jusdeb Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 :thumbs: Probably a silly question but can a fighter have to much fin???? My male halfmoon had a chew on his fin in transit and now that it has grown back he looks as if he has too much fin. When I uncard him and he is staring down my other boy he actually looks like the weight of his fins is pulling him down (ie. instead of staying horizontal he slowly noses up)...he is fine when he is swimming , flaring etc its just when he stops that I notice it. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleco987 Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 well i am not an expert on bettas but i sus pect that your fish may have a problem with his swim bladder? i have heard of neon tetras that swam up-right and have personally experionsed this (with my gold fish, coral, RIP) if there is not enough space for the fish to swim, if that is not the problem and he seems to be healthy all over with no other syptoms of a swim blader problem then, just as a precaution i would give him a small dose of stress coat or the australian subsitute( sorry im scottish, not sure if you get it over there) or he may just be getting old, im not sure, i personally would wait for another hobbyist, that is more knowlegable than me with bettas to reply, while dosing with half the recimented amount of stress coat. hoped i helped a bit, Gaza :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 definitely sounds like swim bladder disorder. IME it's permanent but they seem to cope ok with it. Not so great for breeding though - it's hard to tend a nest when you keep sinking to the bottom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusdeb Posted January 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Thanks ...he seems fit in all other aspects and copes well...since Im not a breeder I ll just leave him alone ..He does tend to rest a lot on objects in the tank so he has adapted to his problem.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y2jdaze Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 I've had fish recover from SBD before but not very often... Just make sure there are some plants or soemthing close to the surface for him to rest on, try fasting him for a day or 2 and feeding small pieces of cooked pea, that's what worked for me either way it's still a good thing to do :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzy_dragonfly Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 SBD is a symptom rather than an actual disease. It depends on whats causing the SBD and wheather it has caused damage to the swim bladder as to wheather it is peminant. It may be a simple matter of pressure from overfeeding or constipation. In regards to heavy fins I have observed in older fish 2-3 yo + that it is quite possible for the fins to become heavy due to progressive weakness paticularly in DT, HM and delta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusdeb Posted January 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Thanx again....he wouldnt be a year old yet ( assuming the breeder was honest with his age when I bought him ) I bought him from aquabid and he wasnt the same fish that I ordered so I think he is under one y.o. I will fast him though as I may well be overfeeding when it comes to feeding bloodworm...Im alright with the pellets but am heavy handed with the worms. I wish I had video so that I could show how he comes to nosing up....firstly he stops still then his fins droop and then he slowly nose up. It really does look like his fins are weighing him down. He is perfectly fine other wise so for now Ill just do a fast after a mushy pea tonite.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted January 14, 2008 Report Share Posted January 14, 2008 There is nothing saying he can't have a fin issue and a SB issue, so do check the fins for discolourations etc but I'd say he's just stuffed. Trying to fight against floating sideways is hard yakka, especially with overly floppy fins that aren't brilliant at slicing efficiently through water. He's probably just relaxing near the surface when he's too tired to fight against it anymore. If the fasting doesn't help and the cause doesn't manifest into some full blown disease, pop some broad-leafed plants so he can wedge himself under the leaves to stay submerged, or rest on the leaves when he gets tired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusdeb Posted January 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 Thanx Callatya . I think the broad leaf plants are the go ...He is always building a bubble nest so whatever it is may well be tiring him out. Ill hit the LFS tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishchick Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 have you thought of trimming his fins? Get rid of the weight and see if he performs better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusdeb Posted January 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 Thanx someone ... thats what Ive been thinking but didnt know if they could be too heavily finned....he just looks like he needs a bit off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Is he still been behaving the same way? It's been quite a while now. If it was a disease I would have expected him to have deteriorated considerably. But if he's still the same I'd be inclined to think he just wasn't strong enough to hold his fins up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishie Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Heaps of good finage means a good specim (I'm no show judge if just read it ) and i think every one would agree that a hevily finned fish like the one in bettarazzi picture is WAYYYY! better that a fish with very little finage or none at all, like the cichlaed in my LFS that has no tail (but he adapted and looks rather kool). But like they said it sound like a minor swim bladder ( i lost angelfin my black moor when i was 8 )and it might sound stupid but he might just adapt to living like that anyways hope this helps THE gourami guru :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusdeb Posted January 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 Thanks for asking B/azzi....Ive posted a pic to show just how much finnage he has. He is still the same and as you can see he swims fine he just gets buggered and needs to rest usually on the heater clip. I think someone is right about him needing a trim but Ive never done it before and dont have the confidence to handle him and cut it. So if G/Guru is correct about lots of finnage being a good fish then hes a bloody pearler. So what I do now is uncard him a little less and a couple of times a day instead of one big session. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y2jdaze Posted January 29, 2008 Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 I'd be exercising him more rather than less (by flaring) to build up the muscles in the fins that help him hold all that finnage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusdeb Posted January 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 That makes sense Y2. Use it or lose it!! Thanx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 Judges look for balance in a fish as well. If the fins are too big for the body and particularly if the fish is unable to hold his fins up, then that would be a show fault. So from a show sense too much finnage is not always a good thing. There was also some talk in the IBC last year about faulting heavy rosetails to discourage overly heavy finnage. I don't think that change actually went through but it gives you an idea that some judges don't like the heavy finnage. From a keeper's point of view if you've got a heavily finned fish and he's having trouble swimming I think it might best to just leave it alone. And maybe just exercise him more to build strength as has already been suggestd. If he's in severe discomfort I suppose trimming his fins could be considered. But are you really going to try it for the very first time on a favoured pet? It's no secret that I'm a big wuss but I've tried fin trimming a couple of times. I had to do it to try and halt the progress of severe finrot. The fish survived, the finrot has stopped but weeks later and I'm still a bit traumatised by the ordeal and shudder at the thought of it. :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusdeb Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 No I wouldnt even try to trim his fins by myself...Ive opted for the exercise option which I think is all I can do for him. Hes happy so Im happy to leave well enough alone knowing that it is just a case of too much fin and not something funky that needed treating. Thanx to all for the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusdeb Posted February 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 Just an update on Chilli....Since hes been working out ( flaring more ) his posture has imprved heaps and he flits around the tank a lot more. He doesnt seem to rest as much and is holding his fins up a lot better. Thanks for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y2jdaze Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 good work how's about a pic of him and his improved finnage in full flare? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusdeb Posted February 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 Will do Y2 just as soon as I can find the batteries. They are somewhere in the abyss that my son calls a bedroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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