Betta anal fin segment broken off and fused

[earthworm88]

Hi there!
I have posted with this question in the chat section. I am hoping to get some opinions on this.

My betta had 3 segments of his anal fin broken off, instead of growing back which I had hoped, he actually is fusing the two sides to bridge the gap but still leaving a hole in the middle as it was a big gap to begin with. What I want to know is that how do they do it, especially in water and the fin would just move no matter how minutely. So it's been a week and it looks like he had installed an invisible zipper to get it done. Is this normally how they repair?

TIA!

[Sakura8]

That is crazy! It's like something out of a science fiction movie. No, I can't say this is normally how they heal a big rip like that. Usually, you will begin to see clear growth around the edges of the tear that grows down until it is the same length as the rest of the fin, then it colors in to match. I think your guy is radioactive or something. But that said, the powers of fin regeneration are amazing so I guess anything is possible. I mean, fin regeneration can happen in as little as a week. It's just the particular way your guy did it, filling in the hole like that, is unusual. Really unusual.

[earthworm88]

Originally Posted by Sakura8

That is crazy! It's like something out of a science fiction movie. No, I can't say this is normally how they heal a big rip like that. Usually, you will begin to see clear growth around the edges of the tear that grows down until it is the same length as the rest of the fin, then it colors in to match. I think your guy is radioactive or something. But that said, the powers of fin regeneration are amazing so I guess anything is possible. I mean, fin regeneration can happen in as little as a week. It's just the particular way your guy did it, filling in the hole like that, is unusual. Really unusual.

Hi Sakura,
Thanks so much for your reply!! I had searched high and low for this type of repair and really couldn't find any literature or anyone with this type of experience so it's good to know he is an odd ball out there repairing it in his own funky way! I guess he took the easy way out by zipping it up lol
Thanks again for your reply.
Cheers!

[Sakura8]

You're welcome. I should thank YOU because I certainly got a kick out of the way your guy chose to heal his fins. Maybe he chose the easy way out or maybe all the other bettas are using the hard way for no good reason. Perhaps your guy should teach a seminar on fin healing.

[earthworm88]

Haha....he could, but I don't think any fish would attend cuz I don't think any of them would want to have holey fins lol

[Sakura8]

Hehe, you'd be surprised at how many tailbiters there are on this forum.