[gabi.loraine]

Update.
I did the huge like 90% water change because I couldn't be patient any longer. I wanted a clear bowl.
In the meantime, I had the fish quarantined per the conversation and pictures above.
Once I started seeing the fish spring right back to normal with the temperature adjustment, I decided to put him back. So I did drip acclimation with clean bowl water into his quarantine water (which was just the green water the bowl had before), and I put him back in the bowl last night. He swam everywhere and looked good to me.
This is what the bowl looks like right now. I intend to add more water.

This morning I noticed he was back in hiding. However, I teased him and he came up to the surface to eat and he looked fine. Then this afternoon I noticed the little hole in one of his fins. He's super active and looks good otherwise so it was hard to even get a photo but I'm pretty sure it's fin rot? I'm going to do some research right now but I appreciate your input and recommendations.

 

[SchalkR]

Seachem Prime just neutralize any chlorines. I have been using it for decades.

Seachem - Prime

www.seachem.com

It won't harm your Walstad method. It's just for your fish. I once forgot to add in a dechlorinator. Poor fish were slimy and not well. Chlorines are very bad for fish.

 

[SchalkR]

Keep an eye on it, but don't worry to much. 5 Quick and Easy Steps for Treating Fin Rot in Aquarium Fish

 

[mistergreen]

The hole in the fin is not too bad. It's not fin rot. You would see fungus around the rot.
He could have torn it on a hardscape or it's a sign of low nutrition. Better protein food could fix it. You said he had not eaten in a few days, it could be that.

 

[gabi.loraine]

The hole in the fin is not too bad. It's not fin rot. You would see fungus around the rot.
He could have torn it on a hardscape or it's a sign of low nutrition. Better protein food could fix it. You said he had not eaten in a few days, it could be that.

if you were me would you still quarantine him and do like aquarium salt, or just improve his feeding to see how it goes?

 

[jatcar95]

I just looked up Prime, is this compatible with the Walstad method NPT?

Prime is a chlorine/chloramine detoxifier, plus it (temporarily) detoxifies ammonia and can neutralize metals. I think a lot of us probably use it. NPT doesn't mean you aren't allowed to use any chemicals

little dude has fin rot!

I think stress can lead to fin rot, often because of unideal water parameters. Maybe check your ammonia and nitrites. Could be he was stressed from the temperature too - keep an eye on it now that it's warmer and see if it gets better. I'm not sure what the best treatments are (especially in a planted tank), others can chime in there.

Edit because I missed the post with the picture of the fin rot: it looks verrry minimal at this point. I would not quarantine, it would probably be more stressful than just keeping him in the bowl. Just watch your parameters and his fins to make sure it doesn't get worse.

 

[gabi.loraine]

Prime is a chlorine/chloramine detoxifier, plus it (temporarily) detoxifies ammonia and can neutralize metals. I think a lot of us probably use it. NPT doesn't mean you aren't allowed to use any chemicals


I think stress can lead to fin rot, often because of unideal water parameters. Maybe check your ammonia and nitrites. Could be he was stressed from the temperature too - keep an eye on it now that it's warmer and see if it gets better. I'm not sure what the best treatments are (especially in a planted tank), others can chime in there.

Edit because I missed the post with the picture of the fin rot: it looks verrry minimal at this point. I would not quarantine, it would probably be more stressful than just keeping him in the bowl. Just watch your parameters and his fins to make sure it doesn't get worse.

Thanks for all of your notes! I did check my parameters and they were all perfect, I'm thinking the temperature was the issue. We'll see...

 

[mistergreen]

Clean water and food are all he needs. You did a water change so that's covered.

 

[gabi.loraine]

update… the fin is tearing more and the edges don’t look great

 

[mistergreen]

I can see thinning in parts of the fins too. It's nutrition. Feed him every day until the fins are back in shape. It's the downside to these fancy-fin fishes. It takes a lot of energy to grow.

You might need to bring the bowl outside to warm up. Betta's metabolism isn't made for a temperature less than 78F.

 

[gabi.loraine]

I can see thinning in parts of the fins too. It's nutrition. Feed him every day until the fins are back in shape. It's the downside to these fancy-fin fishes. It takes a lot of energy to grow.

You might need to bring the bowl outside to warm up. Betta's metabolism isn't made for a temperature less than 78F.

I’ll definitely work on his nutrition but there’s no “outside” here 😅 I live in a small apartment with no balcony… I’ll have one at our new place once we move in a couple of months but for now I’ll just try to keep it as warm as humanly tolerable 😂😂😂

ETA
I do have a thermometer in the bowl and I check it all the time, it’s never been under 24°C (75°F) as far as I can tell but I’ll continue to monitor it… it’s normally around 26–27°C (78–80°F)

 

[mistergreen]

Maybe moving it away from AC vents will help with the temperature. If your pet store sells small live worms or insects that bettas can eat, that will help give him good nutrition. I'd stay away from bloodworms (frozen or dried). Something about them causes fish to overeat and have intestinal problems.

