Please help! I just noticed that Oscar is starting to bite his tail. He was fine this morning and now the tip of his tail is missing! :'( When I got him the tip of his tail was clear, like it had been ripped or bitten and was growing back.
He lives in my little bedroom with me. It's basically just big enough for my bed, nightstands and a TV. He was always on the nightstand between the side where I sit all the time, and my closet door which is a giant mirror. I thought the mirror and all the action might be stressing him out so I moved him to the other side where there isn't anything going on. That move was Monday, and now Friday he's biting...
So has he gone from stressed to bored? He's in a 2.5 gallon w/ a light, no filter, 3 silk plants, and a large rock cave. I thought I had enough in there to keep him busy. I also just started feeding him bloodworms b/c he's been refusing pellets and flakes. He's red, does he now think his tail is a worm? One more thing, the TV is on pretty much 24/7, I can't really sleep w/o it. Is that too stressful for him?
What do you think I should do with him? Move him back? Treat him with salt? Cover the sides of his tank?
I'm sorry this is so long! But I really want to try to stop him before it gets worse. I want to make him happy so he doesn't want to do this to his pretty tail :(
How often do you change his water? Do you have a regular water change schedule that you follow? Also, since you don't have a planted tank you might arrange the decorations around in different areas of his tank. I know that a 2.5 gallon tank size is very limited as to what you can do as far as the decorations. I have a 5 gallon tank and on every water change I either rearrange the decorations or take out something and put something different back in. In my opinion, I would not place the tank by the mirror full time if he can see the reflection of himself. Also, what is the water temperature of his tank? Do you have a heater in this tank? Is he swimming normal or does he act like he is trying to get away from something?
I change the water about twice a week. The water temp is always between 75 and 80 degrees. I have a heater but I think it might be broken, it never feels hot when I take it out for cleanings. He is swimming fairly normally, a little lazy. He has yet to build a bubble nest in the month I've had him.
Thanks, I'll go get him a variety of interesting plants tomorrow and change up what I put in there every water change. :)
Instead of spending money right away (unless you want to) on the next water change you might take out one plant and replace the cave hideout with a coffee cup. Just look around the house and see what you can come up with to put in the tank. As long as it doesn't rust, contain lead, have paint that can peel off in the tank, or have any holes that he can get stuck in. If you decide to use a coffee cup place it so that the handle is sticking up that will give him an additional area to swim in and through.
I just came up with another idea to try. If you decide to try the coffee cup and since real estate is at a premium in a 2.5 gallon tank, you might place the coffee cup in the tank and place two silk plants on either side of the "entrance" to the coffee cup. Maybe he will enjoy swimming through the plants to get into his hideaway.
Oh yah, that's sort of like what I did. I put 3 thick bunches of anarchis in front of a ceramic bowl half way buried in the substrate, and my Betta loved hiding out there and wiggeling through his plants.
But I guess the same could work with what luvmybetta said. You should try it.
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