Betta's fins are breaking

[judy]

I took pity on a betta at the pet food place, and bought him.
He is in a 65 litre tank with some balloon mollies, a gold pl*co, a spotted
pl*co, one large angel fish and one large kissing gourami ( the last three
were from a friend of a friend and were in desperate need of a home).
The Betta seems well - he is active and eating well, but his lovely long
fins etc are 'separating' or fraing along the lines.
The water's levels are all fine, all the fish look well.
I haven't had a beta since I was a kid, and am worried that there's
something I need to do, or is this sort of thing normal?
TIA
Judy

[winddancir]

I took pity on a betta at the pet food place, and bought him.
He is in a 65 litre tank with some balloon mollies, a gold pl*co, a spotted
pl*co, one large angel fish and one large kissing gourami ( the last three
were from a friend of a friend and were in desperate need of a home).
The Betta seems well - he is active and eating well, but his lovely long
fins etc are 'separating' or fraing along the lines.
The water's levels are all fine, all the fish look well.
I haven't had a beta since I was a kid, and am worried that there's
something I need to do, or is this sort of thing normal?
TIA
Judy
Ha! I suspect the kissing gourami with the mouth in the tank!
The rays in the tail are a bit more sturdy, and if the gourami is picking on the betta (quite possible) it might look like that. Does the gourami show signs of being picked on? or dominance?
Or it could be fin rot. Look at the edge for signs of damage. Keep posting!

[NetMax]

"winddancir" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> judy Wrote:
>> I took pity on a betta at the pet food place, and bought him.
>> He is in a 65 litre tank with some balloon mollies, a gold pl*co, a
>> spotted
>> pl*co, one large angel fish and one large kissing gourami ( the last
>> three
>> were from a friend of a friend and were in desperate need of a home).
>> The Betta seems well - he is active and eating well, but his lovely
>> long
>> fins etc are 'separating' or fraing along the lines.
>> The water's levels are all fine, all the fish look well.
>> I haven't had a beta since I was a kid, and am worried that there's
>> something I need to do, or is this sort of thing normal?
>> TIA
>> Judy
> Ha! I suspect the kissing gourami with the mouth in the tank!
> The rays in the tail are a bit more sturdy, and if the gourami is
> picking on the betta (quite possible) it might look like that. Does the
> gourami show signs of being picked on? or dominance?
> Or it could be fin rot. Look at the edge for signs of damage. Keep
> posting!
>
>
> --
> winddancir

As the choice of the Kissing gourami has already been taken, my guess would
be the Balloon Mollys. I know the Angelfish is a carnivore but Mollies can
have a habit of mouthing everything. You'll just have to catch them in the
act.

I don't think it's a disease as you surely would have quarantined a Betta
that you felt needed pity (damaged?).... right?
--
www.NetMax.tk

[judy]

He wsn't damaged - I just hated seeing him in the little box. his fins etc
were great until about 2 weeks ago I thought they looked a bit frayed, and
I've been watching him carefully since then.
We've had him for a couple of months now, and the gourami, angel fish and
spotted pl*co came about a month ago.
I haven't seen any dominance or aggression from the gourami, except I do
know the smallest molly has disappeared - into a mouth I think.
I think I need to do some spying on them.
Thanks for the suggestions,
Judy

> >> The Betta seems well - he is active and eating well, but his lovely
> >> long
> >> fins etc are 'separating' or fraing along the lines.
> >> The water's levels are all fine, all the fish look well.

> > Ha! I suspect the kissing gourami with the mouth in the tank!
> > The rays in the tail are a bit more sturdy, and if the gourami is
> > picking on the betta (quite possible) it might look like that. Does the
> > gourami show signs of being picked on? or dominance?
> > Or it could be fin rot. Look at the edge for signs of damage. Keep
> > posting!
> >
> >
> > --
> > winddancir
>
> As the choice of the Kissing gourami has already been taken, my guess
would
> be the Balloon Mollys. I know the Angelfish is a carnivore but Mollies
can
> have a habit of mouthing everything. You'll just have to catch them in
the
> act.
>
> I don't think it's a disease as you surely would have quarantined a Betta
> that you felt needed pity (damaged?).... right?
> --
> www.NetMax.tk
>
>

[Pammy]

judy wrote:
>
> The Betta seems well - he is active and eating well, but his lovely long
> fins etc are 'separating' or fraing along the lines.
>
> something I need to do, or is this sort of thing normal?

I wanted to ask what type of filter you have on your tank? If the
current is too strong it can damage the betta finnage. The betta may
also have some underlying bacterial infection.....please research
"betta fin rot", this is something our poor bettas frequently have.

PP

[E.Otter]

Here's my cents worth (and its probably overpriced):
1st penny) the tank water param's like pH and Temp may be fine for the other
fish but not for a betta. OR
2nd penny) if you use salt and let the salt concentration get too high (or
too high for a betta), fin shredding can occur. You would need to get a
salt tester to check this.

E.Otter

[Tynk]

The temp and pH wouldn't matter in this case.
It sounds more like a tank mate is nipping it's fins.
Bettas adapt quite well to various pH levels, as long as they're
stable.