[winonasfish]

Hi, in the past few weeks, our betta Juices' tail has been looking increasingly raggedy, thin, and frayed in the top half portion. I'm wondering if this is due to the tank evidently not cycling, even though there is a daily 0 ppm ammonia level in the water.

Info about tank:
5 gallon tank, filtered.
81 degrees.
Water parameters: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 0 nitrates (the nitrate test tube is mostly yellow but looks sliiiiiiiightly orange, so may be in the 0-5 range).

Because the tank isn't cycling (we've had it set up for over 6 months), I've been changing 50% of the water with a vacuum every 2-3 days. I feel like this should be enough to keep the water parameters very clean (and when I test the water, it always shows 0 ammonia), but our fish's tail isn't looking great.

The only other detail I can think to mention is that a few weeks ago we started getting increasing brown algae in the tank. I've been doing my best to keep it under control, but it is there-- could this have something to do with the rot?

Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Nova betta]

It looks like it is tail biting not fin rot. So that's good and bad news! Good news is your not dealing with bad water perimeters and you have a healthy fish. Bad news is nobody really knows why bettas tail bite. There are a few options you have to try and stop his tail biting, you could add more plants, rearrange his tank, try to make him feel as comfortable as possible. Some people feel like most of the time bettas tail bite because they are stressed. Just play around with him and see if you can find a reason why he is tail biting. The most important thing right now is to keep his water clean so it won't get infected and then turn into fin rot.
Good luck!

 

[winonasfish]

Thanks for replying-- I was contemplating getting him a snail for entertainment. I know this sounds weird to say, but he seems sort of bored?

 

[Nova betta]

Thanks for replying-- I was contemplating getting him a snail for entertainment. I know this sounds weird to say, but he seems sort of bored?

IMO bettas can get bored, but in my experience a tank mate wouldn't exactly make them not bored. But because you have a 5 gallon filtered tank then you could go for it!
What kind of snail would you be looking for?

I think the best thing to entertain a betta is more plants. Maybe sometime in the future you could live plant your tank! All of my tanks are planted and all my bettas love it!
I have a butterfly halfmoon who started biting his tail until I added some floating plants then he completely stopped.

 

[winonasfish]

I'll give it a shot. I don't have live plants, but there are a lot of silk plants in his tank.

 

[Nova betta]

I'll give it a shot. I don't have live plants, but there are a lot of silk plants in his tank.

Sounds good!

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

Nova Betta is spot-on: Not fin rot but biting.

Betta are shade-loving fish. Sometimes tanks are too bright because cover is too sparse. It has nothing to do with length of time the lights are on but on the actual brightness. Lots of either live or silk plants, especially near the top, are good ways to reduce this brightness. Can you post a photo of his entire tank?

This tutorial will help you successfully cycle Juice's tank:

http://www.bettafish.com/101-betta-...ies/555434-cycling-two-sentence-tutorial.html

 

[winonasfish]

Here's a pic of the tank-- it sits in a windowless corner, so it's very, very low light. At night the kitchen is mostly dark unless someone comes in for a snack. As for cycling, I'm surprised the tank hasn't cycled yet because I was doing weekly 50% water changes until Juices' tail started to fray, and then I upped them.

 

[Nova betta]

Here's a pic of the tank-- it sits in a windowless corner, so it's very, very low light. At night the kitchen is mostly dark unless someone comes in for a snack. As for cycling, I'm surprised the tank hasn't cycled yet because I was doing weekly 50% water changes until Juices' tail started to fray, and then I upped them.

If I were you I would get some silk plants, cut off the base and just float them on the top to give him some cover. The more the tank is stuffed with plants the happier the fish! :smile2:

Your betta is beautiful!