Who Gives A Fish Forums

I'm back again, and I'm still stumped about my betta's issues. He's in a 16-gallon planted tank with two assassin snails as his tankmates, and no other fish. Last I checked, the temperature was 78, and all water conditions were within range. His diet consists of a mix of Aqueon pellets, freeze-dried brine shrimp, and blood worms.

Initially, he had some gray on his face, which didn't seem too concerning, but then his fins started fraying, and the gray spread. I got some advice here that it might be an excessive slime coat, so I treated the tank with an intensive salt treatment for a week, following the instructions to the letter.

A week or so after that treatment, I didn't see any change in his symptoms, and his fins got even more frayed. Someone then suggested treating for fungus, bacteria, and parasites, so I used Aquarium Co-op's Quarantine Trio, following the instructions.

It's been four days since that treatment ended, and I'm not seeing any signs of healing on his fins. His color is fading, the gray on his face is still there, and he's eating normally, but he seems less active than usual. His belly is also starting to swell, which might be dropsy or constipation. There's also a tiny white spot behind his gill that comes and goes, but it hasn't spread, so I'm not sure if it's ich.

I know this is a long post, but I'm really at a loss here and could use some help figuring out what's going on with my betta.

Your betta's color change and the gray on his face don't seem too out of the ordinary for these fish, but the fin and tail rot are definitely concerning. I'm wondering, did you do daily 70% water changes during the salt treatment? If not, I'd say that's a pretty crucial step you might've missed, and it's worth trying again with those water changes. If you did do the water changes, then I think it's time to consider some antibiotics. I've had good luck with Seachem Kanaplex and API Furan-2 - they're a solid combo in my opinion.

When you say your water conditions are within range, I'm assuming that means you're not detecting any nitrite or ammonia, correct?

burglar_4 wrote: ↑Tue May 06, 2025 12:07 pm When you say your water conditions are within range, I'm assuming that means you're not detecting any nitrite or ammonia, correct?

To clarify, my water readings were all good - zero ammonia and nitrite, and nitrates were around 5 ppm.

I've had him for a while now. What I'm really trying to figure out is what's going on with his health. You asked about the pH, GH, and KH - I can check those for you. To be honest, I haven't checked them recently but I can give you the readings from my last water test.

onyxlady wrote: ↑Tue May 06, 2025 3:13 pm I've had him for a while now. What I'm really trying to figure out is what's going on with his health. You asked about the pH, GH, and KH - I can check those for you. To be honest, I haven't checked them recently but I can give you the readings from my last water test.

I've had him for around 9 months now. I've never actually tested my GH and KH - I didn't have a kit for it, but I just ordered one and it's arriving on Tuesday. I did recheck my pH though, and it's currently at 8.0, which is a bit higher than usual.

onyxlady wrote: ↑Tue May 06, 2025 3:13 pm I've had him for a while now. What I'm really trying to figure out is what's going on with his health. You asked about the pH, GH, and KH - I can check those for you. To be honest, I haven't checked them recently but I can give you the readings from my last water test.

I followed the instructions to the letter.

A pH of 8 is quite high for betta fish - I'd recommend trying to get it back down to around 7, that's more suitable for them.

I'm having trouble seeing the extent of the damage in the photos - is the fin rot limited to the caudal fin or has it also affected the pectoral fins?

If it's only the caudal fin, I've seen cases where bettas inflict damage on themselves, particularly if they're feeling stressed or trying to alleviate some discomfort. I've had a few bettas in the past that would bite their own tails, which seems strange but it's something I've witnessed personally.

I'm not seeing any active fungus on the fins, am I off the mark?

Regarding the swelling, could you get a photo of your betta from directly above? I've had bettas develop dropsy after fin rot treatment, and I suspect it might be due to prolonged exposure to high salt levels.

It seems like you're doing your best to nurse him back to health, and hopefully, he's on the mend.