bozco Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Some of you might recall that my bettas jumped a tank divider and got into a fight while I was out of the room. Well I put them in their own bowls to heal and one looks as good as new but the others doesn't seem to be growing his fins back, infact I think he's losing them. Is it possible that the snails in the bowl have been eating his fins during the night? Anyway, I'm taking the snails out Just wanted to know if the snails would do that. I've heard of them eating dead fish but this seemed a little odd to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloeclose Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 No it's not the snails. Sometimes it takes a very long time for betta fins to grow back and sometimes they just never do. Or sometimes they will grow out a bit and then they will get 'blown' all over again... with some of my guys it's a never ending cycle. I believe this has a lot to do with the shoddy conditions a lot of pet stores keep their bettas in. I quite frequently have bettas with problem fins and tails that I 'rescued' from one of the evil big box chain stores. But the CT I bought from Gold's has beautiful finnage that just keeps on growing. Pristine water conditions, and good quality food should help. Also if you have too much current in your tank that could be hindering the growth as well. Some people swear by Melafix by I have never found it to help. Also it is possible that your betta due to stress and open wounds from the fight, succumbed to fin rot. Are the edges of his fins black or clear? Bloody at all? Fin rot can be treated with Maracyn 2. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bozco Posted March 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 No current at all, I moved him back into a 1 gal container with a few live plants. He is eating that new nutrafin max plus food, shrimp somedays, bloodworms on others. He eats great, just his fins aren't growing back nearly as fast as the other one's. I checked for fin rot first, no black or clear or blood or anything, just looks like somebody trimmed him with scissors. I know what you mean about bettas in stores. I actually buy mine from Sunnyside, they keep their bettas in glass bowel, about half a gal to 1 gal, so you can actually see the fins. These guys looked awsome before the little accident. Its amazing what they can do in five minutes. Now, I change the water once a week. But I've been told so many things about keeping bettas in bowls that I don't know what I should be doing anymore. Some people have told me to change the water everyday, and other people tell me to leave it for a few weeks. This is why I like keeping them in community tanks with a filter. But after a week they've usually got a good bubble nest going. So, is once a week ok, or should I change it more often until his fins grow back? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloeclose Posted March 12, 2005 Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 There IS a lot of conflicting info on betta keeping out there isn't there? I have done both ways, 100% water changes every X number of days and keeping them in filtered tanks. To be honest I have found that they do better in 100% wc's. If you've got him in a 1 gal bowl with plants, changing once a week may or may not be sufficient. How's that for a clear answer!? What I would do is get a cheap ammonia tester and test every day, once you see even a trace of ammonia, then you know to change all the water on the day before. For example, if on day five you see ammonia then you know to change his water every 4 days. Each betta is different and produce wastes at different rates, so you should do this for each one, assuming you have more than one kept this way. Some of mine can go as long as 7 days and some are every 3... messy little buggers! Also how many plants you have makes a difference as well. What kind of plants do you have in there? I like java fern the best, because of it's hardiness and that it does not require much light at all. The boys love to snuggle in 'em too... You don't want a plant in there that's not going to do well and add to the waste level due to dead or dying leaves etc. Some plants, such as egeria densa have been known to be notorious 'fin shredders' as well, so you'd wanna avoid those. Hopefully you just have a 'slow grower' on your hands, doesn't sound like fin rot at all. But be aware that sometimes they just don't ever grow back to what they were. The betta that I had catch his fins on the divider never did grow his back fully... Which really p'd me off 'cuz he had beautiful fins for a veil tail. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bozco Posted March 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 Hygrophila polysperma I think, and a little bit of penny wort. Usually they are just trimming from my tanks when the plants in there grow to thick I throw some into the betta bowls. Thanks very much for the help, I may try that ammonia testing thing, I've got a kit already. Hopefully these two are nice enough to be on the same schedual Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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