Please help, he keeps biting his fins!!!!

[Mal72]

I have a twin tail Halfmoon in a split 10 gallon tank.
The PH is 7.
The temperature is 80 degrees.
The tank has a whisper filter on his side.
This morning he was fine and ate happily, but when I went check the tanks, I noticed that he was biting his own tail. At one point he got turn over by the filter and continued to bite his fins upside down! He is obsessively turning in a circle--right side up, then upside down.

I put him in a 1 gallon heated tank, with his favorite moss ball, a few silk leaves and some crush oak leaves--in hopes that the tannins will encourage fin regrowth. I plan on keeping him warm and dark until this goes away, but what else should I do????

He built a huge bubble nest last night the halfmoon in the other side of the divider is very healthy.

[Mal72]

Housing
What size is your tank? 10 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 80 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? Yes, a tetra whisper filter
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? It is a divided tank and there is another Betta on the other side who is very healthy.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? NLS 1mm pellets, Frozen Brine Shrimp, Bloodworms (as treats)
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2-3 pellets, 2x a day. Brine shrimp 1x per week.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 1 50& every two weeks (I have live plants)
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? " "
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Stress Coat.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
They have all been tested and are fine
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Yesterday, I noticed some minor tears in his fins, but he was not acting strange
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He is obsessively swimming around biting at his fins. You can actually see where there is blood.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? This afternoon.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I moved him to a hospital tank and crush up some oak leaves--hoping that the tannins would help the fin rot. I will add epsom salt if needed.
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)? I've only had him for about 1.5 months, so I imagine he is around 6 months old.

[Mal72]

There was a ghost shrimp in his tank and one snail. No changes, I had put some new fake plants in because he seemed be enjoying fighting with his neighbor a little too much. The view is obstructed. but I guess he can see the shadows. The halfmoon next to him rarely pays attention to him.

[registereduser]

Originally Posted by Mal72

At one point he got turn over by the filter

sounds like a strong filter current. Maybe he doesn't like that? When you return him to his original tank make sure the filter is baffled somehow to reduce the strength of the flow. You can get ideas on how to do that here:

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=30139

[Mal72]

Originally Posted by registereduser

sounds like a strong filter current. Maybe he doesn't like that? When you return him to his original tank make sure the filter is baffled somehow to reduce the strength of the flow. You can get ideas on how to do that here:

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=30139

He's been in this current tank set up for about 6 weeks, why is he acting this way now?

[callistra]

You still need a weekly change even wtih live plants. You don't need a 50% change but at least 20% weekly is needed.

If you are extremely heavily planted and can't see the bottom because of rooted plants (stem plants aren't nitrate eaters, but are good with ammonia) you don't have to use a siphon, however otherwise you should still use a gravel vac around the areas

Also cycling will still take up to two months and still take careful daily monitoring during this time.

How long has this been set up?

Please get a reliable drops test kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and test.

Biting fins won't cause blood. Bloody fins is signs of septicemia.. can you please share photos?

[Mal72]

Originally Posted by callistra

You still need a weekly change even wtih live plants. You don't need a 50% change but at least 20% weekly is needed.

If you are extremely heavily planted and can't see the bottom because of rooted plants (stem plants aren't nitrate eaters, but are good with ammonia) you don't have to use a siphon, however otherwise you should still use a gravel vac around the areas

Also cycling will still take up to two months and still take careful daily monitoring during this time.

How long has this been set up?

Please get a reliable drops test kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and test.

Biting fins won't cause blood. Bloody fins is signs of septicemia.. can you please share photos?

I had the tank set up for a month and a half, but I will do more water changes.

I have both a gravel vaccuum and a drop test kit at home, but was not home at the time I filled out the check list.

I assume that what was on his fins was faint drops of blood. He actually died within four hours of showing symptoms. I gave this and some pictures of him (after he had passed) to OFL and she seems to believe that there was something affecting his nervous symptopm and it was likely a rare genetic disorder. She was as baffled as I was and confessed that she had never come across anything so strange.

[Laki]

oh my goodness, I'm so sorry to hear!