# My Betta's Fins All Of A Sudden Are Shredded?? Please Help !!



## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

Hello - first I want to thank all of you who post on this forum and assist in these situations. I got my betta Norman about 2 months ago. He is in an aqueon 4 gallon tank. Normally, I do a weekly 40% water change using the gravel vac. On Saturday (2 days ago) I noticed the water had looked more cloudy than i had ever seen. *Use bottle spring water for him. I removed him from the tank, and did almost an entire water change. Turned the filter back on (which i have very low setting and added sponge inside tube to minimalize the flow) and back in he went. Everything was fine, he ate right away and last night he was his normal chipper self, all fins beautiful as normal. Tonight after work, I sat in front of his tank as I usually do @ night which he loves, and he was very excited (no signs in being sick).... Then i noticed the fin. The profile picture is what his fins have always looked like, the pics below are what I just noticed tonight.. Can someone please shed some light on what this could be? Do not want to wrongly diagnose or assume anything in which I am not educated on.. ***The Last Photo is of Healthy Fins Before Today***


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## shellieca (Jul 12, 2012)

I would say first he's beautiful & 2nd there's a plant or decoration n the tank that he's swimming through that's most likely the culprit. To me it looks like what would happen if he dragged his fins across something rough. That's my thought somebody else may see it differently.


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

Hi - thank you for your thoughts. adding a photo of the tank overall. Do you think it is the tall green one? The purple is silk. So i dont think that is the culprit. Would you say most likely not fin rot? It is just crazy to me as the fin is shreadded so perfectly - if I had to imagine (which I could be wrong) I would picture damage from a plant tearing it unevenly... how is it so many small shreddings? Thank you again - I was really happy to rescue him from that tiny bowl @ the store and want him to live long and happy as i am sure we all feel the same. His personality is soooooo big and so sweet. This is one of my first tanks that I set up and it has been so rewarding.


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## darkangel (Jun 11, 2013)

Looks like filter intake damage or the fin being dragged through something. I would maybe replace the plastic plants with silk ones and wrap a mesh around the filter intake.

I think you should make the temperature 80F and add 1/2 tsp of aquarium salt so the tail doesn't get infected. Maybe do some extra water changes the next week or so?


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## shellieca (Jul 12, 2012)

I would guess the plant to right towards the back or the one in front of it. The one in the back has a lot of fine "leaves". If you have some pantyhose or something similar take that plant & drag the hose across it, if it snags then it'll do the same to your boys fins.

EDIT: FYI, spring water isn't necessarily a good thing as it can be missing some minerals & such that are needed from what I understand. Tap water is fine if you're using a good water conditioner such as Prime. If your tank is new, you may need to do more often water changes depending on testing the water for ammonia, nitrites & nitrates.


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

Okay - i will try that now!! My mother originally bought him and got one of those small fish bowls with that rock plant piece that came with it. Since I completely changed him to this home, figured I would keep one of the things she bought. But I will check them all now to be safe. Ahhh, beginners. hehe guess I dont know until I learn the hard way. 

Again, just crazy how it shreds them so finely and the entire section instead of just one rip or tear. Thank you so much again. 

Amanda


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

darkangel - i will get some aquarium salt for him tomorrow after work asap. How often should I put this in the tank? Will do water changes a few times during week. What percentage change would you recommend for these frequent changes while it heals?


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

Sorry to be so annoying, but if I wrap a mesh around intake, do I wrap it all the way around including in the actual tank or just along the back of the vents?


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## ModFish (Apr 15, 2013)

I found out the hard way that a high PH level will effect the fins as well.


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## Haleigh (Jan 24, 2013)

I would agree that the filter intake caused the shredding. He looks exactly like my betta, Pontus Rex, did when his fins were caught in the filter. As for covering the intake, just cover the vent part. Definitely add that aquarium salt and he should be good as new. Just be careful not to over salt his water. I did that with Pontus :/


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

Thank you! I will get strips and test PH tomorrow just to be sure. I also removed plastic plants and will replace with silk when i am at petstore tomorrow night. 

For the Intake - should I do a mesh style lining on the back of the vents, so it is not seen or not directly in his tank?


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## Haleigh (Jan 24, 2013)

I'm not quite sure how others cover their intakes. I personally cover mine with a stocking. It also works well as a baffle. The downside of that is that it does hinder the filtration process a bit and requires weekly cleaning. Still, it's worth not letting my new betta, Catullus, get hurt.


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

Would you cover on the back of the vents in my case or the front which is where Norman is? Thank you very much. You are all very helpful.


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## redcharizard (Jun 5, 2013)

keep an eye on the hammock it can rust
mine did had to throw it out today
good luck with his fins


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## Haleigh (Jan 24, 2013)

You just need to cover any place where he could get sucked in. If part of the filter is not in the water, and therefore is inaccessible to Norman, it does not need to be covered.


