betta fin rip

Question
QUESTION: hey i got a betta for my birthday 2 weeks ago. yesterday i noticed a little rip on the side of its fin, will this heal, what should i do????

ANSWER: Hi Andrew
It should heal up.  Be sure to keep his water quality good.
What size is his tank/container?
And how often are you changing the water?
Is it a filtered tank or not?
Let me know those answers and I can give you a guideline of how often the water should be changed.

Christy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hey, yeh i keep it in a pretty small tank..its 14cm high, 10cm wide...and i change half the water every week and every month id do a full tank clean and yeh it has no filter...

Answer
Hi Andrew
If you give me the length, I can calculate the litres/gallons the tank holds.  But from what you've posted so far, it does sound like it's on the smaller side.  I would start increasing the water changes, if it was larger you could probably get away with the current schedule you have.  I would start changing out about 50% of the water every 2-3 days, and make sure the new water's temperature is very close to the tank temperature water so he doesn't go into shock.

If there's anything sharp in the tank, he could've torn the fin on that.  If so, probably be a good idea to remove it.  Otherwise, it could be fin rot starting, which the increase in the water changes will most likely help him to cure himself-without having to use any medications.  Just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get any worse.

Christy