Betta's torn fins...tail bitting or filter problem?
Hi everyone,
I recently maybe 2 weeks ago purchased my second Betta, which is a Delta tail. I saw him at Petco and his bowl water was so dirty that I couldn't help but take him home. He is currently in a 1gal Aqueon which I know is too small. It's a long story why he got stuck in this 1 gal for two weeks, but I will be setting up his new 5gal Aqueon on Saturday with a heater to bring his water to 80 degrees. I only had Delta (his name and I know it's not too creative) for a week and I came home from work to see part of his tail missing. Then the next day more of his tail was missing! I noticed when he swims by the filter, his tail gets pulled into the intake tube area. I have researched and found that betta's bite their tails...? I added before and after pictures to my profile album. When you look at the pictures, you can see Vitachem in the background. I have been told this is healthy for them. Delta is super active and loves to interact with me but I feel so bad about his once beautiful tail. I give him 50% water changes daily and he currently has no heater but I keep my apartment super warm so I figured that might help him out until Saturday. Will his tail regrow back to the way it was? Also, do you think this is tail biting or a filter problem?
I think is your filter.You said your bettas tail was sucked into the filter right?
Filter for bettas must be gentle like a sponge filter.
Tail bitting is due to the current being strong,he needs his tail to swim,if the current is too much he will have trouble swimming and will bite his tail.
Try to lower the current and the water level.
The tail will grow back as long as you feed him high protein foods and add some medication to prevent fungus growth.
How can I lower the current? Do I need to buy a special sponge for him or something? I will be stopping by Petsmart to pick up a better type of food for him that I have heard is a lot healthier on Saturday. Hopefully all this helps!
Just as an update: I read from different posts about putting hosiery on the intake filter. I tried it out and it seems to be working. Delta's tail is not being pulled in as much and when it does it's not tearing up like before. I will look into a sponge filter this weekend to make sure I am giving him the best for his tail. Thanks for your help!
Yes, filters with strong current are not good, and baffling them, is best or opt for an airstone, as I have done with both my HM's both being Tailbiters, and now I haved moved one of my HM's to a 3 gal from the MIni bow 2.5 gal, with the filter, intake tube, and in the beginning he was fine, I used filter here and there, but after leaving it on day and night, I noticed the biting started, so now that he is without filter, his tail is growing back, and he is much happier.
Thanks for the advice! So since I am going to move Delta in his 5gal on Saturday, should I put an airstone in there instead of a filter?
I have my HM in a 5 gal with an airstone, and he is no longer biting his tail, I would think it would be a better option, if you feel you can baffle a regular filter, if the air stone doesn't work, but fishy's like the bubbles, and they play with them, one of my fishy's likes to swim in the bubbles, and the current is calm, but the bubbles still come up at a pretty good clip, you can get a valve check piece for the tubing, with a knob to control the flow..I love it, and I see a difference.
Oh okay! That sounds like a great option! I will have to go out on Saturday and get an air stone. It is definitely worth a shot. Thanks again for the help =)
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