betta fish

[iantojonesthebetta]

Tail Biting and Fin Rot

One of the things that people consistently ask me about is how to tell the difference between tail biting and fin rot. Unfortunately, it can be a bit tricky to tell the difference if it’s your first time dealing with the problem – and it can be tricky to tell even when you’re experienced, too!

Since we’ve experienced both cases with late bettas, here is a basic look at tail biting and fin rot:

Keep reading

[fishincollege]

2017-7-24 12:12pm

Yoot has started fin biting... oh dear. Boredom? Stress? I’m not sure. I cooked a carrot and plopped it in his tank for a little bit and this was his reaction.   

Also, yes excellent music tastes~

[fishincollege]

2017-7-18 6:58pm Added some potted plants into Yoot's tank. Bamboo and java ferns. In the process of redoing the tank design completely cuz I didn't like the previous one too much.

[fishincollege]

2017-7-14 11:12am

Finished tank set up! Snails are in there...just hiding. Added a moss ball that used to be in Ricky’s tank.

[fishincollege]

2017-7-14 11:01am

Tank set up part 2

Finished setting up another tank. Going to have snails in there and let filter run for a few weeks before getting another fish.

Well maybe. Not sure if I want to get another betta fish... for now there’s just a pretty tank next to me.

[fishincollege]

2017-7-14 10:48am

Setting up another tank! This is part 1

[fishincollege]

2017-7-13 10:43pm "Food? Food? Food? Food? Food?"

[fishincollege]

2017-7-13 7:43am

FISHIE FEEDING TIME... cw: i swear a bit in this one 

Also due for a bit of tank cleaning @-@  

[fishincollege]

“You gonna feed me?” 

[fishincollege]

2017-7-12 7:33am

“lalala just minding my own business~ ...oh it’s you... k bai”

Yoot doing Yoot things...

[fishincollege]

2017-7-8 11:50pm

I scooped Ricky out of his tank. It’s so weird, being able to not only touch your fish (I didn’t touch his body, just his fins b/c originally i was gonna scoop him out with my hands, but I couldn’t bring myself to touch his body) but having him so lifeless and basically just bobbing around. His body is dense, I think due to the tumor, so he didn’t have the “float upside down” death that fish keepers commonly see and it kept sinking down the ground when ever I tried creating waves to “push” it into the jar.

Upon closer look, you can see that the tumor is a pale white and that his gills are stretched to the max. I think in the end he was struggling to get air. 

I have some regrets... I think I could have moved him into a smaller tank and decreased the water levels so that it would be easier for him to get air. But I didn’t think he would need it considering how much he was swimming yesterday. His death surprised me. I honestly thought he would make a full recovery. 

I won’t be flushing his body down the toilet since, in the case his death was caused by parasites or fungal/bacterial infection, I don’t wanna accidentally have that outbreak to ocean/river life. 

Interesting that even in death, his expression is pretty typical. His grumpy face was the most typical.

[fishincollege]

2017-7-8 11:30pm

Ricky has passed away. I found him like this in the tank after I woke up from a nap. He’s on the floor, behind the pineapple and right next to the water heater. 

I thought he was getting better since he started moving a lot more and being more responsive. Plus it seemed like the medication and treatment was effective, but in his last day, I guess he just died. He died sometime between 4pm-11pm today. He was responsive and moving around before my nap. 

The footage from yesterday’s feeding kind of makes sense. It does seem like his eye sight was deteriorating. Though, I wouldn’t have known that it would have been his last meal... since he was moving so much.

[fishincollege]

2017-7-8 1:38pm

Did a water change and replenished Ricky’s medication. He was in the salt bath at the time, so I decided to move some decorations around and add in a big tree with an are can rest on that is closer to the surface... if he would use it that is.

Water changes need to be frequent b/c I don’t have the filter on per instructions of the medicine box. Been doing partial water changes every other day.

This is a 5 gallon tank.

[fishincollege]

2017-7-8 1:31am

You can see the bump on his side. this is after 3 days of medication.

[fishincollege]

2017-7-7 6:37pm

Ricky feeding time too! Same as Yoot, but smaller portion b/c I wanna reduce bloating. He kinda missed a piece. I’m just hoping his eyesight is ok.

[fishincollege]

2017-7-7 6:28pm

Yoot feeding time! Garlic soaked blood worms! Delish! 

(yes...it’s absolutely disgusting I know alright... my fishies love it tho) 

[fishincollege]

2017-7-6

I gave Ricky an epsom salt bath to try to reduce the bloating. He seems to be doing okay with the bath. You can see Wun and Dun, the goldfish, in the background.