 

[Aliceiii]

lol I'm definitely not heating anything except food in Panama. I'll just be more reasonable with the AC.
I've had him for like 6 weeks and he had been fine so far. I hadn't realized the temperature went too low for him, but of course in the back of my mind, I had.

I've thought all pet fish need a water heater in an aquarium. Tropical fish are used to warm. Unless you are living in a hot place. I'd recommend you get a thermometer to track the water temperature. I'd recommend checking this review 9 Best Aquarium Thermometers Reviewed in Detail (Spring 2021) . I found it helpful.

 

[gabi.loraine]

.

(I don't know how to delete my comment)

 

[gabi.loraine]

Maybe moving it away from AC vents will help with the temperature. If your pet store sells small live worms or insects that bettas can eat, that will help give him good nutrition. I'd stay away from bloodworms (frozen or dried). Something about them causes fish to overeat and have intestinal problems.

You know... he's smart or something... I have those bloodworm "betta treats" and he doesn't usually eat them. He prefers the flake food. ...I need to get him something juicier for sure though... any online recommendations of food I can order? (I will still check for availability locally but I'm not super optimistic)

 

[gabi.loraine]

I've thought all pet fish need a water heater in an aquarium. Tropical fish are used to warm. Unless you are living in a hot place. I'd recommend you get a thermometer to track the water temperature. I'd recommend checking this review 9 Best Aquarium Thermometers Reviewed in Detail (Spring 2021) . I found it helpful.

Thanks for meaning well but I don't think you read the comments right above yours...

 

[britintexas1959]

Hi! I'm the hobbyist beginner from this thread about aphids and this thread about siesta schedule. I haven't quite managed the green water situation but I'm hoping it'll slowly go away as the new floating plants start to thrive again. (otherwise I will remove the wood as a next step)

Anyway, my betta has been behaving strangely for about two days now. He's normally a super social and in-your-face kind of guy... but now he has been hiding a lot. Like hiding really well and he won't come out of hiding as soon as I approach as he usually does. In fact, he stays hidden near the bottom of the bowl and inbetween the plants. I'll post a photo in the next comment.

I checked the parameters from the top water of the bowl and they're fine/same as always... the ammonia is between 0-0.25ppm (looks pretty yellow to me but not quite as yellow as the printed color example on the test kit)

OR there is this alternative; yes in nature the Betta exists in small pools of water, but these are NOT nature bred! I had the same issues, so I got a small 5 gallon tank with with a small, low flow HOB filter, small LED lighting and natural aquatic vegetation. After acclimation, the problems disappeared! Almost ALL store bought fish are not bred in in their native habitat so this has to be STRONGLY considered with ANY tropical fish set up, and adjusted accordingly, especially with Bettas as they can be VERY sensitive to their environment.

 

[Aliceiii]

Thanks for meaning well but I don't think you read the comments right above yours...

Oh! Sorry! You're right 😔

 

[TropTrea]

Update.
I did the huge like 90% water change because I couldn't be patient any longer. I wanted a clear bowl.
In the meantime, I had the fish quarantined per the conversation and pictures above.
Once I started seeing the fish spring right back to normal with the temperature adjustment, I decided to put him back. So I did drip acclimation with clean bowl water into his quarantine water (which was just the green water the bowl had before), and I put him back in the bowl last night. He swam everywhere and looked good to me.
This is what the bowl looks like right now. I intend to add more water.
View attachment 74698

This morning I noticed he was back in hiding. However, I teased him and he came up to the surface to eat and he looked fine. Then this afternoon I noticed the little hole in one of his fins. He's super active and looks good otherwise so it was hard to even get a photo but I'm pretty sure it's fin rot? I'm going to do some research right now but I appreciate your input and recommendations.
View attachment 74699

When I was showing and breeding bettas I used to do 100% water changes every other day. High nitrogen levels (amonia) will burn the tips of the fins, burn holes between the spines, and slow the development of the fins. While I had multiple bettas i was using Reverse Osmosis water which initially. With Kent RO Right. Later treated with a chemical mix to reduce cost. But for beautiful bettas water changes are necessary.

 

[jatcar95]

When I was showing and breeding bettas I used to do 100% water changes every other day. High nitrogen levels (amonia) will burn the tips of the fins, burn holes between the spines, and slow the development of the fins. While I had multiple bettas i was using Reverse Osmosis water which initially. With Kent RO Right. Later treated with a chemical mix to reduce cost. But for beautiful bettas water changes are necessary.

While I don't doubt you've had good results with lots of water changes, I've seen (and owned) plenty of examples of beautiful bettas kept in low-maintenance tanks.

Do you know what the water changes are for? In the case of many NPTs, there will be no ammonia/nitrite after the tank becomes established. Water changes aren't bad and are obviously sometimes needed, but daily/weekly water changes aren't really the "el-natural" style.