither is salt treatment. Esp in a divided tank


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Yep - have a look for the member MollyJean, and search her albums for her girl Tidbit, who has no tail whatsoever.


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## Enkil (Jan 15, 2012)

Hannibal (a combtail we bought for my daughter) took off his dorsal completely. All the way down to his back. It has taken weeks, but he regrew it. All I did for him was make his water changes a little more frequent and bump up his temp a degree or two. His dorsal looks great, better than it did when we bought him!

So be sure to keep him warm and the water very clean.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Be careful with using distilled water for other fish, as it is devoid of oxygen and can cause problems very quickly because of that.. Aerating it in a bucket for a couple hours will give it some oxygen.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

Okay, Hope survived the night. Sora is still upset with me confining him to a small area, but he'll live.

It's sad, I thought I was doing a good thing putting him in a community tank when his colors were fading, but I suppose not.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I've had one betta with no fins left. I just gave him clean water, warm water, good food and eventually his fins grew back - although not to the length they should've been. But he was healthy, happy and a beautiful cambodian who got a new home


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

Oh good.  how long until he was able to swim normally? I keep worrying that Hope'll drown when I'm not looking.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

He swam with his body, and once he got the hang of it (NO filter) he got better. I kept him in a 1 gallon, which was not deep.
Later he upgraded when he could swim. I gave him a sponge filter (low flow), and up'd it to a regular filter so he'd get stronger with swimming. Eventually his fins grew back a bit, took 2 weeks for a little to come back. He was basically an imitation plakat :lol:


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

Okay. I've got a low flow internal filter on my ten gallon, but he's basically in a half gallon cube (or less), which breaks up all currents, but is filtered thanks to the internal filter. I saw him swimming around before I left for work, so I think he's getting the hang of it. Plus he has the banana plant to rest on if he needs a break.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

This is a photo of my HM male who got out of his breeders' net and got attacked by my sorority. They even tore out half his beard.










He got a couple of fuzzy growths from what I assume was a secondary infection, but these went away after about 24-48 hours without medicating. 

It's been a couple of weeks now and he is already getting regrowth. It doesn't take long for the initial regrowth to start if your betta is in warm, clean water, has a good immune system and is getting fed a high-protein diet. 

My male got around fine with no fins once he'd gotten over the initial shock. I just kept him in a 1/2 gallon container with some floating plants for him to rest on if he got worn out.

Bettas are fairly resilient when it comes to fin damage. Most will recover eventually and achieve something of their former glory.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Shiloh has a lot of his fins missing, and still did afterwards but he did some amazing growth and did pretty well. Plus he had more severe damage, torn beard, slashed faceplate, missing scales, missing fins... That's why I love bettas- they're troopers!


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

This boy looks like your HM just differently colored.

All we have at work besides the Wardley pellets I already have are Omega One Betta Flakes, but I've heard flakes cause bloating.


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

Anyone?


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Pellets are better than flakes  Do you have a place to get frozen foods for fish/reptiles? Bloodworms, daphnia and brine shrimp are great for them. daphnia also helps them poop!! :lol:


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

Yeah, my job does. (I work at a pet store.) We just don't have Omega One or New Life Spectrum pellets. Oh, and we don't have daphnia, but do have bloodworms and brine shrimp, so I'll pick some up when I get paid.

Also, a friend of mine got me some... I think it was called acid buffer as well as some flourish and aquarium salt in exchange for cat food. (He works at a fish store.) So I'll be setting up a soft water tank for him(and will be softening my ten gallon, just not as much) with aquarium salt. My area has really hard water like I said, so the little bottle will probably be gone far too fast.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Are you intending on using that AQ salt as a permanent softener for a betta? As much as that "AQ helps all fish" thing go, it wouldn't be good as it irritates the labrynth organ, and can damage other organs in the long run 

Not sure but someone needs to chime in for this... some people cut it half and half... Half tap water with conditioner, and half distilled or spring water? I'm no expert on this...


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## Thomasdog (Jan 26, 2012)

Rooting for you! Good luck!!!


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

No, the acid buffer stuff is a softener, the aq salt is to just help start healing.

I may also take a friend's home today with the same problem. -.- He has him housed with a female in a two gallon, and the female is kicking his ass. I chastised him for it, but he doesn't care about bettas nearly as much as his precious cichlids.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

ahhh ok :lol:

And definitely take your friend's betta. I suggest however since he'll have open wounds NOT to use AQ salt only because it's literally rubbing salt in a wound. Clean water for now, a little fuzz can be slime coat (which for me most wounds I've seen get it, then it disappears). Shiloh had those nasty gashes on his faceplate, and I just kept his water clean


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

I don't see any open wounds, she's just been eating his fins and chasing him around. I'm surprised he isn't trying to fight back. I'll take him if he'll let me, even if it means Hope will have to go back to the petstore when I'm done treating him. I only have two tanks and no money for another one, but I feel awful about leaving him here.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

What size of tanks do you have in all?


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

One ten gallon, slightly overstocked(just by about one fish, but it's planted and I stay on top of cleaning it) and a 2.5 NPT in progress. I may borrow a half gallon container from a friend, and use the new auto set heater I bought for the npt.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

That might work. I woulda suggest dividing :3 but that won't work.


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## Twilight Storm (Apr 14, 2011)

Is this what you have him in? I think that's what was confusing a lot of people at first.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNLyO7tCgmQ

And be careful of the chemicals bettas can get used to the high ph water mine are almost in 8.0 water. If you do the chemicals in the other tank mess with them without the betta in there, and acclimate him _*really*_ slowly to the new PH water. You can end up shocking them with sudden ph changes.

