Fins ripped, tail bitter or filter??

[Roemgie]

Hello

I have a very healthy betta in a cycled 10 gallon tank. All levels read well (ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10 ph around 7) He has been living there for about 2 to 3 weeks and has been fine.

Yesterday my resident called me and told me that she noticed his fins got very short. He usually likes to hang around the part of the filter that sticks down into the water. Could he have possibly cut his fins on that? Or is he becoming a tail biter?

Here are some pictures:






Here are the before pictures that I took last year around November:

[cliffordsmom]

It could be from him hanging around the intake from the filter. Mine did that for awhile, and then I noticed him starting to get stuck in the intake so I covered it up with some thin panty hose.

Sorry, I don't really know enough to be super helpful here. Good luck diagnosing this problem!

[sainthogan]

It could be from the filter, especially if he doesn't have a history of biting his tail. See if you can cover the intake with pantyhose or something similar.

[latriana465]

Hmmm...It looks like a filter problem. I have a tail bitter and to me looking at your betta's tail, it doesn't look like bite marks. Instead it looks like it was torn or shredder off. That's a good sign =) I would just wrap some panty hose around the intake part of the filter and secure it with a hair bow or rubber band and his tail should heal up just fine.

[Roemgie]

Originally Posted by cliffordsmom

It could be from him hanging around the intake from the filter. Mine did that for awhile, and then I noticed him starting to get stuck in the intake so I covered it up with some thin panty hose.

Sorry, I don't really know enough to be super helpful here. Good luck diagnosing this problem!

Thank you for your advice! He's not mine and his owner is currently off campus and so is her roommate so I'll have to wait until they get back before I can do anything :( but I believe that's what it is because he isn't stressed

[Roemgie]

Originally Posted by sainthogan

It could be from the filter, especially if he doesn't have a history of biting his tail. See if you can cover the intake with pantyhose or something similar.

I will defiantly do that when my resident comes back so I can get into her room

[Roemgie]

Originally Posted by latriana465

Hmmm...It looks like a filter problem. I have a tail bitter and to me looking at your betta's tail, it doesn't look like bite marks. Instead it looks like it was torn or shredder off. That's a good sign =) I would just wrap some panty hose around the intake part of the filter and secure it with a hair bow or rubber band and his tail should heal up just fine.

I was getting worried that it could be tail biting but he has never done that and he has no reason for doing it so I'm defiantly glad that it isn't anything TO serious but I will defiantly be covering it up. I'm going to put a sponge filter in there as well and I was told that if I leave it in and running for a month I should be able to take out that filter.

Also quick question, I was under the assumption that we were suppose to change the filter every 6 months...well...it says change it monthly for best results and the filter is black (when I looked at it the other day). I've heard that we should just put it into some of the tank water, rise it a little in there and then place it back into the filter. Does that sound right at all for a 10 gallon cycled tank?

[cliffordsmom]

I don't know very much about filters yet. I've only had a filtered tank for several months (I'm totally new to fish), and I changed mine twice when algae started to grow. But I'm not sure if that's how you're supposed to do it...

You sound like a super helpful RA for looking after your residents fish! :)
I'm lucky if I can get my roommate to remember feeding mine on the weekends while I'm gone. Sometimes she doesn't even turn their lights off. :P

[majesticstorm]

I'm not sure if it's his color or something like that...but the ends of his tail looks bloody. Could it possibly be fin rot?

[latriana465]

From the pictures it doesn't look like fin rot, just the tail coloring. But I would keep an eye on the tail to make sure he doesn't develop fin rot.

As for the filter, I am not completely sure but I have heard like you, that you can rinse the filter in tank water. I have heard people put some tank water in a bucket and rinsing the filter in the bucket so everything doesn't get cycled on the filter again and that the filter isn't replaced until its falling apart. Please do not quote me on this because it is only hear-say. How about starting up a new thread post about it. I am actually curious to know this answer too.