help with betta problem

hello all,
my betta, mellow yellow, is showing ripped tail (just the tail; other
fins are fine) these past 2 days (or eversince i changed his water).
i have 2 other bettas whose water came from the same source as mellow
but they don't have similar problem as mellow; both are fine. in all
3 bowls, i have added some small plastic plants and colorful gravels.
i think my all 3 betta are happy in their bowls; making lots of
bubbles, swimming and really have good appetites. i am feeding them
with hikaro bio-gold.

can anyone tell me what mellow might have? could it be a parasite
problem? and if it is, what is the best way to treat him? is there
any other possible caused for this ripped tail?

thank you so much for any reply!

jm

what size bowl and what is your cleaning schedule? just keep the water clean
with frequent water changes and it might have gotten snagged on t he plant
you have in there. there is this stuff called BettaFix that will make his
tail grow back, it worked great on one of my bettas.


"madilao" wrote in message
om...
hello all,
my betta, mellow yellow, is showing ripped tail (just the tail; other
fins are fine) these past 2 days (or eversince i changed his water).
i have 2 other bettas whose water came from the same source as mellow
but they don't have similar problem as mellow; both are fine. in all
3 bowls, i have added some small plastic plants and colorful gravels.
i think my all 3 betta are happy in their bowls; making lots of
bubbles, swimming and really have good appetites. i am feeding them
with hikaro bio-gold.

can anyone tell me what mellow might have? could it be a parasite
problem? and if it is, what is the best way to treat him? is there
any other possible caused for this ripped tail?

thank you so much for any reply!

jm

I agree with BLOVE that BettaFix may help speed the rate of healing in
your betta if in fact he just snagged his tail on a rough plant. Since
Bettas fins are so fragile, betta keepers commonly use what we refer
to as "the pantyhose test". Take a pair of hose and rub it along the
new decoration (plants, rocks, etc.), if it snags, it's too rough to
be kept in a betta tank. Most plastic plants are too rough, generally
silk or real plants are okay.

Additionally, you should be checking your tanks ammonia levels
regularly in an uncycled tank/bowl. Ammonia is extremely toxic to
bettas and the #1 most common ailment among them is fin rot. This is
caused by poor water conditions. Since ammonia builds up so fast in
smaller tanks it's recommended that they be kept in a bowl absolutely
no smaller then 1 gal. (2.5 gal or greater is highly recommended) Even
tanks as small as 1 gal are going to need very frequent water changes.
(Just a note: the only acceptable level of ammonia in a betta bowl is
0.)

If you post some more information about your tank set up, we'll be
able to better determine if his frayed fins are due to poor water
conditions or not. Try answering the following questions as best as
you can...

1. What size is the tank?
2. What water conditioners/additives are you using?
3. Is the tank cycled? (Referring to the biological or nitrogen cycle)
4. How much water are you changing at how often are you doing water
changes?
5. Are you using a filter, if so, what kind?
6. What is the water temperature?
7. What is the ammonia level?
8. What is the nitrite level? (also very toxic to fish)
9. What is the pH
10. How much are you feeding him at with what frequency? (Ammonia is
caused by feces, urine, and decaying food and plant matter. Dry pellet
food like Bio-Gold produces ammonia faster then live or frozen food
because more of it decays in the water. Being careful not to overfeed
your betta and removing any uneaten food will help keep ammonia at
bay)

I hope this helps a little. Since I'm not sure your level of expertise
when it comes to fish keeping, just go ahead and try to answer the
questions as best you can.



"blove" wrote in message . ..
what size bowl and what is your cleaning schedule? just keep the water clean
with frequent water changes and it might have gotten snagged on t he plant
you have in there. there is this stuff called BettaFix that will make his
tail grow back, it worked great on one of my bettas.


"madilao" wrote in message
om...
hello all,
my betta, mellow yellow, is showing ripped tail (just the tail; other
fins are fine) these past 2 days (or eversince i changed his water).
i have 2 other bettas whose water came from the same source as mellow
but they don't have similar problem as mellow; both are fine. in all
3 bowls, i have added some small plastic plants and colorful gravels.
i think my all 3 betta are happy in their bowls; making lots of
bubbles, swimming and really have good appetites. i am feeding them
with hikaro bio-gold.

can anyone tell me what mellow might have? could it be a parasite
problem? and if it is, what is the best way to treat him? is there
any other possible caused for this ripped tail?

thank you so much for any reply!

jm

Just curious ... do you think that alot of the Betta isues could be
fixed by putting the Bettas in bigger tanks with filtering systems and
heaters... anyways just a thought ... a good temp seems to help alot
of issues

Subject: help with betta problem
From: (madilao)
Date: 8/18/2004 12:16 AM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

hello all,
my betta, mellow yellow, is showing ripped tail (just the tail; other
fins are fine) these past 2 days (or eversince i changed his water).
i have 2 other bettas whose water came from the same source as mellow
but they don't have similar problem as mellow; both are fine. in all
3 bowls, i have added some small plastic plants and colorful gravels.
i think my all 3 betta are happy in their bowls; making lots of
bubbles, swimming and really have good appetites. i am feeding them
with hikaro bio-gold.

can anyone tell me what mellow might have? could it be a parasite
problem? and if it is, what is the best way to treat him? is there
any other possible caused for this ripped tail?

thank you so much for any reply!

jm

The red flag I see is that you added new platsic plants. Sometimes they may
have an edge that is a little sharp for a Betta's tail and it gets snagged and
torn.
I'd remove his plant and check it with a soft cloth or nylon is ya have one.
Find any place that it catches on and buff it smooth with a nail file or fine
sand paper.

Subject: help with betta problem
From: "blove"
Date: 8/18/2004 10:56 AM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

what size bowl and what is your cleaning schedule? just keep the water clean
with frequent water changes and it might have gotten snagged on t he plant
you have in there. there is this stuff called BettaFix that will make his
tail grow back, it worked great on one of my bettas.

Why medicate when it's not necessary?
A Betta's tail will grow back just fine on it's own. Only medicate when there
is a problem, such as fin rot.

Subject: help with betta problem
From: (Christy84065)
Date: 8/20/2004 11:03 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

Just curious ... do you think that alot of the Betta isues could be
fixed by putting the Bettas in bigger tanks with filtering systems and
heaters... anyways just a thought ... a good temp seems to help alot
of issues

They should be kept in heated tanks..(.or kept in a heated fish room). These
are warm water tropicals that prefer temps warmer than a lot of common tropical
fish.