Betta looks strange

Question

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-----Question-----
First of all, I've had my betta for 4 months now.  He is in a 2 1/2 gal.aquarium with a catfish and an algae eater.  Last week, he developed some strange looking round circles at the tip of his tail.  Sometimes they stand straight up.  There are two of them.  What the heck is that all about?  I'm no fish pro. These are my first!  (no kidding.  Right?)
Ok, next question.  We are having lots of trouble with getting our water just right.  What gives?  Did a complete water change last week.  Rocks are already real orange and filthy.  Filter gets dirty quick.  We only feed them once a day. Please help!  What are we SUPPOSED to do???
-----Answer-----
Hi Marie
Well welcome to the world of fishkeeping lol :)  Lots and lots of stuff to learn, and you'll never stop learning!!  A lot of us can't stop buying more fish tanks....

First thing, I'll need more info on the round circles on the tip of the tail.  That's kind of a strange description, and I can only think of 2 things from that description.  Here's 2 links to look at photos.  The first(for both links) scroll down to anchor worms.  These are kinda rare though.  
The next, take a look at fin/tail rot.  It may be the beginning of it, the photos are more advanced cases.  What you're seeing on your betta, may just be parts of the tail sticking up.  They may turn a white or black color as well.  If it doesn't sound/look like either of those, get back to me with a better description of what it looks like and we can hopefully narrow it down from there.  You may have to copy/paste these to your browser:

http://www.fishpalace.org/Disease.html

http://www.fishdeals.com/fish_diseases/stressdisease.shtml

Now, the next issue the water quality.  You're tank is too small.  I really don't agree with bettas being in anything less then a 5 gallon tank, but just my opinion.  Lots of betta lovers say a 2 gallon is fine.  I wouldn't go any less then that though.  I'm glad you have a filter on it too-that's great!!  
Your catfish, maybe it's a corydora catfish?  Those small guys that scurry on the bottom eating the left overs.  And the algae eater, I'm going to say it's maybe a Chinese algae eater, since you didn't call it a pleco?  These are just guesses lol.  If that's the case, cory cats are a schooling fish, and prefer to be in groups of at least 3 minimum for them to thrive best.  The algae eater, will be too large for that tank, and those particular ones are known to get aggressive when they get a bit bigger, & end up stop eating the algae.  If it is a pleco, they all grow to large for that size tank.  
I recommend getting a larger tank, a minimum 10 gallon for those 3 fish, and adding 2 more of those little cory cats.  And, keep an eye on the algae eater(if it's the Chinese one) and watch for signs of aggression.  

If you live in the US, Walmart sells a basic 10 gallon kit, filter, gravel, almost everything(except a heater I believe, you'll definitely need one)for about 30.00.  The filter that comes with it isn't the greatest, but good enough till you can upgrade.  So, recommend either getting that larger tank, or getting rid of the algae eater & catfish, and just leaving the betta in there.

You may be overfeeding.  I feed my fish (7 tanks...) once a day, and I usually skip a day a few times during the week-they're fine with it.  And, the old rule of thumb, only feed what they can eat in 5 minutes, then scoop out the rest.  That may be partially why the filter is getting so dirty so quick.  It's not able to keep up with the left over food and the fish overload.  The substrate/gravel, should be no more then 1 inch thick, but I usually go less then that.  Easier to clean.  Are you using a siphon when you do the water changes?  It's a good investment, cheap, & easy to use.  Cleans the gravel really good.

Until you get rid of the fish or get a larger tank, you'll need to do water changes about twice a week, of about 30%-because of the overstocking issue.  Not a good idea to change all the water at one time.  It stresses the fish out, and can cause them to go into shock/death.  And when cleaning any rocks or decorations, clean them in a bucket of the used tank water.  Use a new/never used toothbrush(no soaps) to scrub off anything if it doesn't come off easily.  Don't run under the tap.  There's beneficial bacteria living on all that stuff, and you don't want to kill it off.  
Do the same with the filter pad.  Don't change it once a month, you can usually get 2-4 months out of one(once the tank is cleaned regularly it'll be easier to do this).  Dump it in the bucket of tank water, and just scrub it with your hand to get some of the goo off.  I use filter floss, sold at the pet store.  When it gets too full of yuck, I just throw it away and add more.  I think it's cheaper.

