Very frayed fins

[Ashelynjoe]

I was looking at my fish this morning and noticed that his fins are really frayed looking. My boyfriend and i have never seen a betta so frayed. I forget if he was a delta or a crowntail, but i am worried he might either have fin rot or be too stressed.

He is a blackish-purple, so i can't tell if he has blackened ends of his tail. He's still eating healthy, he swims and isn't acting any different, his tail is just super frayed.

[newbie32]

Do you think he could be a tail nipper? Sometimes bettas get bored/stressed/what have you and start biting their own fins. Can you post a picture?

[Ashelynjoe]

I've had him since March and I've never seen him tail nip. The only thing i can think of that might stress him out would be the change in tank. When i first bought him, he was in a half gallon tank with gravel. It didn't have a filter or a light. In June, I bought a 2 gallon tank with a filter and a light. I changed the gravel to decorative glass rocks. I kept the plant from his first tank. He sleeps in the plant and hids under the filter.

i did a nylon test on everything and nothing snagged the nylons...

I'll post a picture in a few minutes.

[newbie32]

My betta bites at his tail. I've never seen him do it myself, but I have seen the aftermath. His tail looked HORRIBLE! All I needed to do was rearrange the tank once a week during my water changes and haven't had a problem since. I must admit though, I HATE rearranging the tank. He seems to enjoy the new surroundings ever week. *sigh*

[Ashelynjoe]

So here is the best picture i could get.

[Ashelynjoe]

you can see how the tail is frayed.

[Silverfang]

That looks like tail biting from what I can see.

[Ashelynjoe]

If it is tail biting, then what can I do to either heal his tail or prevent it from getting worse. I don't wanna end up with a dead fish...

[freeflow246]

When my guy was tail biting, I added stress coat and aquarium salt to his water the next water change, and rearranged his decor a little. Now I don't have to mess with the decor, since he broke the habit. :)

[Ashelynjoe]

How much would stress coat and aquarium salt cost? I am mega strapped for cash as I am moving away to college in a few weeks....