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Post by babygeige on Oct 5, 2008 21:53:15 GMT -5
I removed Sally (my female betta) from my 30 gallon tank because her fins, especially the tail looked a little beat up. I never saw anyone pick on her, but I took her out just to be on the safe side. I am wondering if she may not have been getting quite enough food, being in there with so many faster swimming fish. I tried to make sure she get food, but sometimes I didn't have time to watch. Could that be a cause of fin deterioration? Water parameters were fine and no one else was having any problems. Another possibility is age, isn't it?
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Post by eve on Oct 6, 2008 0:49:30 GMT -5
on age, it really depends on how old she is as they can live pretty long provided with the right conditions
it kinda sounds like finrot, but could you get some pics of her?
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Post by Carl on Oct 6, 2008 10:29:19 GMT -5
As Eve stated, some pics may help and fin rot may be a possibility. However often diseases such as fin rot have root causes, so your original thoughts may be on track. Watch for stress from other fish, which may include less available food consumed. Try varying the diet or feeding worms soaked in Spirulina 20 to enhance them (gut loading live black worms with Spirulina 20 has worked VERY well for me, although even FD worms or frozen worms can be soaked in a soup of this stuff, albeit not quite as effective). Age is also a stressor as well, how old do you suspect he is? Carl
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Post by babygeige on Oct 6, 2008 22:24:39 GMT -5
I have no idea how old she is. She's a Petsmart refugee, so who knows? I've had her for 10 months. I would think that females spend a lot more time on the shelf than a male. Is that usually the case, do you think? As for diet, I have Aqueon flakes, Spirulina 20, frozen brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms, and the occasional zucchini. Plus now that she's been by herself, I've been throwing in Betta Bio Gold pellets too. I tried to get a picture. I got 2 crappy shots in before she decided that was enough and went hiding behind some plants. I shall try again tomorrow. Her bottom fin is almost completely healed and her tail isn't far behind. I moved her to the hospital tank 2 weeks ago. (Sorry for neglecting that bit of info yesterday ) At this point I'm just trying to figure out where to put her when she's healed up. Back to the 30? To the 10 with platies and whiteclouds? Too much thought! If I can narrow down the causes for the fin problem, I'm thinking maybe it would help me make a decision.
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Post by 8 in the Corner on Oct 6, 2008 23:13:22 GMT -5
I would think that females spend a lot more time on the shelf than a male. Is that usually the case, do you think? As for diet, I have Aqueon flakes, Spirulina 20, frozen brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms, and the occasional zucchini. Plus now that she's been by herself, I've been throwing in Betta Bio Gold pellets too. Her bottom fin is almost completely healed and her tail isn't far behind. I moved her to the hospital tank 2 weeks ago. (Sorry for neglecting that bit of info yesterday ) At this point I'm just trying to figure out where to put her when she's healed up. Back to the 30? To the 10 with platies and whiteclouds? Too much thought! If I can narrow down the causes for the fin problem, I'm thinking maybe it would help me make a decision. BG, You haven't said if you are medicating Sally or not. If not, and her fins are healing up good, she was probably getting picked on because bettas are kind of slow moving and easy targets.
If you are medicating her, then congratulations on curing her.
Your list of foods is excellent. A good diet and low stress is the best thing for her now. I never saw a betta eat zucchini, though (I like it a lot).
Once Sally is back to good health, I would put her in the 10 with the platies and whiteclouds. They are great non-agressive fish and shouldn't bother her at all.
John
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Post by eve on Oct 7, 2008 0:14:23 GMT -5
I definitely agree with what John said here
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Post by babygeige on Oct 7, 2008 16:12:37 GMT -5
I did medicate her for about a week with Melafix, then stopped. She's been healing fine without it. Thanks for the advice. That's kind of what I was leaning toward, but I was looking for some smarter opinions than just mine. Thanks again. I'll keep you posted.
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