# Twin tail halfmoon male... Help



## Maryacr (Jan 11, 2013)

We got Skye December 22nd as a gift for my daughter, he was perfectly fine and his fins were beautiful and graced in the water. About 2 weeks ago I went and got a 1 galloon tank. And a live plant... About 2 days later I found him with his fins severely clamped... Poor guy. I went and bought a thermometer, water tester and the aqueon water maintence.

housing 
What size is your tank? 1 gallon
What temperature is your tank? Was 74 until 2 days ago- resting at 78
Does your tank have a filter? Did... But the current was too strong so I only used it maybe 10 minutes. And watched the entire time.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No...
Is your tank heated? No... Light seems to keep it at 78
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqueon
How often do you feed your betta fish? 3 twice a day

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? Q 3 days
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 75%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Aqueoun Betta Bowl Plus, was using tetra betta safe.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? I checked it with a strip from sentry mardel... It showed all well but maybe a little low in alkalinity... The color was yellow.

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Fins clamped
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? No, still very active and friendly
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 1 week ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? Thinking maybe a couple of months... I thought he was small


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## Maryacr (Jan 11, 2013)

This is how he used to look...


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

Do you leave the tank light on all the time? A light will not heat a tank consistently. If you turn it off at night, those large temperature changes will stress him out a lot. I would get a heater and a light that does not change the temp so durastically. He needs to have both a consistent temp and a consistent day/night cycle. You should keep the lights on about 8-12 hours a day and try to turn them on and off around the same time each day. Also, watch the plant... I don't know what type of light you have, but without the correct lighting and nutrients, that plant will die and cause an ammonia spike.

Do you have SPECIFIC numbers for ammonia? It should be 0. Nothing is considered "safe" or "okay" except for 0.


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## MollyJean (Dec 29, 2009)

You change the water once every 3 days, 75%, right? For a 1 gallon tank, that might not be enough. Small tanks are very hard to care for because you need to keep the water super clean, and have very little wiggle room to do so. more water changes might be needed, but a larger tank would work better. 3 gallons is ideal for a small tank. But to be honest I don't see him clamping because of of water conditions.

Do you have a proper heater or is the room temp/light used to heat the water?

Has the water been cloudy? 

Has he been eating the food you give him?

Is he rubbing up against the sides or any surfaces?

Does he act lethargic? Does he stay resting on the bottom or move around a lot?

Have you added any decorations, rocks or plants that are not meant for fish or aquariums recently?

Sometimes it's hard to figure out what's wrong with a fish... it's a process of elimination. It might be as simple as stress. If his tank is as bare, as your pictures show, he might just be stress. If his heat isn't stable, he might be stressed. Hiding places and a heater will do a lot to keep him healthy.


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## Maryacr (Jan 11, 2013)

I used a color reading chart for the test.... I'm sure it's not the best quality but it didn't have any touch of green in the color. Which the test says that's a zero... I have left the light on... So tomorrow I can go get a heater then start the change with the light. Will his fins ever be beautiful again you think?


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## Maryacr (Jan 11, 2013)

The water has never had any dirty nor film at the surface... It stays pretty clean. No heater and I have been leaving the light on 24/7. Tomorrow I will get a heater and a hideout for him...




MollyJean said:


> You change the water once every 3 days, 75%, right? For a 1 gallon tank, that might not be enough. Small tanks are very hard to care for because you need to keep the water super clean, and have very little wiggle room to do so. more water changes might be needed, but a larger tank would work better. 3 gallons is ideal for a small tank. But to be honest I don't see him clamping because of of water conditions.
> 
> Do you have a proper heater or is the room temp/light used to heat the water?
> 
> ...


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

Sometimes they change colors. However, he will probably go back to normal with proper conditions, being a consistent 78-80 degree temp (consistency is so SO important!), clean water, conditioner, a proper day/night cycle...

If this does not perk him up, it may be a sickness. Watch for any behavioral changes such as the ones mentioned by MollyJean or any other physical/behavioral changes. Some of them may not be anything to worry about... But it is perfectly OK to be cautious if you aren't sure. You are always welcome to post any other questions or concerns on this site.

Edit: I also think he may be stressed because of the light. They do not have eyelids, so he can't get any rest! They need no more than 8-12 hours of light per day.


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## Maryacr (Jan 11, 2013)

Thanks guys for your help... He doesn't rub against anything and he runs to you everything you even walk by lol. I do see him hiding under the plants so that may be the issue with the hideout and light... Makes sense.


