[BettaLover898998]

Hi guys, My betta Bubbly is biting his fin... At first I thought that it was fin rot, but, apparently not. When I thought it was fin rot I used AQ salt, but once I found out he was biting his fin, I stopped the AQ salt treatment and did a 50% water change. Do you guise know any solutions to this?

I hafta go, so I'll post a questionnaire later, in about 30 minutes?

 

[dannifluff]

I haven't experienced fin biting yet, but I think it's just a process of elimination + clean water to prevent infection. For example, if your filter is quite strong try baffling it to reduce the flow, or, if you haven't moved the tank around much, try adding in a few bits and bobs such as some cheap floating stem plants to prevent boredom. Conversely, if you're changing the tank around a lot, try leaving it a while in case he's stressed. Make sure your water is very clean and your water changes appropriate for the tank size and whether it's cycled or not. To help prevent infection, I believe half an Indian almond leaf once a week releases tannins which are beneficial to the immune system, and soaking food in garlic extract can help too. I've got a half moon on order from aquabid so I've been researching this a bit, and I don't think there's any definite way to prevent it, however as long as you take steps to avoid infection it should be fine. Bettas bite their fins for different reasons... if he has particularly heavy fins he may never stop trying to give himself a trim!

 

[FrostPixie]

+1 danni.... I have a few fish that fin bite... it's all about finding their "ticks" (what sets them off or bothers them)

Just remember, some times, there isn't anything you can do about it even after you've tried everything (ex: moving things around, not moving things around, adding things, taking things away, making it more heavily planted/less planted etc. etc.) Some times they stop on their own, some times like Danni said, they just do it to trim themselves cause their fins are heavy.

Hope you're able to find out what your fish's tick is good luck!

 

[BettaLover898998]

Thanks, guys. Just wondering, can I also use a tea bag to release tannins?
If I can't, I'll order some IAL online but I don't know any websites that sell it

 

[dannifluff]

You can get packs of them off ebay, dried, although I believe rooibos tea can also be used.

 

[BettaLover898998]

Ok, thanks.

 

[FrostPixie]

Yep rooibos tea can be used... you steep the bag as long as you like for the colour you want. Just make sure there isnt any flavours with the rooibos and that its plain tea. Some of the members on here use the Twinings brand.