Betta Shredding His Tail

hI all, one of my betta’s has a very large tail which hangs over his side a lot, he doesn’t swim much since it’s clearly too heavy for him... I’ve had him about 5 months, he’s totally fine and healthy and eats, parameters are all great (0, 0, 0 0-10) temp 80, 5 gallons. He’s always been really lazy, I assumed because his tail is heavy, but the last couple weeks long strands of his tail have been disappearing. I’ve never seen him nip but there’s nothing sharp in the tank, and no signs of any damage (no black or red edges like fin rot or anything) they just disappear in strips. I had another betta a couple years ago who did the same thing, and it looked the same, and I did find him nipping and would also find pieces of his tail laying around. I haven’t found any of this guys tail.

What should I do? Should I just let him keep taking off as much as he wants until he’s happy? He definitely has the heaviest tail I’ve ever personally seen on a betta (he was a present, I didn’t pick one with a giant tail on purpose)

Thank you!

 

Pics would help and it could be fin rot from uncycled tank or not enoigh water changes or could be ripped on something sharp in tank but you said not so

 

Pics would help and it could be fin rot from uncycled tank or not enoigh water changes or could be ripped on something sharp in tank but you said not so

I can’t get a pic of it, he sits around all day and when he does swim he doesn’t spread his tail well enough to see. Definitely not fin rot, the tank is cycled (I gave the parameters in the original post if you missed it) and water quality is totally fine. Every few days there will just be a large chunk missing, way too much to have rotted. Basically I’m just wondering if I should let him keep shredding it until it’s a length he wants.

 

I've read that this is normal for bettas; their fins will go through periods of growth, shedding, and regrowth. I probably wouldn't worry about it too much, just keep doing what you're doing.

 

Fin biting usually happens in bettas with long fins. You can try rearranging decor or adding more plants to give him more places to explore or rest (possibly decreasing stress). You can also try adding shrimp to distract him from biting.

I definitely recommend making sure your water maintains those parameters, don’t be afraid to increase your water change size or frequency. Clean water will be super important in preventing infection.

What is your current water change schedule?

I've read that this is normal for bettas; their fins will go through periods of growth, shedding, and regrowth. I probably wouldn't worry about it too much, just keep doing what you're doing.

This isn’t normal for betta fish, but it does commonly occur with those who have longer fins.

 

I had another a couple years back who did the same, so I’m 99% sure it’s him doing it, looks exactly the same. Parameters have been that the whole time I’ve had him (minus a week at the beginning when it was still cycling) and he’s got many rests... hopefully he’ll start swimming more if he prefers it short though.

 

Yeah I could be wrong. Someone else on here said that so I was taking their word for it

 

I always loved keeping long finned bettas until I discovered damage on one of their fins, but since hearing some advice from a good friend I realized that torn fins will eventually always happen, no matter how cautious we are or how proofed the tank is, it'll happen sooner or later. Whenever I notice that one of my bettas is having issues with their fins, such as biting them, then I will do daily water changes along with adding some dissolved aquarium salt and almond leaf tannin extract to the new water, this usually helps and I see improvement in a few days if they cease to bite them during this time.

I have never tried trimming the fins on any betta, and while I won't ever recommend you do this given my experience, it may be your only option if you feel comfortable doing it.