Elephant Ear Bettas

[fgradowski]

Is it impossible to keep their fins from tearing? It looks now like Vardaman's other fin is starting to be torn. There is nothing sharp in his tank. There are two silk plants and a mug in the tank with him. If I can get him to come to the front of the tank I will try to get a picture of it. Does anyone else here have an elephant ear betta and have problems with their fins tearing?

[emeraldmaster]

no, but my Red seems to tear his fins alot, but they heal slowly too.

[fgradowski]

Best picture I can get! You can see he's tore it again a little closer to his body. Of course that's the blurry spot, but you can make out that there is a tear there too.


This one was from the day I brought him home:

[kfryman]

Have nothing sharp in the tank at all and all natural plants so nothing would tear. If the fin is torn in the cup it is something else, because there is nothing that can tear it.

[fgradowski]

He decided to take a nap. xD So here's a clearer shot. Still hard to get the tear though.

[hannah16]

Did you get him from Petsmart?

[fgradowski]

Petco.

And I figured that the original tears were from before the breeder separated all the fish? Because it doesn't look like fin rot or anything like that.

[LittleBlueFishlets]

Do the silk plants have any hard/sharp plastic edges? If so, maybe he caught his fin on one of them?

(I have silk plants, and I've noticed that there are some hard plastic parts that stick out.)

[fgradowski]

Originally Posted by LittleBlueFishlets

Do the silk plants have any hard/sharp plastic edges? If so, maybe he caught his fin on one of them?

(I have silk plants, and I've noticed that there are some hard plastic parts that stick out.)

They could. I'll have to check it really well the next time I clean his tank. I'd be upset to take it away from him though because he's always hanging out in it. Could I file down sharp parts?

Also, could it be the gravel in the bottom of his tank? When he swims at the bottom of the tank his fins do hit the gravel bottom.

[LittleBlueFishlets]

I've used sandpaper on plastic and terracotta to file down sharp edges, so you could probably give that a try if you find anything. Just wash it off well so there's no residue.

Another option is to try to "tuck" away anything sharp, so he can't catch his fins on it.

And I bet you could coat things with aquarium-safe silicone to coat the sharp parts. I picked up a big tube of Loctite Clear Silicone Waterproof Sealant at Lowe's recently. It labeled "aquarium safe" and cost about $4.50, and it'll last me a really long time. (I'm using it to make all sorts of decorations now. I just made a little rock 'bench' for my new fish. It took him about two minutes to swim underneath.) If you do this, make sure you get the one that's marked "aquarium safe."

(Not sure about the gravel. My tanks are all bare-bottom. I don't have a filter, so I vacuum frequently with a turkey baster, and it's easier to do this when there's nothing on the bottom.)