wolfstar Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 ok, so i bought this cellophane veiltail as a juvenile, and his fins were unable to open up fully, due to the petshop storing bettas in those lil containers you get sauce in at a chinese restaurant. (im planning on calling the rspca on them ) over the last 3 weeks ive encouraged him to flare at my other male a couple of times a day, to fairly good results, bar his dorsal fin. its like its bent over, and no matter how he tries to open it up, he cant. even his two front ones (infront of the anal fin, i cant remember what theyre called) are kinda squiggly, if you know what i mean. does anyone have any advice on how to fix this? ive heard of trimming fins, but this is so close to his body im worried it wont grow back very well. not to mention that having to hurt him to help him would break my heart any advice i could get would be greatly apreciated, thanks *lol* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bewarebrunette Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 I imagine you would just keep practicing the flaring? I've had a fish who's dorsal wouldn't flare, I don't think there's much you can do for it. I could be wrong... sorry. Goodluck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 The paired fins infront of the anal are called ventrals.... they point downwards (the fan ones on the side are pectorals). It's fairly common to have curling (?squiggly?) of the ventral fins, and, some of the other rays of long fins... it's almost "normal". Have a look at some crown tails... alot of them (older and usually not "top quality" fish) have curling of many of the rays... it's not a problem for the fish...just us... who like to look at "perfect" fins. In regards to the dorsal.. this may also be "normal" for a veil tail... pics might help figuring out if its a problem. If he's healthy and happy.. you should probably avoid stressing your fish by trying to trim his fins. Some people do it for health reasons...damaged fins/ recovering from fin rot, excessively long fins that interfere with fish getting about, but I would personally not do it unless it's clearly necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfstar Posted April 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2010 well, its not like any others ive seen, like in the shops, or pics online, its like its fused toward the end into a curled down position, when he tries to flare, the bottom of the fin opens out, but seems to be stunted. ive tried getting a pic, but he seems determined to face the camera head on, and thanks for the info on his ventrals. he has also started biting at his tail, im not sure if its because i did a full water change, as i try to keep everything else constant. i only noticed because the tips of his tail have become ragged and you can see traces of blood where he has bitten. lol, i guess im a bit of a neurotic mother with my fish, seems to be fairly common with newbies like myself lol :dontknow: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaBetta Posted April 14, 2010 Report Share Posted April 14, 2010 Hold a little mirror at 90 degree angle to your camera so he swims over & flares at that, then you'll be able to take lots of happy snaps of him side on. I've read posts that say sunlight helps with fin curling, albeit I'd be really careful of temp fluctuations with having him in light sunlight all day with the night temps we've been getting. Salt, Melafix & Ketapang have all helped my boy's tail recover after he ate the entire thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted April 14, 2010 Report Share Posted April 14, 2010 It could just be a congenital defect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishchick Posted April 14, 2010 Report Share Posted April 14, 2010 if the ends of the fins are clamped together and sticky he needs some tetracycline for at least 5 days. This seems to solve the problem and with daily flaring they soon regain their shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 Trimming the dorsal isn't a good idea, because they have arteries and nerves in it. Trimming is usually only done to the caudal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfstar Posted April 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2010 thanks for all the replies guys! no its not like theres something sticky on it, its like if you break a twig and it heals bent, thats kinda how it looks, like its been forced to grow wrong, i was only considering trimming if it was a viable last resort, to try and get his fin to grow back in a better shape. and no, its far more severe than any pic ive seen, most still seem capable of flaring. now im just hoping its not a congenital defect, as lilli suggested. i wasnt planning on breeding him, being a veiltail, so thats out of the question. i just didnt want it to be hurting him when he flares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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