Betta Friend Posted August 27, 2007 Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 I have a small tropical tank. We have 1 male fighter, 1 cat fish and 4 neon Tetras. We noticed the blue fighter not being very active and 1 side fin is clenched. We have changed water, treated for fungal infection and added a small amount of salt over the last 2 weeks. the fin still remains clenched. He is still eating well however. Can i please have some suggestions to help our little friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.qian Posted August 27, 2007 Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 what's the water parameters? What do you mean by clenched? got a pic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betta Friend Posted August 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2007 I'm not sure waht you mean by parameter? The fin seems to be rolled up, looks a bit like a stump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.qian Posted August 28, 2007 Report Share Posted August 28, 2007 what's your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betta Friend Posted August 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2007 How do I test that? I have been to the pet shop - nothing was mentioned about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 28, 2007 Report Share Posted August 28, 2007 When you have a sick fish the first thing to check is the water quality as 99.9% of the time this is what the problem is. Some fish are more sensitive to poor or bad water conditions than others. The most important things to test are the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels as this will tell you about the water quality. You can buy test kits from the shop or some shops will test the water for you. What size is your tank, how long has it been set up and what sort of filtration does it have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betta Friend Posted August 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2007 The tank is 22litres. It is a AquaOne tank, filter (charcol and wool) and heater came with it. We have had it set up for about 9mths with no problems until now. The problem started when we moved house and the tank got left for a couple of weeks. We have tried to correct things by changing water 20% weekly. They look happier but the Fighters fin is still clumped up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.qian Posted August 28, 2007 Report Share Posted August 28, 2007 You should change the water 20% weekly anyway, not just to correct things, in fact 20% weekly is sometimes not enough. In a small ammonia, nitrite and nitrate can get to very high levels that can be lethal to the fish. I strongly recommend you to buy a test kit for at least ammonia and nitrite, so you know where you water is at, nitrate as well but if you don't want to spend too much you can leave nitrate out for later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betta Friend Posted August 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2007 Will look at a kit today then post the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betta Friend Posted August 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Have had water tested, all is good there. Any other suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 What exactly were the test results? Have you changed (or removed) the charcoal since you set up? Charcoal only works for 2 or 3 months then starts creating problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Charcoal only works for 2 or 3 months then starts creating problems. The charcoal will also have removed any medication that you have used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Any other suggestions? Do you know the fishes history? Is it local bred or imported? I've been picking up on the forum that some people are having trouble keeping thier imported Bettas healthy. It may be a weak speciman from overseas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 which fin are we talking about (side fin?), you mean the one by its gills? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted September 1, 2007 Report Share Posted September 1, 2007 MarkLB is right and not something I thought to say earlier. If you treated with fungal meds without removing the charcoal then the meds would have been removed from the water (by the charcoal) before having a chance to do anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betta Friend Posted September 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2007 Not sure about where this fish came from - been healthy over the last year though. Test results were : PH 7, Ammonia 0, Nitrate 10, Nitrite 0 We have changed the Charcol about 6weekly. The filter was turned off for 3 days while we medicated the tank for fungal infection. It is the fin by the gills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted September 1, 2007 Report Share Posted September 1, 2007 Sorry I have no idea what it is unless the fin has been damaged or torn by something in the tank or another fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betta Friend Posted September 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2007 Would snails in the tank affect fish like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted September 2, 2007 Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 what sort of snails? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betta Friend Posted September 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 Not sure what they are. They have a plain dark brown shell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted September 2, 2007 Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 I have heard that sometimes snails do cling to things but don't really know. Post this in the diseases sections - it will probably get more people looking at it. Someone will know more than me! :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betta Friend Posted September 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 Thanks for your help, will try the dieases section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimebag Posted September 2, 2007 Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 probably wasnt a great idea to turn the filter off for 3 days, would have been better to remove the carbon and leave it running Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted September 2, 2007 Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 Ditto to what dimebag said re: turning off filter. You should never turn you're filter off, of course, unless cleaning :roll: Yes, keep that in mind that anytime you add medication to your tank to remove the carbon. Not familiar with bettas but hope he/she gets back to "normal" real soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted September 10, 2007 Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 Hi Betta. How is your Fighter doing?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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