You need to get the Hornwort on the right out of the sand. It does not develop roots and will rot if planted. Let it float or use plant weights to hold it down. The plant in the back will also rot if the rhizome (where the leaves emerge) is planted.

No one knows why Betta bite their fins; it's all conjecture. Two common denominators on this forum are tanks too bright and not enough plants/shade. Other than that it's guesswork. I would get some tall stem plants, weight down the bunch and let the tops flow over the surface to create shade. Or, let the stem plants float.

You can also get some Indian Almond Leaves (IAL) which have some antibacterial properties and will tint his water so the tank is not so bright.

 

It actually isn't Hornwort, it's actually Egeria Densa and those are supposed to be planted in.

I will turn his light off for a few days and only relay on natural light in the room... but I think he has enough hiding space. And the other plant is tied to a rock.
I ordered the almond leaves off ebay, but it will take a bit before they arrive :/

As of today evening, there's another nip.

 

I don't know what do do and I'm very unhappy about this I bought a ph test kit today, the ones when you shake it up, and the levels are optimal.
Somebody please help...

 

Also! When I came home today, I noticed that he built a bubble nest. Would he still do that if he was unhappy about the water quality?

 

Some things that can cause fin biting:

- Filter current too strong. Try putting a sponge on the intake or finding some other way to slow it down if necessary.

- Hunger or malnutrition. Maybe you're not feeding frequently enough, or he's missing some vital nutrients. Try different foods, or adding vitamin supplements. Vitachem is a great supplement to use.

- Disease. They can fin bite out of distress if they're sick. He doesn't look sick, though.

- General distress. Maybe he doesn't have enough places to hide. Maybe the lights are on too long, or too bright. Bettas are diurnal and like to sleep at night when it's dark. Be sure to turn the lights off at night.

- Bad water quality. Check your parameters. You need to know ammonia/nitrate/nitrite, PH doesn't really matter in this case.

- Fins too heavy. Large-tailed bettas are prone to biting if the're weak swimmers and feel burdened by their large fins. It's interesting to note that short-tailed bettas like plakats, or bettas whose tails aren't heavy like crowntails, almost never fin bite. If this is the cause there isn't really anything you can do about it.

Buy some Seachem StressGuard and AQ salt and dose the tank. Both will promote healing of his wounded fins and help prevent infection.

Bettas will bubble nest in literally any condition... I've seen half dead bettas in Walmart cups with bubble nests. It's just a natural instinct they have.

 

Thank you very much! I will look into these and keep updating on how it's going. I also took out his little house rock overnight just to eliminate he's not tearing up on it anyhow.
I hope I will be able to get this sort of stuff since it's kind of complicated in Czech Republic, we've got limited supplies of a lot of the products that are normally in every store.
But I'm sure I should be able to get at least some of the products.

 

You don't have enough plant cover which, combined with the white/light substrate, makes the tank too bright. The only acceptable parameters are 0ppm Ammonia and Nitrite and under 10-15 Nitrate.

I have one HMPK and the rest are extremely heavily finned like your Betta. I have not one fin biter out of nine such. All are in heavily-planted tanks with lights on eight hours per day. I also learned a long time ago to start with filter flow low and gradually increase as the Betta grew in strength. Mine have learned to use the outflow for exercise and easily carry those gorgeous fins with ease. This is one reason I don't like sponge filters.

Sorry about the misidentification of the plant; it was late for me (I have insomnia) and apparently my brain wasn't fully functioning. I still contend stem plants bunched or planted in close groups are best. They offer more cover and shade that way.

I agree with DZIM about Seachem StressGuard if you can find it. All of my Betta are shipped and sometimes they bite in transit. I have found daily doses of StressGuard for 14-21 days has helped them heal rather swiftly. However, keep in mind some Betta never stop biting. Believe it or not, the Betta I owned that bit the worst was a Plakat. :dunno:

Good luck. Your boy is beautiful.

 

I'm sorry for your insomnia.

Do you think I should put his house back since there are some new nips overnight and if it's truly about a light source, the only thing I did was take away a hiding spot?

You don't have enough plant cover which, combined with the white/light substrate, makes the tank too bright. The only acceptable parameters are 0ppm Ammonia and Nitrite and under 10-15 Nitrate.

