BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Fish Help! Blue male fighter fin disappearing..

I have a small tropical tank. We have 1 male fighter, 1 cat fish and 4 neon Tetras. We noticed the blue fighter has got 1 side fin which is clenched also the fin on the same side but under his body is looking ragged, it seems to be pushing his gill out on that side too. We have changed water, treated for fungal infection and added a small amount of salt over the last 4 weeks. the fin still remains clenched. He is eating ok. The water has been tested and that is all good. We have also treated for snails too.
He is starting to look very lethargic, which is soo sad.

You have to separate your Betta out into a hospital tank in order to treat him properly while he is sick. It should have low light and minimum, if any, toys or gravel. Do you think he got in a fight with any of the other fish and got injured possibly?

I don't think it is the result of a fight. Many of the symptoms seem to fit with Bacteria or fungal infections - I have tested water, it was all good, temperature is good. I have treated for fin rot about 2 weeks ago, but no improvement. His side fin has nearly disappeared, colour not good and he is sitting on the bottom of the tank looking sad

it seems that he is stressed for sure ... try to separate him .. try not to change the water all at once ... but 25% of it at a time because changing water is a stressing time for him.. continue with the treatment ... if he improved while separated this means that it was because of the Tetras.. I think I have read some where that Tetras and Betas do not get along as tetras nible on the Betta's fins or tail..

What ever happened to him? I'm reading your story again and wondering if you could give an update? We'd love to know and I hope he is fine. Any new fish?

Neon tetras are notorious fin nippers for bettas. They should not be kept in the same tank. The bettas do not recognize them as potential threats and when the lights go out the fin nipping begins. It will keep up until the betta dies of infection caused by the constant open areas on his fins. It is a situation that a lot of very innocent fish owners do not realize until it is too late. I am so sorry you have this problem but a lot of fish store personnel are more wanting to sell you fish than to tell you what the problems you may encounter may be. He is going to need pristine water and probably seclusion to heal and may need to have medication for the bacterial infection if the fungal meds do not do it. I WOULd recommend moving either the neons or the betta as the situation will not be better with both in the same tank.

Yes, bettas have those beautiful, long, flowing fins that other fish tend to nip and there are some reports of neon tetras nipping betta fins, so to be safe, it's better to separate them into different tanks, unless, of course, you have a fishy cam in your fish tank. They may be doing the nipping when you're not watching them. Hope he's o.k.

Closer and more prolonged observation may be very helpful in a situation like this.