I've had my betta for about 4 months now, rescued him from a pretty rough situation - half gallon plastic bowl, no heater or filter, one sharp plastic plant, and filthy water. I set him up in a heated and filtered 10-gallon tank right away with 2 hides and a silk plant. I've got before and after pics - the first one was taken 10 days after I got him, and the second one's from yesterday. Since then, I've made a bunch of improvements to his tank - added tons of silk plants, a betta log, switched to a sponge filter, started him on frozen foods, and just recently added live plants.
I've been getting a bit worried, so I compared some old pics and I'm pretty upset. His fins used to be so beautiful, but they've really deteriorated even though I've been trying my best for him. I feel guilty about it. Water parameters are always within range (tested yesterday: pH 8, Ammonia 0-0.25, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0-5), and he's solo in the tank. Any ideas what could be causing this? Is it fin rot?
I also started getting worried a month ago about how fat he seemed, even though I was cutting back his food, and his stomach seemed to bulge out more on one side. I posted on another forum asking if it looked like a tumor or early dropsy, and someone said it looked like Mycobacterium (fish TB). Honestly, I didn't think too much of it since he wasn't acting sick - still active, still eating like crazy. He's also got a slight spine curvature, but I figured it might just be pushing his organs out. The commenter suggested switching him to live foods, which I did. I decided to just keep an eye on him and monitor him extra closely. His behavior hasn't changed, but his stomach still looks the same. Now that his fins are deteriorating despite good water conditions, I'm wondering if he's actually suffering from something.
I'm really concerned and want my fish to be well. Please share your opinions!
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