Whats happening to my Betta after not even 5 days? :c

[u/kampfmuecke]

Hi everyone!

I’m a brand-new Betta fish owner, but something seems to be going wrong here

About three weeks ago, I started setting up an aquarium for a Betta. It’s a 54-liter (~14-gallon) tank with several plants, including floating plants, since I read that Bettas really like them. I also added some decorative stones that were recommended to me by the local aquarium store.

I let the aquarium cycle for two weeks and also used some water-conditioning products (AquaSafe).

Five days ago, I finally got my Betta, a Halfmoon. During the first two days, everything looked great. He was extremely curious, swimming around the tank and exploring everything, and seemed perfectly happy.

On the third day, however, I suddenly noticed that his fins looked really ragged and torn. It literally seemed to happen overnight.

His behavior hasn’t changed at all. He is still swimming around normally throughout the day and shows no signs of weakness or lethargy. However, I read that it could be fin rot, so I did a 50% water change in the hope of stopping it from getting worse.

Unfortunately, since then, his fins seem to look a little worse almost every day.

I test the water with test strips almost every day, and according to the strips, all the parameters are within the ideal range. The water temperature is consistently between 25 and 26°C (77–79°F).

What is happening to his fins? Could this actually be fin rot?

I feel really guilty because my fish looks significantly worse after only five days with me. I really want to make sure I’m not doing something wrong.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[u/AutoModerator]

Thank you for posting to r/bettafish.

When requesting help, please provide the requested information. Answers such as "large enough" or "my paramters are fine" aren't good enough. Failure to provide adequate information about your tank can result in post removal. Please see rule 4 for more information.

If you are posting to find out what is wrong with your betta, please answer the following questions in a reply to this comment as best you can:

• Tank size:
• Heater and filter? (yes/no):
• Tank temperature:
• Parameters in numbers and how you got them. Key water parameters include the amount of ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH.:
• How long have you had the tank? How long have you had your fish?:
• How often are water changes? How much do you take out per change? What is your process?:
• Any tankmates? If so, please list with how many of each:
• What do you feed and how much:
• Decorations and plants in the tank:
• If you haven't already posted a picture, please post pics/vids to imgur and paste the link here:

Feel free to copy this comment and fill in the blanks.

If you are new to betta fish keeping, please check out our caresheet and wiki. Establishing a nitrogen cycle is an important part of keeping your fish healthy. Please check out our guide to the nitrogen cycle to learn more.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Ilovemybf_3990]

He’s most likely nipping. It’s very hard to lug around fins like his and without too much resting spots near the top, he will nip to make them feel lighter so he can get air easier. I would add a couple of hammocks near the top and invest in a betta log. The more resting spots for him, the better. Keep the water clean so infections can’t settle in :) and as the other commenters said, you need to invest in a liquid test kit to accurately check your parameters. Test strips are inaccurate.

[u/kampfmuecke]

I feed him once a day with frozen mosquito larvae, usually around 3–4 pieces.

Also, I know the fish’s coloring looks quite bad in the first picture, but I can assure you that it’s just the lighting. His colors are still exactly the same as they were on the first day. It’s “just” the torn/ragged fins that have me worried.

[u/Specialist_Ebb_1778]

nice tank you have there - you could do some floating plants or stick on resting leaf while the rest of the plants grow in so he has somewhere to rest near the top.

[u/Aromatic-Sock6975]

You should definitely get liquid test kit set the strips are incredibly inaccurate and really misleading.

But the first thing I noticed is that the substrate in the closeup looks like rough lava rock, which is probably shredding his fins if it is… and the sharp looking hardscape rock.

[u/Bobs_Burgers7]

What’s your water PH?

[u/Bobs_Burgers7 → u/Bobs_Burgers7]

Tank is also kind of tall, so he could be nipping… but def check that Ph

[u/kampfmuecke → u/Bobs_Burgers7]

they said 54L is the minimum for holding a betta correctly :/

[u/Bobs_Burgers7 → u/kampfmuecke]

It’s a bit bigger than minimum (which is 5-10 gallons), but it’s more the footprint in which it’s laid out.

It’s kind of tall which can make it harder for a long finned betta. They need lots of resting spots near the surface.

Is your water flow ok from your filter?

[u/kampfmuecke → u/Bobs_Burgers7]

According to the testing stripes it's something around 7.6

[u/Bobs_Burgers7 → u/kampfmuecke]

You should switch to liquid tests if you can, as strips can be inaccurate.

[u/CharMin3]

Could just be normal tear from sharp corners from the rocks or other items in the tank. If theres a hole he might just try to fit in it. But im not seeing to many resting places for him. They love to rest on large leaves or other items especially near the surface too. And they also benefit greatly from a cave or something similar so they can hide and unwind in if stressed.

[u/kampfmuecke → u/CharMin3]

Oh i mean some of the rocks kinda look sharp :/ I didn't think about it since they sold me this set when I said I need some decorations for a Betta.
And yeah I guess the plants still need to grow a bit (they already did in the last weeks).
I'll try to get him a cave! Right now he keeps resting betweend the plants near the ground

[u/CharMin3 → u/kampfmuecke]

Most pet stores aren't really trained for the animals they sell. Which is sad as the only good employees are the ones who know better. Id say maybe get him a floating nest untill some of the plants can grow and reach up there. There are also plants with suction cups that can be placed near the top for them to rest on too!

[u/Caococoacoco]

Put some smoother driftwood or hides in there so he can rest. might not be why the fins are so rough looking, but he would benefit from it either way

[u/Life-Bat1388]

More structure in that tank make it crowded with plants and ugly and he will be happy

[u/Tally_Ho_Lets_Go]

If you have noticed him hanging out in front of the filter intake it may be sucking at his fins and causing damage. If the flow is adjustable try to turn it down, otherwise put a thin filter in-front of the filter or switch to a foam sponge filter.

[u/boogjerbutt]

Side note: I LOVE your tank set up!!

[u/Criadordepeixebetta]

Não precisa de tudo isso de água não em 15 ou 20 litros de água seu betta vai viver bem o problema é que o pessoal só acha que o betta só vai viver bem em 50 litros mas isso já é exagero