Fins tattered and torn? (Extremely sudden)

[Persica]

Okay, I have never had experience with tail-biting so I'm not sure if that is what's going on..

Basically, I checked on my boy tonight to feed him and check on him, and all of a sudden, his tail fin is all torn up! This happened within 24 hours.. I don't know what's going on?

There are photos attached.

Housing
What size is your tank?-5 gallons
What temperature is your tank?-76 degrees
Does your tank have a filter?-yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?-no
Is your tank heated?-yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?-none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?-New Life Spectrum or something like that?
How often do you feed your betta fish?-Every day, fast him one day a week

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change?-Once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?-50 percent
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?-water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?-I haven't tested yet, but typically my levels are all normal

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?-His tail fin is all torn up. :(
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?-It hasn't.
When did you start noticing the symptoms?-Just today.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?-No
Does your fish have any history of being ill?-No
How old is your fish (approximately)? -I've had him for about 2 months. (He came from a pet store)

[Silverfang]

Judging by the look of his tail, that is either fin biting or fin blow out. The treatment for both is the same, clean water. Perhaps thrown in an additional 25% change a week? Good nutrition and clean water is his best hope for good regrowth.

You might want to double check, there is nothing he could have snagged his fins on? Have you made any changes recently? I'm leaning towards fin biting, which is usually attributed to a number of different factors. Boredom, stress, or uhm, well they have too much fins and feel the need to bite to keep their fins "trimmed"

[Persica]

Anyone? :(

[Persica]

Well, he recently had to move from my dorm to my house for break.. Maybe he is stressed? I will clean his tank more! He's also in a low traffic area of my house. Is he lonely?

[Silverfang]

That is likely it. I had my boy bite his tail once, he did it after being stuck in a dark cup during a WC. You may not be able to get him to start biting, but if you can keep his water god and clean you can prevent fin rot, which is the most important thing. Stress coat can help with fin regrowth, and as I mentioned, good nutrition. Live or frozen is the best, but NLS is a decent pellet.

Watch to see if the fins get shorter, or if you get any change in colour. Clear/whitish means new growth, dark black/crustyness means rot.

He looks like he might be a halfmoon? They are notorious for biting because they have too much finnage. As I said, just keep a watch for signs of new growth. An extra partial change should help keep his water that much extra clean.

[Persica]

He's either a half-moon or a delta, I'm not sure. He was labeled at Petco as a delta, but his tail seems bigger than that to me. I will do all the things you mentioned and I hope he gets better soon! Hopefully if it is tail-biting, he'll stop when he gets back to my dorm and there's more action around his tank. He's always been perfectly healthy until now! Poor boy! Thanks so much for all your advice and I will try my best to make him better!

[Persica]

As an update, his tail fin seems to have gotten much worse. There isn't any edge that doesn't look torn... :( I moved his tank to a better place where he'll see me more often. I honestly think he misses me a little. He's so used to living in my dorm room where I'm there all the time.

[Luimeril]

tail biting isn't anything that can hurt them, unless the bites get infected. but, as long as you do water changes regularly, that won't happen.

i had a delta bite his tail whenever i'd go out to hang with friends for hours. i stopped him by giving him more plants, and changing around his decor at every water change. give that a shot, see if he stops. :3 he certainly is beautiful. it'd be a shame to see that beautiful butterfly edge ruined like Dante's was. :T

[Persica]

Originally Posted by Luimeril

tail biting isn't anything that can hurt them, unless the bites get infected. but, as long as you do water changes regularly, that won't happen.

i had a delta bite his tail whenever i'd go out to hang with friends for hours. i stopped him by giving him more plants, and changing around his decor at every water change. give that a shot, see if he stops. :3 he certainly is beautiful. it'd be a shame to see that beautiful butterfly edge ruined like Dante's was. :T

Thanks. :) I think I'll do 50 percents twice a week. Would that be too much or too little? I just bought him some new decor for Christmas so hopefully that will spice things up a bit. I will get some more new things as well so I can keep things rearranged all the time. :)

Thank you for saying he's beautiful! He's my pride and joy, and I was doing so well with him until this started! My last boy, Persica, died because the plants in his water died and gave him a bacterial infection.. I'm starting to feel like a bad betta mommy. :(

[Persica]

Venturing out to get some Stress Coat today!! I hope I will be able to fix this. Are there instructions on the bottle for how much to use?