BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Fish Concerned about my babies...

I was changing my boys' water today and I noticed that my baby boy Blue has got holes in the middle of his fins. I don't know what that is. I always thought that fin rot started at the end of the fins. I have removed his plastic plant to see if that will help. He is a very skittish fish ever since I got him. I thought he would grow out of it, but even when I just walk past his tank he goes haywire and hits the side of the tank.

Then, for a while now, I have noticed that Max has little fuzzies around the tip of his fins. I saw a thread on this earlier to change his water, and every time I change the water, it still is there.

I do weekly water changes, and use test strips all the time to moniter them. I hope someone can help me. I love my boys and don't want them to be sick.

Thanks in advance!

I'm very sorry your babies are sick. Are they Betta Fish? What kind of fish are they? Are they in the same tank together? What is the size of your tank? How long have you had Blue and Max? we need more specific information to give you more answers. Please post more info on your babies' living situation.

Fin rot doesn't necessarily start at the end of the fins. If he's a Betta Fish, you could try Betta Fix, in addition to doing complete water changes more often. Since you removed his plant, does he have anything else to hide behind or under? He could be skittish because he doesn't have the comfort of his own little hideout - a respite from the world when he needs it.

The fuzzies could be Ick. More frequent, complete water changes help, but also the old-fashioned salt bath.

Also, how long has it been since you set up this tank? You know you can't put the fish in right away, right? And, please get a water test kit and test your water right away if you have not done it, yet. What is the water temperature of their tank?

Could you send us a photo or video of your fishes in their tank?

Hope this helps. I hope they are getting better. Please update us - and more detail about your fish and their environment would allow us to help you more.

Hey thanks. They are both bettas. I actually have three of them, all in separate tanks. They are just the small plastic ones you get at the fish store. They all have castles and trees (except for the one I removed from Blue's tank). I have had Max since about mid October, and I got Blue at the end of November.

I just ran out of the test kits, I will go and get some more tomorrow. Last time I checked (last Saturday) all their levels were normal. Their tanks are sitting right now at about 75 degrees. I will also try to get some pictures up, however I am still not very good at getting clear pictures.

I add salt to their water each time I change it. I also keep a very close eye on the water temperature as I am a basement suite and worry about it getting too cold.

I hope that is enough information. I added some betta fix to Blue's tank, and some ick meds to Max's, so I will keep an eye on their fins. Thanks for all your expertise and help, I am still a fairly new betta mommy.