# New to Bettas..several questions



## DeborahP (Nov 8, 2011)

Just recently purchased 4 Betta Splenden Halfmoon males and 4 Halfmoon females. Their colors are spectacular..Mustard Gas OHM, Salamander Butterfly, Opaque White OHM, and Marble OHM. Purchased them for a breeder in Thailand, on AquaBid, from Aquastar71, they just arrived last week. My Mustard Gas HM male has extremely long fins, and I just noticed today that there is some reddish dots on them. Is this fin rot? He seemed the most stressed from the shipping. He shares a 2.5 gallon filtered, heated tank with another male (with a divider of course!). All 8 of them seem to be doing well, with exception of him. Any advice.? I hope to eventually breed HM bettas..so look forward to meeting other Betta lovers here! BTW he is in the split 2.5 gallon tank temporarily while the split 15 gallon cycles, then he will share with another male, and the tank has a divider.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

lol you sound just like me. Quarantine your bettas. Your females should all be kept together an at least a 10 gallon aquarium. here's a link to a report I did on bettas. http://bettafishforums.com/index.php?/topic/1040-is-this-good/


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Can you get a picture of the red dots?

That does not sound like fin rot to me. Fin rot looks like the edge of the fin is literally rotting away.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

pics would be great.


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## DeborahP (Nov 8, 2011)

thanks so much! They were from two different breeders...I believe they were kept separately so I have done that also. I would love to keep them in a sorority tank if possible. Does that work out if they have been kept individually? Also, the red dots on the ends of the fins of my mustard gas male..is that some kind of fungus or bacterium? He has very elaborate fins, and I am wondering if he has a beginning fin rot from the stress of shipping and a new tank.I will take a picture of the fins and post it..thanks so much!


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Betta sorority tanks are hit and miss. Sometimes you get fish that get along, other times, its all out warfare. They usually work best with 3 or more female bettas. 

Will wait for the picture to comment on the male's fins.


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## DeborahP (Nov 8, 2011)

*Picture of my Betta fins with red spots*

View attachment 6790


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What do you think? There is two red spots on his tail fin and they look rather raggedy


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## Guest (Jan 26, 2012)

Beautiful betta! I am not sure where the red spots are because I cannot see them. It looks like his fin is rotting away in the second pic, but I could be wrong.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

It could just be the fin healing.


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## DeborahP (Nov 8, 2011)

It almost looks like a tear on one part of his fin. Today it isn't as red as yesterday. I put Bettafix in his tank yesterday. I think he may have damaged his fins from shipping.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

Don't use bettafix! If you want to use it at all, do hour long baths, but don't leave it in his tank.


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## DeborahP (Nov 8, 2011)

What do you recommend besides Bettafix?


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## Guest (Jan 27, 2012)

What is wrong with bettafix?


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## Chard56 (Oct 10, 2010)

Melafix and Betta fix have been linked to a lot of Betta deaths. The tea tree oil in the medication coats their labyrinth organ and suffocates them. The second picture looks to me like he was biting his own tail during shipping. I've only had that happen twice that I know of. I've shipped hundreds of Bettas in the last year and a half and feel lucky that there were only two that did. 2 teaspoons of aquarium salt per gallon and changed often with clean fresh conditioned water will aid in the healing process.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Chard has it right. The betta was injured and is regrowing its fins.

Beautiful betta by the way.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

+1 with chard.


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## Guest (Jan 28, 2012)

Thank you Chard. I didn't know that about bettafix. Good to know! Thank you!


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## DeborahP (Nov 8, 2011)

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I was hoping to not have to deal with fin rot right off the bat. All my bettas seem very healthy, other than the tear on the mustard gas male's one fin. Will throw out the Bettafix. I am waiting for my Indian Almond leaves to arrive and have added a bit of salt to the tank.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

where did the first pic come from ?? that fish's fins are near perfect....the other 2 pics look like he had been fighting...an awful lot of damage there...looks like a couple of blown areas from over extending...i am not a believer in keeping 2 males where they can see each other all the time...i would use black out dividers...


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## DeborahP (Nov 8, 2011)

His finnage is stunning! the picture is of him that the seller listed on aquabid. He did look just like that...except his fins were a bit raggedy..they are getting better now. I do think he was injured in the shipping, because he had one red area that was torn, and it has healed up now.He has a male next to him, and on the first day or two they were flaring all the time at each other. They have since calmed down..the only time I have seen them do that is when I fed them bloodworms last night. He will be moved into a bigger tank as soon as it finishes cycling. He will be in a split 15 gallon, and yes, we have dividers where they won't be able to see each other. They are in my kitchen so I can watch them most of the day. Thanks for your great advice! I could switch out the male and put a female in the other side I guess. I had them separated/quarantined by the places they came from.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

glad to hear that he is on the mend...the sellers pic is spectacular....it will take awhile but he should heal pretty nicely..but there is the possibility that he may never be quite like in the pic..
find a female that is as close to his coloration as possible...breed them and keep the young until you get more like dad.....

good luck Deb.....


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