Is this tail biting or tail rot?

[RoyalBlueDarling]

Hi,

I got a new betta, a hot-tempered fellow. I wasn't planning on getting one, but when I saw him and how they were treating him I couldn't just walk away. (He was in a cup and had other bettas stacked around him and he was going insane, headbutting and biting the walls of the cup. He couldn't even flare properly because it was too small.)

The problem is, I'm not sure if his injuries are from tail biting, or tail rot. He is a metallic turquoise and red comb tail, and two or three 'combs' in the middle of the end of his caudal fin are missing (though I think one is starting to grow back). Also, in that area, the fins are thin and almost translucent.

I've got him in a 1.2 gallon (5 litres), heated to 26-27 degrees Celsius at the moment (80-82 F), and am doing daily water changes of about 400mL, and twice weekly water changes of 1.25 litres. Nitrites and -ates are 0 ppm. I've had him now for 16 days. The water is conditioned with API betta water conditioner as well as API Stress Coat and a couple of drops of Bettafix for antiseptic purposes. Haven't used aquarium salt yet as am not sure whether it's tail rot and a vet I know scared me by telling me that overusing aquarium salt on bettas makes them more susceptible to dropsy.

Can somebody please have a look at a couple of photos of his caudal fin and tell me if you think it's biting or tail rot? I'm really not sure, because I can't see any black, but then they're thinned out so I don't know ...

Thanks heaps.

[Luimeril]

looks pretty normal to me. i see some new growth in there, which is good. looks like he just has some web reduction, might have some CT in there somewhere. :3

[RoyalBlueDarling]

Originally Posted by Luimeril

looks pretty normal to me. i see some new growth in there, which is good. looks like he just has some web reduction, might have some CT in there somewhere. :3

Oh, that makes me feel loads better. Thanks for replying.

I was thinking there might be CT there, too.

[Silverfang]

my guess from the pictures is that he may have tail bitten in the past, or possibly suffered from fin blow out. Just keep his water clean to be safe.

[earthworm88]

not the clearest photos, but from what I can see, the fin looks fine overall. But I would suggest making complete full water change every 2 days or so, because it looks like you are always messing with his "house" every day which will probably induce unnecessary stress in the long haul

[RoyalBlueDarling]

Originally Posted by Silverfang

my guess from the pictures is that he may have tail bitten in the past, or possibly suffered from fin blow out. Just keep his water clean to be safe.

That's the plan--good food and good water. I had to look up "fin blow out". Learn something new every day. I think you may be right about the cause of this, because when I first saw him he was flaring and attacking like it was Betta World War 3 or something, and he's quite aggressive--loves flaring at anything that moves. The only thing he doesn't flare at is me and anything red-coloured, because I feed him with a tiny red plastic ladle. Thanks for replying.

[RoyalBlueDarling]

Originally Posted by earthworm88

not the clearest photos, but from what I can see, the fin looks fine overall. But I would suggest making complete full water change every 2 days or so, because it looks like you are always messing with his "house" every day which will probably induce unnecessary stress in the long haul

Yes, sorry about that--it was as clear as I could get it with my phone camera, and Ptolemy swimming around to inspect every side of the phone.

I think doing complete water changes would stress him out more, because I'd have to keep removing him from his home. This way he just patrols around the gear while I do the house keeping.

Thanks for replying.

[earthworm88]

I hear ya! Mine is also quite nosy and hard to take picture of so most of the time only his big head and beard is showing.

Cool, as long as you feel that your guy isn't affected by the daily water change

Good luck!