Tail Biting

[millefiore]

Housing
What size is your tank? 2 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 80 degrees (usually set to 78 but I raised it when I saw the tail damage)
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? No

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Hikari Bio Gold Pellets, Hikari FD Brine Shrimp, Hikari FD Daphnia
How often do you feed your betta fish? Twice a day, pellets and/or something “tastier” in small amounts. One day of fasting per week.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 1 – 50% half way through the week, 1 – 100% change weekly.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50%, 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Jungle InstoChlor, AQ salt (used for 3 days now since Wednesday afternoon)

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: Didn’t test
pH: 7
Hardness: Didn’t test
Alkalinity: Didn’t test

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
I removed his previous large plastic plant because I think he snagged his caudal fin on it. I noticed a few small rips in his tail which stopped occurring after it was removed. The rips started to “zip” up again. He showed no signs of fin rot (dark edges, etc.) and ammonia levels were under 5ppm when this happened.
Now… huge chunks of his caudal fin are missing (delta, by the way). His other fins are unaffected which leads me to suspect tail biting. He was showing no signs of fin rot or illness prior to this. The good news is he is showing some signs of regrowth (some translucent white fin).
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Nope, still wants food, still wants to attack his reflection.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Wednesday, checked on him and a lot of fin was just gone…
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Yes, .5 gallon water changes daily with some AQ salt added.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Nope.
How old is your fish (approximately)? I’ve had him for about a month now.

I have yet to have catch him in the act of chasing his tail. I have added something for him to swim around (silk plant) to keep him occupied. I’ve been adding AQ salt to his water in small amounts (not going over 2 tsp total). He’s scheduled to have that in his water for another 2 days. I’ve also been debating adding a source of tannins. I don’t have access to any IAL or oak leaves (not pesticide-free ones anyway…) Are there any good substitutes besides those? Maybe a piece of Mopani wood or some decaf tea (would green be better due to the lack of processing?)

Just in case it is fin rot, I'll post some pictures once I can catch him... He doesn't stop moving...

[prodrumernate]

it could be the plastic plant u had in there.since u have removed it and he is showing signs of healing and no more torn fins.that would be my guess.u said no discoloration on the fins so i highly doubt fin rot..its better to treat him in a smaller container.like a 1 gallon hospital tank.its harder to treat when in larger tanks.but since it is a 2 gallon and you do 100% water changes a week.it should be fine.just the bigger tank requires more medication to add to it.

the bet thing for him is a quiet place.with minimum distraction.like a dark room or covering with a towel leaving the top somewhat opened for air to pass through.and clean water.a betta log would be good for him to allow him to sit up at the top to hide and breath.but isnt needed.i have plastic plants i leave floating around so my fish can sit on at the top and breath.

1 of my females has slight fin rot rite now.due to the fact i was moving the past week and didnt change her water as i should have since shes in a small temporary bowl until i set up her 20 gallon hex tank.but she is getting better now.

with him i would put in a dark place or a place where there isnt much distraction...people walking.any other animals going to the tank.low light..and just keep changing his water every couple days...changing his water daily could stress him out..though partial changes really should especially if you are gentle with the change.mine dont mind at all.actually try to bite me and my gravel vacuum.

as you mentioned you will post pics once he stops moving around.i will check back to see if any are posted just to be safe.continue as you are doing and he should be fine :)