I think there is a sticky somewhere here on how to drip acclimate your fish even?

Most pet stores have blackwater extract wich will add tannins, otherwise there are are a variety of dried leaves you can use.

I have a really bad eye infection so sorry if my typing is bad. I normally would write novels but if you have questions maybe someone can help clarify.

I hope Hope gets better soon. btw you can use a sterilite storage box as a tank, or kritter keepers. Some other options out there that are very cheap. Sterilite is food safe.


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

Yeah, my tanks are too small or full to split. I think a half will be fine until he grows some fins back. Once they regrow fins, I'll rehome one and keep the other.

Yes it is. For the moment. I'll just put some water(pre treated) in my 2.5 while empty, then put the one with the least fins in the half and one with the most fins in the 2.5, since one of my three heaters is a clip on the side one. I only have thirty dollars for the next week, so i can't spend anything else, and returning my betta condo will help my monetary situation.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I use tubs, buckets, food containers, etc  They are wonderful. I got a 17.8 gallon for 8 dollars!! Great for money crunches 

Indian Almond Leaves, dried Oak leaves, are good.


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

Like I said, I'm going to be careful with the chemicals and treat before adding the betta. Besides, a few pages back someone suggested a .5 for a temp for my finless Hope anyways.


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

And I don't have access to either set of leaves.


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## Twilight Storm (Apr 14, 2011)

Sorry I tried to read the entire thread but it's very hard with my eye I must have missed key posts


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Twilight it's alright =D

OP, d you have a second hand store? garage sales? skulk around for a gallon tank or something.


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## TheCheese909 (Aug 11, 2011)

Here are acouple pictures of my fish who either I had to their tails because they got mangled up really bad by either their filter or because they got stuck in a plastic plant. (i don't use those filters anymore nor do i have my fish with any type of plastic plants)

The first set is of Rory, my CT. He got stuck in his filter and his spikes got tore up and ended up turning a bit brown at the end (not shown in the pics). After is a pic of his cut tail then the 3rd is how it's regrown so far after daily water changes for 2 weeks as of yet.


The 2nd is of Psych, he got stuck in his big green and red plant and shredded his tail. He's a BIG Halfmoon boy and i was devastated. I waited over a month for it to heal and it didn't, it started to turn black and dead so I had to trim his too. It's grown back a bit but it's not perfect which is fine, i'm just glad it didn't get infected before I trimmed it. The first pic of him is when he had all his tail, the 2nd is how bad it got tore up and the 3rd his how he looks now after a little bit of a trim. Alot of those deeper cuts into his tail have closed up, but of course it's not perfect and it wont ever be, which is fine. He's healthy and happy and he doesn't seem to know any different.



I'm just showing you these so you can see how they look on their way growing back. Psych's tail is still growing back, I trimmed his tail at the beginning of the year and Rory's tail I trimmed just a few weeks ago. Rory's tail is growing back very quickly and is still in its mostly clear phase. It will eventually get some color back in it. And i'm sure you can see the discoloration in Psych's tail, that happens alot when they get tore up really bad.


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

Yes, but I don't have room on my sink counter for something bigger. the half gallon is long and shallow, so there's enough swimming room for a boy with no fins. I'm worried about Hope though, he's really sluggish and has fuzz growing on his wounds. I hope it'll go away like someone else said theirs did. Guess I can only do my best.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Fuzz can be slime coat, as long as you do daily water changes! El Dorado got fuzz when he stopped biting, Reggie got a little, and Shiloh got a lot. But I could knock it off when I scooped him for a water change, and there wasn't any infections. Keep up with the water changes!!! That is the main thing to avoid infections. Plus good food :3 A betta who is starved won't regenerate his fins back as much, or sometimes not at all because it's body has to use energy for survival more than regeneration.


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

Hope didn't make it. He had been acting really lathargic last night when I got home. I tried feeding him to perk him up, but I found him this morning. Riku, the one I took from my friend, is doing great though. He has more fins left than Hope did, but I was worried cause I had to ride in a car with him over an hour. He's doing great though. He'll do great in my npt.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Awww sorry to hear!

And good luck with Riku.


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

Thank you. I picked up the Omega One Betta Buffet flakes because I can't find the pellets or anywhere that sells NLS. When I get paid, I'm going to get some frozen food and maybe the hikari guppy micro pellets since they're super high in protein. I crumbled the flakes up real tiny and Riku chowed down. He looks so much better today. I've only given him a plant for now since I want to keep an eye on him for any signs of infection. His body's white with a pinkish sheen, it looks like his fins are going to be red, and his face is piebald white. According to my friend, he's a veiltail. We'll see when it grows back out.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

He's sounds pretty - and will be pretty!


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## SweetNightmare (Mar 15, 2012)

Agreed.  I think he might be a dragon, but I've never been explained to properly what makes a dragon. I've read descriptions, but it's still hard to tell. Regardless, it'll look great in a planted tank with all the dark greens.

I do have a question though: he still has about a centimeter of fins. Should I fill his 2.5 all the way when I do a water change today? He seems to be swimming okay.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I think you could give him the full 2.5 gallons. The adapt very well! I've had a betta who had SBD for months before I got him, and had it for months after I had him despite treatments (took forever to get rid of that!) and he was fine


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