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

Thank you everyone very much.. I will check all these things tonight after work and get the salt in. He loves his hammock so I really hope that is not it. Will keep an eye on it all. Thanks for your time on this issue everyone. Very much appreciated. 

Amanda


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## redcharizard (Jun 5, 2013)

asears86 said:


> Thank you everyone very much.. I will check all these things tonight after work and get the salt in. He loves his hammock so I really hope that is not it. Will keep an eye on it all. Thanks for your time on this issue everyone. Very much appreciated.
> 
> Amanda


i didnt want to do the work so i just got rid of them since my bettas hangout more in other parts of the tank but you can remove the wire from the hammock


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

Good idea. I just called our huge aquatic store here and spoke to the man who made it seem absurd that I was asking if they carried something to cover the intake. I told him it was either that or one of the plastic plants that did this most likely, and he said "ive had them for 30 years with betta's!"

Seriosuly? Sorry that was really frustrating that he immediately made both ideas seem like they were not realistic. Than he advised not to use silk plants because they break down in one year. Uh, won't be listening to him on that as I will be able to buy new silk plants once a year if need be. Why did he rule out those things doing that to the fin.. made me confused and very frustrating. Sorry for venting, thank you all. 

Amanda


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## darkangel (Jun 11, 2013)

You can always buy your silk plant from walmart, I bought a pack of 3 for $10. Or you can order it from ebay.

To cover your intake, the easiest way is really just to take an old aquarium net, rip off the mesh, wrap around the intake and secure it with a rubberband. Or you can even go to walmart to buy a cheap fish net. Its like $2.


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

okay thank you. I am wondering if there is a chance this could be tail biting??


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## darkangel (Jun 11, 2013)

I don't think so. I'm not a expert, but this blog post is pretty good, it has pictures.


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

I just did 50% water change added a little salt and stress relief. Added silk plants only and he was acting strangely towards the center pieces in the green flower heads, almost biting at them in a sort of aggressive manner. ughhh, i can't win. Probably stressed him out more ;/ 

There is no metal I see in the betta hammock, it is a plastic strip along the underside of leaf i believe? 

Also the betta floating log is in front of the overflow vents.

Here is updated w/out plastic plants..


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## redcharizard (Jun 5, 2013)

the wire is in the plastic strip on the underside of the leaf 
you can remove the wire 
just keep an eye on the underside for brown spots i was just too lazy to remove the wire when it finally rusted (didnt think it would rust so never took it out)


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

okay, got it. I will do that in the next week.. thanks for that info. I am going to start adding tap water which i have in bottle now with conditioner so I can start using that instead of Spring Water. Unless anyone objects, that is the plan. Thank you all and I would like to keep you posted on his status. He was sooooo mad when I put in that new silk plant, I couldn't believe it!


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## EmmaJay (May 22, 2013)

There are two types of betta hammocks by different companies. One has the wire, one is just plastic .
I think you have the plastic one.


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## EmmaJay (May 22, 2013)

Actually, same company but they don't make it with the wire anymore! Oops.


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

That explains why I didn't see one or feel one, always good to be extra careful though


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

The fin has more missing this morning. Now it's a chunk. It looks like he's biting his fin ?


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## Haleigh (Jan 24, 2013)

I'm not exactly sure if that's tail biting or not. After Pontus got sucked into the filter, fin rot set in on his torn fins. Let's get some more opinions though.


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## possibility (Jun 25, 2013)

I agree too. My friends beta had his fins caught in a similar manner. the filter is by far the most likely. The plants don't seem very likely. even your fine leafed ones seem unlikely.


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

are you talking about the overflow vents to be exact?


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

not sure if thats it because the filter is hidden


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

Update:::: Norman's fins have additional shredding, can someone please help. I have done everything people on here suggested and its spreading to more fins ...


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## Inspiration Orange (May 24, 2013)

My betta, Neo, is having the same issue. Needless to say I'm following this thread closely. Planning to wrap my filter and change to silk plants this weekend. Hang in there!


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## asears86 (Jun 25, 2013)

Hi - I am sorry to hear you are also having same issue. It is so frustrating!! Okay so I just went to pet store and they sold me T.C. Tetracycline; which I am now reading could be harmful. I have NOT added to his tank yet and will wait to hear some suggestions. Can someone please advise on this!

Thank You
Amanda


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## Haleigh (Jan 24, 2013)

I'm not an expert on fin rot, but I remember some of the advice people gave me when my fish got sick. The salt treatment causes the infected fin ends to fall off, therefore "more shredding" may just be the fin rot being contained. Once all the black ends are gone, the process of fin regrowth starts.


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## Inspiration Orange (May 24, 2013)

How do you guys attach the mesh netting to the filter intake?


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