Betta with tears in tail?

I recently noticed my betta Legend has developed some tears in his tail. There are two bigger tears that definitely look like bites, I’m guessing for those he bit himself. I can’t tell what the little tears are from, I don’t think anything in his tank is sharp enough to make them, and I’m pretty sure it’s not finrot. The only sign pointing to finrot is that sometimes there are a couple red dots near the end. No white spots, not red or white rim, etc. He acts completely normal. It’s hard for me to actually see where and how many tears there are because it’s very little right now and where they are Legend has cellophane coloring. I think there are only tears in the upper half of his tail, no where else. I’m pretty sure he’s always been a bit ragged, but again it’s hard to tell. Chances are this is how he’s always looked and I only noticed because of those two big tears. It doesn’t look like any finnage is missing, only that there are rips. What do you think?

 

Tears will usually heal themselves as long as you keep your water is pristine and you do water changes regularly. The red dots do usually mean fin rot but again clean water will heal that. Double check to make sure there are no plastic plants of decor that the tail should be catching on. Sometimes things are sharp for a flowy tail that you would not imagine. If he is biting it is usually due to stress. There are so many things that can cause a betta to stress. Double check the water parameters, is there a tankmate that is stressing him, is the current too strong, can you add floating plants to make him more comfortable. It is usually trial and error.

 

It’s more likely that he just tore them on something in the tank. My betta always seemed to find something to tear his on even in a tank with only live plants. I’d search the tank for anything sharp or rough and if you're not sure if it’s rough enough to tear his fins, just assume that it is.
Then just keep the water extra clean as it heals. If you do find out that he’s biting it himself then come back and tell us.

 

I agree with the posts above. Just to double check, does he have any tanks mates, and if so what are they?

 

I agree with the posts above. Just to double check, does he have any tanks mates, and if so what are they?

He’s in a divided 10 g, the only current animal in the tank

It’s more likely that he just tore them on something in the tank. My betta always seemed to find something to tear his on even in a tank with only live plants. I’d search the tank for anything sharp or rough and if you're not sure if it’s rough enough to tear his fins, just assume that it is.
Then just keep the water extra clean as it heals. If you do find out that he’s biting it himself then come back and tell us.

Thank you! I havent caught him actually biting yet but I’ll keep checking. i tested the water this morning, 0 ammonia and nitrite, 6.4 ph, little nitrate.

Tears will usually heal themselves as long as you keep your water is pristine and you do water changes regularly. The red dots do usually mean fin rot but again clean water will heal that. Double check to make sure there are no plastic plants of decor that the tail should be catching on. Sometimes things are sharp for a flowy tail that you would not imagine. If he is biting it is usually due to stress. There are so many things that can cause a betta to stress. Double check the water parameters, is there a tankmate that is stressing him, is the current too strong, can you add floating plants to make him more comfortable. It is usually trial and error.

Got it! The only plastic plants in his tank are his betta hammock leaves. tested water this morning, everything in place (parameters listed in reply to someone else) 40% water changed today.

 

Bettas will sometimes pick at their own fins. Mine had quite a few tears and started even losing bigger chunks of his fins. I think it was a mix of higher flow (to disperse CO2) and the dragon stones being too sharp. Moved him to another tank with zero flow and more open spaces to swim and everything is healing now.

 

Bettas will sometimes pick at their own fins. Mine had quite a few tears and started even losing bigger chunks of his fins. I think it was a mix of higher flow (to disperse CO2) and the dragon stones being too sharp. Moved him to another tank with zero flow and more open spaces to swim and everything is healing now.

Right! My other betta, Alpha, has a 20 g planted all to himself and he decides to completely destroy his tail. It’s been growing back great, but about half is missing

 

That sounds a bit alarming, what are the parameters in that 20 gallon? Are they good?

 

That sounds a bit alarming, what are the parameters in that 20 gallon? Are they good?

He hasn’t done anything (tail biting) in months, and whenever I test parameters are all in place. His tank is in a spot of the house where light made a lot of reflection and it stressed him, but we have that problem fixed. That’s why I think he bit. His tail is almost back and he hasn’t done anything to it in awhile. I’ve heard I could be from boredom, because none of the other reasons (stressful tankmates, bad parameters etc.) are there. He lives with my mystery snail and that’s it.

 

If you think he's bored, try dropping a new table tennis ball into his tank. It will float at the top of the tank and he might play with it. and you can try training him or rearangging the decor in his tank.

 

If you think he's bored, try dropping a new table tennis ball into his tank. It will float at the top of the tank and he might play with it. and you can try training him or rearangging the decor in his tank.

Great idea! I’ll try to find one for him