[dummees]

Hi there;
Silus is a halfmoon, and as seen in my picture he's got a clear tail.
This week his 10g permanent tank started leaking and I had to move him to a 5 gallon sterillite container (it was rinsed out, and I've had him in there before when cycling water. He also likes that it's dull plastic and it helps him not flare as much.)
Anyway, he's a bit aggressive for a betta and flares all the time. He's had some previous ripping but I checked on him today and he's got a few holes towards the tips and his tailfin is ragged. I'm worried he could be biting or there's a chance of fin rot, as there's a slight sign of black tips on a small portion of his tail.
If it's either of these things, how can I treat it? I put some more stress coat in there to help regrow his torn fins before, but if this is fin rot I want to get him treated ASAP.
As for the questions, all his parameters are ideal and his little tank (if you could call it that) is heated with a small filter. There's no decor in there that could tear up his fins, just a little gravel and a few soft plastic plants.

I was thinking maybe because he's particularly aggressive when feeding biting is more likely, but I would appreciate a second opinion.
Will try to get pictures up soon.
Thanks!

 

[Seki]

First off... gorgeous fish! It's always the pretty ones that destroy their fins... -sigh-

If he is a biter, which it sounds like he might be, it's probably being in the smaller container that's stressing him out. If you're sure it's not the filter ripping his delicate fins, then it is more than likely he is biting. Aquarium salt will help him a little bit, but be careful not to dose for more than 10 days. If I remember correctly, the dosage is 1 tsp. per gallon of water. Also, daily 100% water changes are recommended. I put my guy in a smaller hospital tank when he chewed his tail off... it was much easier to change the water so frequently.

Stress coat might help, it might not. Didn't do a darn thing for my fish, but different fish respond to different treatments. You also might try IAL, since it is said to soothe them a bit. Good luck! Tailbiters aren't fun to deal with, but as long as his water is kept clean, he should be fine.

 

[dummees]

Thank you! He's my first boy off aquabid, can't even begin to imagine all I've went through to get him in a perfect environment when I was uneducated when I bought him, ha.
Yeah - I've been trying a couple days with a little extra dose of SC but it hasn't seemed to be working. It's fixed his torn fins from too much flaring before, but fin biting is kind of ineffective.
I ran out and bought some salt today though, thank you! I gave in to a new boy while I was there with velvet, figured might as well rescue the poor thing while I was buying salt anyway. Got a new tank today too, so when I get a divider they can split their big 20 gal. C:
Thank you for the help!