Hi all. This is my first time owning a betta, responsibly. I got this guy about a month ago from Petsmart. (I know, but there are literally no other options where I live, aside from Petco). He seemed a bit small when we first bought him, so I assumed he was a growing boy.
However, last week I noticed some jaggedness to his fins. He shares a tank with a nerite snail and I use only live plants, so the jagged edges were concerning me. I'm actually helpless at seeing the signs of rot, I've watched countless videos and have seen countless photos. The consensus is the fins start to blacken, and it looks like there might be black on the tip of his back fin. I could also be paranoid.
So, is this fin rot or do fins start to look different as the betta matures? For reference also, petsmart had him listed as a Dumbo Halfmoon. The first two photos were taken when I first brought him home. The last two photos are from today.
P.S His name is Billy the Bandit. He seemed like a trouble maker once he was in his new tank, so I named him after my grandpa that passed last year, who was also a trouble maker.
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1sxaup1
Posted by Jukeboxx93
4 Comments
It does look like some mild fin rot to me. Do you have a liquid test kit to test your parameters?
i see growth, not rot. rot usually has black edges.
Hi OP, are you able to provide your water parameters, tank size, temperature, and if you have a heater/filter? Has your tank been cycled?
What you’re seeing could potentially be an early indicator of fin rot. However, it’s also common to see some transparency at the edges of their fins when new growth is coming in. Sharing your parameters and giving us some more insight on your tank can help us to better pin down what’s going on here! 🙂
Eta: my bad, I just realized that the first two pictures you included were the before, and the last two are the after. The first photos look like new fin growth, but the recent ones unfortunately do look like it could be the start of fin rot. It could also be from fin nipping/snagging. Are you certain there’s no rough decor or anything in the tank that he may be getting caught on?
Yeah mild fin rot. One course of kanaplex and stabilizing your water and using tannins should fix it right up