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## eatmice2010 (Jan 1, 2013)

You need to turn the pump on if its to strong i recommend buying a smaller one or block the water flow with plants or some kind of non harmful decor.Your feeding him to much (is it pellet or flake?) if pellet i would reduce his feeding to 5-6 pellets once a day, if flakes then give him a a pinch half the size of your pinky finger of flake- once a day also.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

And you've been keeping the light on for 2 days straight... right?
I'm willing to bet it is lack of sleep. I would try turning the light off for a little while and wrapping a blanket around the tank to keep in warmth. Their immune systems get compromised when they are stressed. I honestly think that giving him resting time right now would be more important that keeping the tank four degrees warmer. Make sure you test the heater and raise the water temp slowly as to not stress him out even more after you get that heater.


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

He looks like he has a very white head and belly via the photos.. is this true? is it fuzzy at all? Does it looks like he's missing scales?

Light needs to go out at night. He needs darkness to sleep just like you do.

If you're using the light to heat his tank this isn't an appropriate method. It will cause swings. You need a proper heater and an in tank thermometer to monitor it. Any heater should have a thorough test run for 24 hours in similar sized container to make sure it will heat to a proper temp and hold it there (no swings). And your betta will need to be acclimated to the hotter water slowly. 

You need to increase water changes. In something that small he will always be exposed to low levels of ammonia and there's not much you can do about it. That's one of the reasons why 2 gallons is considered minimum to keep betta's long term. In what you have 2 water changes a week are needed at minimum - one 50% and one 100% which should include a thorough rinsing of the gravel and all decor.

Your feeding is on the high end. Make sure he's pooping regularly and not looking bloated. If he's not pooping regularly and looking bloated you could cut back to 2 2x a day. No matter what or how much you feed he needs one fast day a week with no food.

Here is how to do all those water changes without shocking:



> To do a water change, use a little cup like a plastic solo cup - this cup must be only for him and have never been used with soap or other chems. Scoop him up in this cup (keep him in the cup about 1/4 full of water - it doesn't need to be much because he won't be in it for long) and leave him in the cup while you change his water. To do the 50% use a turkey baster - dedicated only to him that has never seen soap or chems - and drag it through the gravel and try to suck as much of the poop out as possible, in addition to 50% of the water. Use a thermometer under the running tap to get it to be the same temp as the water that is normally in his tank. When the thermometer says the flowing tap is the right temp, fill back up his tank. At this point, add the conditioner (dose for how much water you change - if you change half the water you add half gallon worth of conditioner, If you do a 100% water change dose for the full gallon change). Float his plastic cup with him in it in the new water. Slowly add a couple tablespoons of the new water into his cup every 10 minutes for at least an hour. Finally, dump him in gently but try to get as little of the old cup water back into the tank as possible. When you do the weekly 100% you will do mostly the same thing except empty his tank fully and rinse everything in it very well under warm water but never use soaps or chemicals. Once it's fully cleaned/rinsed you can refill it and repeat the cup/acclimate phase.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

+1 to Callistra.



eatmice2010 said:


> You need to turn the pump on if its to strong i recommend buying a smaller one or block the water flow with plants or some kind of non harmful decor.Your feeding him to much (is it pellet or flake?) if pellet i would reduce his feeding to 5-6 pellets once a day, if flakes then give him a a pinch half the size of your pinky finger of flake- once a day also.


The pump is not needed. They live in still water in the wild and don't like the water flow, and I also don't believe that the plant would benefit from the pump...

The OP said they feed 6 pellets a day. The Aqueon pellets are kind of big, though... So I'd maybe reduce it to 3-4 a day. It is good that you are feeding twice a day and not all at once. Personally, I feed one pellet 3 times a day to spread it out. (I feed 2 three times a day for NLS pellets because they are a lot smaller).


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## MollyJean (Dec 29, 2009)

AyalaCookiejar said:


> +1 to Callistra.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Agree with both of these. I only use filters in 10 gallon or larger tanks, with smaller, there's no point to cycle, and the air flow isn't needed for Bettas like it is with many other fish. I find most of my large finned boys don't like bubbles at all.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

To elaborate a little bit, bettas get their air from the water surface so they do not need the water to be oxygenated. Also, filters are ONLY useful to create a nitrogen cycle (again, they get their water from the surface) and it is not possible to hold a cycle in a one gallon tank as it's too small.


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