I have one HMPK and the rest are extremely heavily finned like your Betta. I have not one fin biter out of nine such. All are in heavily-planted tanks with lights on eight hours per day. I also learned a long time ago to start with filter flow low and gradually increase as the Betta grew in strength. Mine have learned to use the outflow for exercise and easily carry those gorgeous fins with ease. This is one reason I don't like sponge filters.

Sorry about the misidentification of the plant; it was late for me (I have insomnia) and apparently my brain wasn't fully functioning. I still contend stem plants bunched or planted in close groups are best. They offer more cover and shade that way.

I agree with DZIM about Seachem StressGuard if you can find it. All of my Betta are shipped and sometimes they bite in transit. I have found daily doses of StressGuard for 14-21 days has helped them heal rather swiftly. However, keep in mind some Betta never stop biting. Believe it or not, the Betta I owned that bit the worst was a Plakat.

Good luck. Your boy is beautiful.

 

If he enjoyed the house then I'd put it back. I test all decor and driftwood with a pair of hose. If the hose snag then so will a Betta's fins.

I think once you get more plants which will provide your boy with more shady spots it will help. One or two members have let large-leaved Anubius float instead of anchoring. Their Betta rested on and under the leaves. What type of filter do you have? If it's one that's adjustable I would turn it down to fairly low and once a week turn it up a notch so he'll get used to more current. I did this as an experiment when I was on the verge of going from OHM to Plakat. I was so glad it worked. Some still occasionally bit but they didn't obliterate their fins and they were definitely much stronger.

I love these heavily-finned Betta but boy, do they come with their own problems! And, unfortunately, I've had one or two over the years that no matter what I did they destroyed their caudals. :-(

And thank you; insomnia is a bugger!

 

Thank you for the help. I have the smallest Aquael filter up to 30L and it's turned all the way down to minimal flow, I also put Java Fern in front of it so it blocks it a bit more.

As for the plants, I had four more leftover stored in a pet bottle from when I did the tank, so I put them in just as floaters. Hopefully that will help.
What others plants don't have to be planted in or are easy to keep? I am worried about my notorious black thumb, killing my plants despite the efforts.

If he enjoyed the house then I'd put it back. I test all decor and driftwood with a pair of hose. If the hose snag then so will a Betta's fins.

I think once you get more plants which will provide your boy with more shady spots it will help. One or two members have let large-leaved Anubius float instead of anchoring. Their Betta rested on and under the leaves. What type of filter do you have? If it's one that's adjustable I would turn it down to fairly low and once a week turn it up a notch so he'll get used to more current. I did this as an experiment when I was on the verge of going from OHM to Plakat. I was so glad it worked. Some still occasionally bit but they didn't obliterate their fins and they were definitely much stronger.

I love these heavily-finned Betta but boy, do they come with their own problems! And, unfortunately, I've had one or two over the years that no matter what I did they destroyed their caudals.

And thank you; insomnia is a bugger!

 

Hello! Updating on my little biter.
Today, spent about three of four hours trying to get hold of Seachem Stress Coat, with no luck. In some shops, they tried to convince me it doesn't exist and I'm making things up, in other shops they knew what I was talking about, but told me there's probably no luck to get it except online. So I ordered it and it should come Friday. Until then, I at least bought freshwater fish prevention againt fin rot.
I also got nitrate levels testing kit and I'm happy to eliminate it's most likely not a water quality problem. The coloring was very very light, my levels seem optimal, I did it twice to be sure and even checked the ph again.

When I was leaving for school, I washed and cleaned a table tennis ball. I read that floating objects sometimes distract them from biting because it keeps their minds off off it. When I came home, I was just so extremely happy not to discover any new nips. Or at least not big enough for me to notice. There was also another bubble nest he spent the entire day building, so at least I know he was focusing on something else than biting.

I'm not putting the house back just yet, I want to be able to keep my eye on him. But if no more nips appear, I will give it back as soon as possible.

To provide more coverage, I also got him some water lettuce plants and he seems to be very curious about them. Also got him a background so it feels more wholesome, like an enclosed space of his.

Wish me luck on getting him to stop biting and recovering his beautiful fins.
Not getting fin rot, most importantly!