What is happening???

[FishyFriend1]

Well, i just got home from shopping and i went into my bedroom to check on charlie and i saw this:
I have immediately removed all plastic plants from the tank. Now all he has is his cave
I know he is pretty mad at me for taking away his plants but i think he is ripping his tail on them.
yesterday he had a small cut in his fin but i didn't remove the plants(I really regret this now)


How long will this take to heal?

Or is it something more than just a rip?

he is being treated with salt because of the rip earlier....

[MrVampire181]

That looks more like he bit his tail off. I've never dealt with tail biters so I'm not 100% sure.

[Welsh]

Both my bettas were tail biters, Elmo still is. Its sad to watch but unfortunately you can't do much about it. What I tend to do is re-decorate the tank now and again to stop him getting bored and also place things outside his tank but other than that if hes going to bite then hes going to bite. I guess its like a person with a nail biting habit - like myself haha

[JKfish]

+1 for welsh. My fish used to be horrible tail biters.

He could be tail biting if the current of a filter is too strong, or if he's bored, or if there's something stressing him. If you think he's getting bored, interact with him and put different things in and outside of his tank. If you think it's the filter, try to baffle it. If he's stressed, lower the lights in his tank so it is dim.

[FishyFriend1]

Okay, so he is biting his tail probably. Good to know.

Here in Canada we don't get much light in this dreadful winter season.....

I don't use the filter in my tank. Its not even installed....

I changed his water two days ago and every time i change the water i move the ornaments around too.

Do those floating betta logs work well??

Also, ISN"T THAT A RATHER BIG BITE FOR A SMALL FISH????????

[FishyFriend1]

anyone know how to deal with tail biting? like stopping it?

[Imabee]

I would like to know how to deal with a tail biter too, seems like mine has started...his top fin is completely ragged right now. Do you think they do it when we aren't looking, in secret? I've never seen him do it but it's the only thing I can think of.

[JKfish]

what sized tank is he in? How frequently do you do water changes and how much? It's heated, right?

Tail biting is always hard to stop, it's sort of like a little kid's habit of biting his or her nails.

For now keep up with your water changes so his fins can heal. What worked for me was letting my boys flare for a few seconds or so each day when they started tail biting. I also used to arrange different things they probably haven't seen before (plastic dinos, toy cars, crayons, beanie babies) around their tanks for them to look at so they could focus on more than just their fins.

[Learn To Fly]

Yeah looks like tail biting...make sure it doesn't develop into finrot but it seems like you've got it under control :)
Try flaring him every day, sometimes it can be more stressful but for one of mine it helped...
Really too bad there isn't sour apple stuff for fish like you use for dogs lol.

[FishyFriend1]

Would it be okay to put like a bouncy ball in his tank if i clean it with salt first? I think it would be the same as the ping-pong ball....

Or maybe some children bath toys?

He is in a 5 gallon heated tank.
No filter, the tank comes with one, but i chose not to use it.
He had weeds(i took them out because they were plastic)
and he has a huge cave to hide in.
I clean his water 50% every week. sometimes even more.
Every time i change his water i move the decor around.