When you add new water, be sure the temperature of the new water is very close to the tank water.  Also be sure to use a dechlorinator(I'm sure you are, otherwise the fish wouldn't have made it this far lol).

If you get the larger tank or just go with the betta in the smaller tank, you can cut back your water changes to once a week, about 20-25%.  That'll help greatly in reducing diseases & keep the water parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates-the cycling stuff I mention in the next paragraph).

Not sure if you're aware of this, but there's something called the nitrogen cycle/cycling a fish tank.  I'm going to post a link at the bottom for you to read through, which gets into the issue of the beneficial bacteria better then I can explain :)

If you're able to get the larger tank, they always say, get the biggest you can afford $ wise, and can take care of.  The bigger the tank, the much much more easier it is to take care of.  Almost takes care of itself, with that weekly water change thrown in there.

Read through all these articles, especially #5-The Cycle.  This site is great for info!  

http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/aquariumstartup/Aquarium_Startup.htm

If you have any more questions, please ask away!!!  
Hope that helps!!

Christy


okay.   you are so helpful.  My husband picked out the other two fish.  Yes, my little "Squiggy" is a corydora and my "lenny" IS a pleco.  Does that help you any?  I'm devastated that you think I should break up my little threesome.  I LOVE these guys.  I just really don't have room for a bigger tank.  I don't know what to do.  (sigh. sigh.)
Now, about my betta.  His tail.  It just got like this in the past week.  I need to help him now. I dont' have any medicine and can't get any until tonight.  If it is tailrot or whatever, I don't know what to do.  Just last night, however, I noticed redness behind one of his gills and today it looks like his front half is a little swollen. I'm afraid he is sick.  I'm going to take him out of the tank and put him by himself for a while.  Please help me out again.  His once beautiful perfect tail developed two flat red circles on the ends (his tail is red)Sometimes, these two pieces of his tail seperate from the rest of his tail and stick straight up in the  air.  they just look strange and are VERY noticeable.  Sometimes, his tail lies back down to blend in with the rest but those red circles never go away.  Anyway, I gotta go isolate my little guy and will anxiously be awaiting your reply.

Answer
Hi Marie
Not pushing the issue, but a 10 gallon tank is about 10 inches wide and 20 inches long.  If you have a sturdy dresser or other piece of furniture, or even a counter top would work.  Every gallon of water weighs about 8 lbs., so just something that could hold that weight would work.  Just ideas lol.  

The pleco, the smallest one I know of, I believe is the bristlenose pleco or a rubber lip pleco, they get about 4-6 inches.  You're tank is still too small for that.  A 10 gallon would really be pushing it as well, but with the proper water changes and such, should be ok.

With the betta, that's good separating him.  Stay on top of changing his water, I'd do it every other day to keep the water conditions good, and only change about 1/2 of it not all.  I'm sorry, but I cannot for the life of me figure out what is going on with the tail.  The red gill area and the swelling sound like they may be from poor water quality(ammonia poisoning, start of dropsy, bacterial).  
If you get to the store tonight, try picking up this product called Betta Fix.  There's also one called Mela Fix, they're the same, but the Betta Fix is geared towards bettas in smaller bowls/tanks, so it's easier to dose.  It's a natural antibiotic, very safe to use, and works really well on a lot of illnesses.  
Also get some aquarium salt(remove any plants or snails before using salt).  The dosage will depend on the size of the container he's currently in, should have instructions on the package.  
Also, try feeding him a pea, or part of one.  Canned, frozen, whichever, break it open and hopefully he'll eat a few pieces of the inside.  That may help with the swelling.    
And do those water changes.  The combination of all of the above, you should start seeing some improvement in him.  If that tail issue is fin/tail rot, the salt and MelaFix/BettaFix should help with that as well.  

Try copying your posts and asking another expert, find one that's real into bettas and has kept them for awhile.  The thing throwing me off is the circles on the ends and standing up.  Unless you can get a picture maybe?  Sometimes it's so hard describing stuff and the other person understanding....  

Again, hope that helps!  Any more questions, ask away.  Good luck treating him and hope it works out!!

Christy