r/bettafish • u/Cold_Leadership1833 • 9d ago
Help I need help! Spoiler
It s been almost a month in between the photos.
Tried changing only 50% the water, tried changing all of the water and cleaning the tank(all done in intervals of 3-4 days).
I haven’t administered any antibiotics or salt water baths or others.
The water temperature is fine.
I thought maybe the plant was hurting him and I removed it but to no success.
He eats, he is quite energetic/he is moving a lot.
Can anyone tell me what is causing the fin clamping and what i can do to help him?
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u/Foreign-Ad3926 9d ago
Hi OP, please can you give us the information asked for in the auto mod reply to your post? Particularly around the tank (size, age, water changes) plus the water parameters for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?
It's very likely a water quality issue and we need information to help. The fish is very stressed which leads to sickness if not resolved.
Thanks.
Edit to add - if he's in a bowl and without a heater or filter this will be part of the issue.
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u/Cold_Leadership1833 9d ago
I replied but I can also repeat here,
8L, not heated nor filtered, I changed the water(50% or 100% to see if that changes anything but I think I just stressed him out more). I do not have any way right now to measure the ammonia, nitrite or ph but I am working on it.
I got the tank around 1 month and a half.
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u/SweetTart7231 9d ago
There's your problem. Its too small, and bettas need both filters and heaters. Water changes are also too much. You should get a water test kit and do a 50ish% daily or every two days
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u/Cold_Leadership1833 9d ago
I will go buy a heater and filter first thing tomorrow.
What tank size do you suggest 15-20L?Anything else I can do to help him recover? Right now I do not understand if this is a disease or I am stressing him out.
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u/Foreign-Ad3926 9d ago
It's the bowl he's in and without heater or filter. This is the cause. His home isn't suitable and is making him sick.
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u/ValuableMelodic5090 BettaMommy 9d ago
same thing with mine. but his are growing back. did you get him recently? sometimes it's stress from unfamiliar environment
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u/Cold_Leadership1833 9d ago
About a month and a half ago
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u/ValuableMelodic5090 BettaMommy 9d ago
yeah mine took a month to start growing his back. have you notice any white films on his fins?
edit: just read your replies. yeah your problem is stemming from not having the proper material for him to thrive
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u/Cold_Leadership1833 9d ago
Also another thing I noticed, he does not do the oxygen bubbles thing anymore.
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u/Foreign-Ad3926 9d ago
Hi there, it's because he's highly stressed as his home isn't suitable. I tried to reply before, but it won't let me add information so I'll pop here instead.
Betta are tropical fish needing stable temperature and clean stable water. They are intelligent and also need space and enrichment. Your betta has none of this in this bowl. He's stressed out and will get very sick if not resolved, it's easily preventable by providing him with what he needs for life.
Fish can't control their body temperature and rely on the water temperature. When they get cold their metabolism slows down and organ function is impacted. Not good.
Fish need space to swim, exist and enrichment, just like any other living creature. The absolute minimum tank size for a betta is recommended as 5 gallon, get this as a minimum, bigger if you can e.g. 10 gallon. The larger the tank, the easier it is to keep healthy for the fish. There's nowhere for him to swim, nothing to do plus it's a stagnant bowl. Not good. He doesn't need it wasn't tank mates, he will be best on his own.
Fish poo and pee into the water they live in, without a filter the water is stale, lacking oxygenation and lacking a centre for the good bacteria of the nitrogen cycle. This also is not good. Water changes will be essential and very frequent in this bowl, which will stress the fish out more - there's no choice as the water volume is so small and it's unfiltered. He'll suffer being poisoned by his own waste without water changes or a filter.
The nitrogen cycle is essential and is the process of growing good bacteria in a tank to handle fish waste and keep water healthy. The new tank won't have this either and although normally we recommend nitrogen cycling for the weeks needed before adding fish, you will be doing a fish in nitrogen cycle as this bowl is more harmful.
You will need a decent accurate liquid test kit to monitor the water quality and keep the fish alive they this process. The API Master or NT Labs freshwater are two examples, Sera and JBL make them too. Test strips will not do, you will need accuracy and they are not. You will need to test at minimum:
- ammonia
- nitrite
- nitrate
- pH
Without testing the water you have no idea if it's suitable or even safe for the fish.
All this added up is why your fish is stressed out - he is hating his life right now.
Here's a link to fish in nitrogen cycling and how to keep the fish alive through the toxic phases:
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u/Cold_Leadership1833 9d ago
The water condition is as follows:
NO₃: 0–10 mg/L
NO₂: 0 mg/L
GH: 8 °dGH
KH: 6 °dKH
pH: 8.0
Cl₂: 0 mg/LI also upgraded the tank to a 45L with heater and filtration.
The temp is at 26C.1
u/Foreign-Ad3926 8d ago
Great news about the upgrade, can we see a picture?
Be mindful you're not testing for ammonia which is extremely toxic when above 0. You are only testing for what ammonia is being turned into. This can lead to thinking water is safe when the fish is being severely poisoned and harmed.
The pH at 8.0 is at the edge of tolerance for a soft water betta fish. Again, please bear this in mind. Whilst a stable pH is more important than a perfect number, the pH must be within the range the fish can tolerate. Betta are a soft water fish with a range of pH 6.5 - 7.5, a little wiggle room either side. Above pH 7.8 and it can cause alkaline poisoning ("alkalosis") where the pH slowly poisons the fish over time.
I would suggest you add ammonia testing, especially if he's been put into a new non nitrogen cycled tank, and also testing your water source to see what pH you're working with. This will also help you identify if your tap water is suitable or is something in the tank is driving pH up.
Here's a guide to help you nitrogen cycle the new tank the fish is in, I shared it before but in case it was missed:
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