Hi! This is Morphius here!!

[Morphius]

Im Irish. Been keeping cold water fish since as long as I can remember, but recently bought a 30litre tank and have been keeping tropical species in it. Guppies, Mollies, Cori's Flying Foxes and a Fighting fish. The fighting fish is the reason I came across this forum. He's in bad condition. My brother got him a while ago and kept him in his 130litre tank but he was picked on by bigger fish I think his Gramies were responible, so he gave him to me to put in my tank to see if hr'd recover. The Gramies tore him up a little but since then hes just got worse. Sits at the bottom of the tank all the time. When my bro. got him first he was full of life and perfect fins and colours. Theres no fish in my tank that fin nips him but he fins are starting to fall off in bits.

[XnSdVd]

Hmm... it sounds like he hasn't recovered from the shock. Could you provide details like pH, kH, temperature and a photo of the fish and tank? A cure my grandfather told me about was to take the fish, put him in a jar, throw in a banana leaf(not sure if you can find that in ireland, but i'm sure any large leaf will do) and put the Jar in a dark place for 3 days. Feel him live food daily. By the 3rd day you should start to see his fins growing back.

[gills]

but i thought tat its the banana leave that calms it down and help it to heal faster as it secretes some kind of substance?or am i wrong in my knowledge?

but i know that Indian Almond Tree leaves can serve the purpose too.anyone that knows the actual use of the banana leave,or is it any leave will do?really want to find out as i am a betta lover too.

[XnSdVd]

I believe the purpose of the leaf is just to give the fish something to hide in. But banana leaves ARE really gummy... so you never know.

[Morphius]

Not sure what the ph is I keep the water at 22c. Thats a really strange idea, never heard of anything like that. How would you keep the water at the right temp.? Not sure if any of those leaves are easy to find here. Ill try to find something simular doh.

Thanks for advise.

[juggler]

Hi Morphius, welcome to AQ!

Like what was already suggested, I would move the fighting fish to a separate tank to recover. Just in case other fish are still picking on him since he is already injured. Or you can get one of those floating nets and place him in it within the same tank? Then probably you can get a heater to warm things up a bit.

I read at this website about temperature for Betta that I quote below:

Their natural temperature range is between 22 and 28 degrees Celsius. The captive environment should also have warm water. If temperatures become too low, the Betta's metabolism will slow. They will grow at a decreased rate and become more susceptible to disease. If temperatures become really low, they will eventually die from chronic stress. Fluctuation temperatures are also not healthy and lead to stress. Stable warm temperatures consistent with his natural habit will help your Betta to thrive.

Good luck!