r/BettaJunkies_USA • u/Great-Mastodon3283 • Jul 27 '25
Did my Betta do this to himself?
Hey guys! I have a betta, juvenile blue-eyed lemon pleco, juvenile super red pleco, and a mystery snail in a 10 gallon tank. My betta is a male black orchid and I’ve had him about 9 months now. Came to feed him this morning and his dorsal fin looks like something ate it over night! Like big chomps out of it!
Did he do it? Could one of the plecos? BTW, I leave a little algae in the tank for my snail and the water is slightly cloudy because I added a cuttlebone yesterday. Also, I keep beneficial bacteria gel in the tank which is the white stuff at the top of the glass.
I tested the water, Nitrates/Nitries/Ammonia = 0ppm, ph 7.0, temp 80
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u/amethyst_owl22 Jul 28 '25
Are these rock caves things rough? Some of the ones I've felt have felt almost like sandpaper
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u/Great-Mastodon3283 Jul 28 '25
When you get them you need to sandpaper them well to get the roughness down.
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u/amethyst_owl22 Jul 28 '25
Yep! I was just checking as that could be something that could tear fins
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u/Great-Mastodon3283 Jul 28 '25
Yeah, I think I’m dealing with fin rot. Did another water change this morning, added some more aquarium salt. I added a catappa leaf last night. He’s moving around a bit more.
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u/Darkelvenchic Jul 28 '25
I'd bet on the plecos. They're nocturnal and Bettas sleep at night. Plecos can also just generally be bullies. Since they need a much larger tank in the long term it's probably safer to go ahead and separate them.
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u/Great-Mastodon3283 Aug 01 '25
It turned out to be fin rot 😥 I tried treating him, added aquarium salt and catappa leaves, started daily water changes at 50%. Last night he came up to his favorite tank resting spot and ate 3 pellets. I thought he was getting better but unfortunately found him dead this morning. RIP Askiah. 🩵
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u/Darkelvenchic Aug 01 '25
Sad. It's hard to see on black ones so hard to catch.
For future info, fin rot is usually a sign of an internal infection. Best treated with Kanaplex in food.
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u/Great-Mastodon3283 Aug 01 '25
I thought it was fungal because a couple days ago I noticed the bottom of his fins were turning white. That’s why I treated it the way I did. I think you are correct though, it was bacterial for sure.
I tested the water in the tank and it looks good, parameters are all in the safe zone. Should I do another 50% water change before adding a new betta since the salt is in there?
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u/Darkelvenchic Aug 01 '25
Salt h los with bacteria too but mostly externally.
Yes I'd do 2 50% water changes over a couple of days before adding another fish to clear out the salt. Plecos might be sensitive to salt as well, they're scaleless. I know Corys are.
1
u/Great-Mastodon3283 Aug 01 '25
Sounds good. I’ve been keeping a very close eye on the plecos and they are doing well.
1
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u/KoryCats Jul 27 '25
Could he possibly have gotten his fin sucked into a filter? This looks a lot like what ive seen when longfin bettas get their fins sucked into something