A case of tail biting? Or something else?

[MMad1121]

Hi guys,

Speck is appearing to have parts of his tail missing, and although I haven't seen him chasing his tail/swimming in circles, I do not believe it is fin rot. I noticed that in the sticky about betta diseases fin rot is usually accompanied by black or red edges where the fin is actually rotting away. I am not seeing this on Speck at all. His edges have always been white, and still are. I'll post a few pictures, and maybe you all can tell me what's going on. pH is normal, we've got a heater on him that keeps the temp where it needs to be, ammonia levels are safe and we've made sure his artificial plants aren't the culprits. The only other concern we have is that he might be having problems with the filter, although I think the current it generates is very minimal (but I suppose I'm not a fish either). We keep each of our bettas in a Mini-Bow 2.5 gallon, if that helps give an idea of the filter used.

Thanks in advance!

[Syriiven]

It could be tail-biting, though the misisng parts look different than on my VT, who is a definite tail biter (prlly for life -_-; ) . The tears might be from excessive flaring. The filter could be a culprit, but new panty hose over the intake would fix that easy. It doesnt look like finrot to me either...

It might not be ammonia, it could be something else, like nitrite?

You could try a water change and keep an eye on him, see if it keeps happening or you see white regrowth.

[sainthogan]

It looks like tail biting. Your plants look like they are silk, so that wouldn't be causing it. Is there anything else he could be tearing his fins on? Do you have a filter he could be getting caught in? I don't mean the current coming out of it, but the intake at the bottom, could it be sucking his fins into it?