Why does his tail keep getting shredded?

[Dorothea]

Tank Size: ~1 gallon.
Temperature: Room temperature, ~76-82 degrees.
Filter: None.
Air Stone: None.
Heating: none.
Tank Mates: none (except a few live plants).

Food: Aqua Culture, betta pellet food
Feeding: Twice a day, 4 pellets each time (morning and early evening)

Water Changes: Once a week. Tap water.
Percentage: 100%.
Additives: Aquarium salts (less than a teaspoon) and Tetra Aqua (AquaSafe) (a few drops, maybe more than a few drops, would this happen with too much conditioner?).

Water Testing: never.

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?

This is the second weekend when his anal fin and caudal fin (tail) get sort of shredded when I change his water.
http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/u...t=DSC01007.jpg
I scoop him out using the net (maybe too rough?), put him in a temporary bowl with some water from his current bowl, clean his bowl/rinse the rocks and plants, put in salt/water conditioner, put in tap water, put the live plants back in, let it sit a while, then scoop him out with the net and put him back in his bowl (I add water "dirty" water there was in the temporary bowl back into the cleaned bowl). Last week I noticed that he'd gotten a slit in his anal fin (didn't go all the way through) and shredded the end of his tail when I poured him back into his bowl. I thought he hurt himself on the pointy plants at the bottom. This week, I noticed he'd already gotten a little torn up before I even moved him back into the bowl. Is it possible for betta fish to rip themselves up struggling in the nets while being transferred?

How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
Haven't noticed a change in behavior. He eats with appetite, makes bubbles, swims around, and gets hyper whenever I approach.

When did you start noticing the symptoms?
This happened for the first time last week.

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Beats me what to do! This week I was as gentle as I could be in moving him between temporary and permanent bowls, and it still happened!!

Does your fish have any history of being ill?
Not that I know of.

How old is your fish (approximately)?
I've only had him for about 2 months. I bought him from walmart and I don't think he's gotten much bigger since then.

I really love my fish! Please, if anyone knows what I'm doing wrong, let me know.

[XSprinkleFaceX]

He may be a tailbiter. Usually happens when they're bored. My fish ahs teh same problem...could also be the water quality. With a 1G tank, water changes are recommended every 2-3 days.

[Dorothea]

Thanks for the response! I don't think he could be a tail-biter, unless he's specifically biting his tail for the 30-60 minutes he's in the temporary bowl. Is that possible? He looks fine up until the point I move him to the temporary bowl. It's sometime after that that I realize his tail is once again damaged.

[prettylittlefishy]

With a 1g I'd be changing every other day.

[Sarada]

It does look like tail-biting.

[XSprinkleFaceX]

All it takes is an hour for them to completely rip their tails...lol It may also be caused by stress from removing him and putting him back in...Tail biting can be compared to a human when they bite their nails. They usually do it when they're nervous,stressed, scared or even bored...

[Sarada]

Is there anything he could be tearing his fins on?

[Sarada]

Use a cup instead of a net if you think it could be the net.

[Dorothea]

There are spiky plants in the tank, but they're real. They're sort of included in the picture. I don't think he'd be tearing himself on them, unless he somehow caught himself on the very tips of the leafs....

The cup suggestion is good. I used to use one but it got so hard getting him out with it... I am sure there's a good FAQ on this site or another on how to clean the bowl without removing the fish.... Maybe that is the way to go... Maybe he really is biting his tail, although last weekend when this happened for the first time, he got this long slit in his anal fin that didn't go all the way down. I can't imagine him chewing with that kind of precision...

[Sarada]

My boys did until I removed their filters...they are in 5 gallon tanks