Does my betta have tail rot disease?

Question

Hi,

I have a 3 feet aquarium. I used to have three bettas for about a month, but for the last couple of days, I don’t see one of the small ones (they told me at the fish store that it was a female). I assume its dead. Today I see that one of the bettas has shredded tail or you can say no tail at all (I can actually see its bare back). Apparently this is a female betta. I transferred it to a fish bowl, although my husband thought I was worrying over nothing and thought it should be left in the aquarium. I have taken some pictures of the fish, and you can see them at:

http://pets.webshots.com/album/560042890sLUEaW

I think I saw the two fish mating few days back, the other betta had its tail wrapped around this one, and when this one tried to break loose, both the bettas got part of their tails torn. I have the following questions:

1. Is this a female betta? Could it be that both the bettas are males?
2. Does my betta have tail rot disease? In that case what should I do? The only medicines I got are AquaCleaner, Aquarium salt and some anti bacterial medicine for goldfish (which among other things prevents goldfish fin rot). In the pet stores here, there are no meds for bettas.
3. Is there any way I can determine the nitrite level in my aquarium other than the kits available in pet stores (in my case, not available in the pet stores here)?

Somehow my bettas don’t seem very aggressive and seems to get along fine with the other fish. I have also placed the bowl before a mirror to see if it gets aggressive. It is also not eating anything, probably because of the new environment. Please help.

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The one in the bowl is now dead. The one in the aquarium is half dead. So basically I have lost 2 bettas in less than a week. But I have had them for the past one month, and I have seen two of the grown bettas swim past one another without flaring. I recently added tiger barbs and guppies to my tank. Are the tiger barbs responsible in any way? Are the fish dying of fin rot or fight?

My husband says both the bettas looked fine this morning. I was busy with the betta in the bowl all day long, and noticed the terrible condition of the betta in the tank an hour ago. I thought it was dead. Can fin rot cause death so quickly? I cannot add too much med or salt to the tank because of the plants. What should I do now with the betta that looks almost dead?

Answer 1

Hi,

I know I'm jumping in a bit late and thanks to Luvinlife for the heads up on your question.

Despite the fact that it appears your bettas are getting along well, what you are seeing is the result of fighting or at least in part.

Bettas are peaceful fish when it comes to other fish and if a problem occurs with Bettas and other fish inthe same tank, it's usually the Bettas getting picked on, not doing the picking.

The sick fish appears to be a male to me. If you saw it and another Betta appear to be spawning, there would be a bubble nest (small area of floating foam) in the tank and the male would be guarding it. It's quite possible what you saw was a fight. Bettas fins rarely get damaged during the actual breeding embrace, it's when they are done and he chases her away froi the nest that the damage is done most often.

In one of your photos, the fish appears to have lost much of it's color around the back 1/3 or so of it's body. Maybe this is just a reflection or something, but if it has lost that color it does indeed have fin rot. I would suggest you use the antibacterial medication you have or check in a local Walmart for Fungus Eliminator, it too would do a pretty good job of clearing up the problem. You can also look for tetracycline or Maracyn in your pet stores, those would work well. Just follow the directions on the package.

Another thing to remember, meds don't have to just be for bettas to help your fish, if you find tetracycline for tropical fish or for goldfish, it's all the same and can be used on your betta.

To help clear up any potential bacterial or fungus diseases on your fish, I woudl suggest you add 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon to his container. Salt at that amount will act almost as a medication on it's own, but will really help other medications as well.

The only way to test for nitrites in your tank is with a test kit. If they are not available in your area, ask the shop to order one for you or of course you can find them online from most fish supply places. I would suggest gettign the master kit that will test for nitrite as well as ammonia and several others test you may need to do from time to time.

Keep your bettas separate and for now treat the sick one and until his tail grows back at least 1/2 way, he needs to stay in a separate container from any other fish. A small tank would be best, but if that container is a bowl, change his water every day. That will hep his tail to regrow properly.

Hope that helps

MM

Answer 2

That poor Betta! You have done a few things wrong with Betta's which cause this.
1. I see you have a Angel Fish which is a aggressive fish and will eat your smaller fish when it gets larger.
2.From the pictures you posted the fish is a male which shouldn't be house with other Betta's or aggressive fish.
3. No the fish doesn't have fin rot. It has been ripped to shredds being with another Betta and a angel fish.
4. You need to purchase some antibiotic. Most antibiotics for any other kind of fish will work. If the fish isn't treated quickly it could cause death. Try to find one of these ..Ampicillex, Maracyn-Two, Maroxy, or antibiotic food. The key to keeping your Betta healthy is water changes especially when their fins have been torn. It also looks like in your pics that it's head has a gash on it as well. You can add 1 teaspoon of aquarium salt for every 5 gallons to help keep him healthy. Also the water temperature is a big factor in healing. Try to keep the bowl in a warm place or buy a micro heater set between 76-82 F. You may want to remove the other Betta from the tank away from the Angel fish and please do NOT place the male Betta's together again. And you should remove the mirror the fish has been stressed enough.

Answer 3

none of the pictures look like females. fin length is not a great way to assume gender, some males have short tails, veiltails have long tails, but this doens't mean a short tailed betta is a male.

between the mix of fish you have, undoubtedly the fish are fighting. you should separate the bettas ASAP. I would recommend finding them new home because I'm sure you don't want 2 or 3 heated and filtered 2.5gallon aquariums in addition to your 3foot one.

for now, find each betta a contain, try for at least a gallon and fill it with tank water. DO NOT put them by a mirror. they are stressed and hurt and possibly sick, you do not want to stress them out more. don't try to feed them for a day or two. they probably won't eat anyway. do 100% water changes in these containers at least every three days. continue this until you can provide them with their own tanks or new homes, but please don't use them as permanent homes.

good luck

Answer 4

i think of a sturdy therapy for finrot is Maracyn or Maracyn 2. the only factor is which you will desire to make advantageous to no longer over dose the water. i replaced into no longer able to locate the hyperlink to the therapy breakdown in step with gallon and that i can't remember what I did final time I used it, yet i'm additionally uncertain what length tank you have. The remedies are directed for a 10 gallon tank, even nevertheless it is going to likely be uncomplicated adequate to interrupt that down, perhaps... Its a sturdy sign that the finrot has no longer made her rigidity, there could be dissimilar time to get her decrease back to known. be advantageous to do a partial water exchange in the previous beginning therapy, and don't mixture drugs. If essential wait an afternoon or 2 and do a partial water exchange in the previous beginning the recent meds, in case you choose that direction.

Answer 5

The one that you put in the bowl is a male. They could have fought and killed the female. But if one of your bettas have like their tail is all bunched up at the tips then it is not a tail rot it's just what happens to bettas one of mine ( Velvet ) has that problem and it is clearing up just feed them normally and clean their water every few days and it will clear up. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

Sounds like they fought, and the male killed the female. Pretty common, that is why breeders leave females and males together in the tank for a few hours then pull out the females..