Tail biting. Booooooo!

[VJM]

I thought we had this solved, but after a fast day yesterday, i came into the office and Cupid bit big ol' chunks out of his tail.

Terribleness. Gloom. Despair.

I am currently working on two theories to try and make him quit.

1) He gets hungry, and when he gets hungry he bites his tail. I don't want to overfeed on the day before a fast day, so he may just be going to no fast days. I will have to invest in an electronic feeder, because I absolutely refuse to come into the office on both of my days off unless it is absolutely necessary.

2) His fins get in the way of swimming and he bites them to make it easier. His tank is currently more than stuffed full of plants. Lots of them have smooth edges that I can't see being a problem, but there is a ton of anacharis in there. I could see those making it harder for him swim in there. I pulled out about 90% of it. I am also in the process of cycling his new tank (a reward for letting his tail grow...ahem!), which is 6g as compared to his current 2.5g. Hopefully the space will let him have more freedom of movement.

Anyone have any other great ideas? I used StressCoat on his water change, and am keeping an eye on the fin margins. I will treat with aquarium salt if it looks like it is needed.

So frustrating. He is beautiful, and I hate seeing him all tattery.

[LittleBlueFishlets]

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Tailbiting. Yes, it's frustrating. And sometimes, just when you think you've solved the issue, the little guy may decide it's time for a new 'haircut' again.

One of my guys does tailbite when he's hungry. He gets two meals per day, with no fasting days. I've found he also needs:
- excellent water quality
- floating plants or a betta hammock to sleep in
- complete darkness at night
- low dose Epsom salt for a day or two if he starts to become constipated. (If he doesn't poop, he rips off his fins.)
- a neighbor to watch. (He actually does better if he can see another betta. Maybe it just keeps him busy, so he doesn't have time to rip off his fins....)

If I keep him in those conditions, he tends not to rip off his fins. (But tomorrow is always another day....)

As for moving your guy into the larger tank.... This may work, and it may not. Some fish like having more room. But when I moved my guy into a larger tank, he wanted to swim more - which meant the fins got in the way. So he ripped them off. Again.

Good luck! I really think universities need to start offering degrees in "Fish Psychology."