Tailbiters unite?

[HayrideHaunter]

Hey guys! Gosh its been forever...been through two bettas since my Marbles passed (in my avvie pic)...now I have Emanon ("Emmy") the veiltail

he's quite a happy guy but has a ridiculously long tail. He is a biter, though no harm other than shredding has come from this.

I have him in a 2 gallon tank, which gets something like a 90% water change once a week, and once every few weeks he gets the full 100% and i give the tank and rocks a good hot water scrubbing.

The tank is NOT heated, however I do have a thermometer in it and the temp stays a consistent 78-80 degrees F. He recieves 3 pellets every morning and a pinch of bloodworms at night, and gets fasted only every few weeks when he develops the occasional little tummy.

Now that the formal whatnot is down, lets get to business.

He shreds his tail when it appears to be fully healed (which, because I do my best to care for him, usually only takes a week or two). He only bites down the last quarter inch or so, and his tail IS ridiculously long. He doesn't do it out of stress or anything as far as I know, and it hasn't caused him any other harm (by that I mean he has not gotten any infections or noticeable illnesses as a result) but it does make his beautiful tail a bit ragged for a while...

anybody have suggestions for me? Or is Emmy just one of those boys that bites because his tail is too long? (it is about half again the size of his body!)

on a side note, and my apologies if this is the wrong time and place, but I also purchased a few ghosties (separate tank), anyone have any quick tips for a new ghostie owner? they seem pretty straightforward but you never know =D

Thanks everyone!

[Belated]

No help here, but I can empathise. :\ Annoying, isn't it?

My boy Sodapop mutilates his tail couple of weeks; just when it's starting to look pretty again, he bites it. D: Never very much, just a few chunks along the edges, but still enough that it looks horrible and gets rid of everything that just healed. His anal fin is twice the length of his body though, and his tail is generally about that when it's healed... I always assume it's just too heavy for him, because he's otherwise happy, active and healthy.

[HayrideHaunter]

Sounds like Emmy! haha...oh dear.

Sodapop...Outsiders reference? Im a fan!

[Belated]

Tailbiters unite, indeed. :P Emmy is gorgeous, by the way!

And yep! It's one of my favourite books. I really wanted to call him Pony, but I thought it was a little too out there for a betta. xD

[HayrideHaunter]

Oh...I don't have pictures of Emmy up...the pics are of my late companion, Marbles. I so loved that little guy. Unknown reasons caused him illness and it proved fatal. RIP...but he was a total sweetheart. Em is a blue veiltail with red and purple bits.

[Belated]

Oh, I'm sorry! Well, Marbles was very pretty, anyway. :[

[HayrideHaunter]

Thanks...he was a gorgeous little guy =D

[Pataflafla]

Tail biters do suck. I've got two right now. One of which has ruined his tail in that it grows back stiff.

Have you tried isolation and enrichment? Bottle caps, hand mirrors, and buttons tied to string work very well for distracting and exercise.

[HatsuneMiku]

my tailbiter .. hasn't bit his tail in 3 months *cross fingers .. knocks on wood .. throws salt over my shoulder* .. yup .. it's like that !! =D

[HayrideHaunter]

Pataflafla: I have not tried a lot of enrichment actually haha...what do you mean by isolation though? He's my only betta, in his own tank and everything...I will put a bottlecap in there and start looking for some buttons.

Hatsu: first of all love your name, I'm a nut for vocaloids. Glad your biter seems to be doing well! The fish in your avatar is a beaut!