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May 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Biting or Tearing?
I can't really tell if the torn fins on my beta is from snagging against something or him biting.
I've had to keep the lite in the tank off recently to keep the water temp down, possible it's bugging him.
I know the pictures are a bit blurry, he won't stop moving long enough for me to get a decent one. Im tempted to pull out the bridge deco in the tank but lately he's really taken to it. Im just worried it could be the cause of the tears. | 
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May 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Really the only way you can be sure is to catch them in the act (which isn't likely), or rule out every other possbility. So I'd suggest removing anything that can tear and covering the filter intake with a sponge.
Your boy is gorgeous, btw  | |
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May 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| hmm....well the intake is a long tube and he never goes near it. is too bad, he'd finally learned to like the deco in there and it's the only thing I can see injuring him. Im gonna have to pull it out and replace his plants with live ones.
Anyone have any experience with the "grown your own plant bulbs"? | |
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May 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| definitely looks like biting. Too even to be tearing. My Billy's tail gets shorter and shorter, but always evenly. There are pictures of him in Alex's picture thread, although I think his tail has gotten shorter since then. I caught him doing it one day. He lets his tail get stuck to the filter intake, then bends around it and bites his tail like that. As soon as he saw me walk into the room, he stopped. Haven't caught him since but I know he still does it. | |
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May 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by serissime  definitely looks like biting. Too even to be tearing. My Billy's tail gets shorter and shorter, but always evenly. There are pictures of him in Alex's picture thread, although I think his tail has gotten shorter since then. I caught him doing it one day. He lets his tail get stuck to the filter intake, then bends around it and bites his tail like that. As soon as he saw me walk into the room, he stopped. Haven't caught him since but I know he still does it. | hmm.....need to keep him entertained somehow, just trying to figure out how in the 5 gal tank. next thought is a ping pong ball. do I have to do anything special to it for it to be safe in the tank? | |
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May 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| we tried a ping pong ball. we just rinsed it. it didn't work for billy because he never paid it any mind, but hopefully it works for you. billy is pretty neurotic to begin with though. you could also try rearranging his tank every month or so, and adding some kind of hoop | |
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May 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Eclipse is really mellow, I've never even seen him flare, mirror and all against the tank
I tried a hamster tube but he never went it and the few times he did It snagged his underside fins and tore them like a perfectly clean cut. | |
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May 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| I have one of those floating feeder rings to keep flake food in one place (well, it let the guppies know where to go for food at least lol) and it has a suction cup. That could work as a hoop if you rotated it 90* and put it in a lower strata of the water. Billy uses whatever he has as an obstacle course. I may actually take my own advice later, haha | |
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May 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| theres no real way to tell which is which..biting or tearing on something unless you catch them...and you usually wont it hes is a biter because they bite when you arent around because they have anxiety I swear LOL ...I have a biter who is totally uneven and then one that is even because he can only reach so far..so I wouldnt go on the evenness of it ...I would first do a nylon test to see if any of hte deco or plants rip with a pair of nylons rubbed over it...if so, remove that item or file it down so its smooth....at the same time, id put some nylon over the intake valve because when these boys sleep, the really sleep and could be sucked in their very easily...with daily partial water changes and stress coat or stress coat+ for at least 2 weeks, he should be healed if its the deco....if he isnt after you have done all this, hes a biter and he needs some more entertainment, or a divided tank with a neighbor to keep him busy.....and he is one amazing looking boy!!! | |
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May 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| I didn't mean that the even tail was indicative of a biter, I meant that an even tail is not likely to be accidental tearing
but they nylon test is a good idea, especially if he is using something to bite more efficiently (if it's biting) | |
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May 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| the only deco in there was a stone bridge that I placed fairly close to simulate a tunnel kind of thing. having hard time finding an actual tunnel deco piece around here.
and just recently I've noticed he started to use it. pulled it out, see if that helps, too bad too cuz he was diggin it.
Im gonna have to go on the hunt for a nice, small decent sized hole of a cave for him. he likes to sit between a particular silk plan I have, the glass and bottom of the tank. its a tight little are.
I thought about a divider and a second beta but I wasn't sure if it was actually a good thing for them to always be flaring at each other and goin a little nuts. and there's not much else I could put in the tank that wouldnt over stock. I spose if I could find a nice Double tail or crown tail it's an idea. | |
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May 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| 5 gallons with two bettas is doable if both sides will get heat and filtration. They won't go crazy all the time, eventually they will get used to it and only sometimes get heated up. If you're not too hot on dividing the tank though, I would continue trying to find other things to amuse him. | |
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May 13th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| he's a beautiful betta! it looks like biting to me, the pictures of billy are in my signature so you can see what it looks like. i've found that bettas generally bite when they're bored or if they're in a tank that is smaller than 5 gallons. | |
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May 13th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| he's in a 5 gallon. im wondering if he's unhappy with the lite off alot. | |
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May 23rd, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| biting is getting worse. dropped in a ping pong ball today. if that doesnt work may have to look into a divider and second fish? | |
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May 23rd, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| I have (2) 10 gallons divided with 2 bettas, and a 20 gal. long divided with 5 bettas. It keeps them entertained when I'm not around. | |
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May 23rd, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| my main worry is this is just a fiver. I mean it should be ok divided with two but thats small space. | |
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May 23rd, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| far as can tell, he can't be bothered with the ping pong ball.... | |
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June 15th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Not sure what I'm going to do. I think Im gonna have to divide the tank and add a second beta.
Everything I've tried has been uneffective. Quarter of his tale is gone and now the udnerside of his fins are getting beat up too. just not sure what to do.
Im wondering if a cave would help but I cant find one that's small enough to fit in the tank but large enough for him to fit. The bridge I had he...was meh about.
He could care less about bubbles and an air pump. doesnt even flair at himself in the mirror. I wonder if a divided tank would even help.
Last edited by Hitman84; June 15th, 2009 at 04:49 PM.
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