Double Tail Betta Biting Fins..

Hey Everyone,

I posted awhile back about my Double Tail Male Betta biting a section of his fins. This was quite awhile ago, and around the time I noticed it I saw him trying to bite at his tale too. Some time has passed and I haven't noticed him biting anymore but it won't seem to grow back. I've tried everything as far as fixing what may be causing him to bite. The water is pristine, the filter is baffled as much as it can be, and I've been spending a lot of time with him so he doesn't get bored. It seems like he's stopped biting but why do you think his tail is taking so long to grow back? It's really disheartening to see so if anyone has any suggestions, tips, feedback, words of encouragement haha. Anything helps.. I've read some good things about Indian Almond Leaves and their healing property's. Does anyone have any experience with them? Thanks again!

 

Is there clear material at the edges of his fins? This is new growth. If he's stopped biting it the entire fin will edged with it- see my avatar picture for an example. If he's still biting it may be ragged or suddenly stop at colored fin instead of clear.

Good luck. I've been dealing, with a fin biter for months without success- have tried everything, and not just have to content myself with watching for infections, or which he's only had one (knocking on wood).

 

Is there clear material at the edges of his fins? This is new growth. If he's stopped biting it the entire fin will edged with it- see my avatar picture for an example. If he's still biting it may be ragged or suddenly stop at colored fin instead of clear.

Good luck. I've been dealing, with a fin biter for months without success- have tried everything, and not just have to content myself with watching for infections, or which he's only had one (knocking on wood).

Yeah there's a little clear stuff come off where he bit but it's been like that for a little while now.. why do you think your guy is biting? Do you have any ideas? Or do you think some long tails are just prone to biting?

 

There are a lot of theories- too much stress, not enough hiding places, too much water movement, too much light, boredom, etc. I've tried to address these one at a time and see if I could figure it out, but haven't succeeded so far. Honestly, I think some are just tail biters- and I noticed an odd thing, when mine bites his tail he does so aggressively, but not like he's fighting. He never flares his gill plates like he's mad, so it may be that some just think they're big toys to play with, or potential food. As I understand it the actual nerves stop in the base of their tails, with input about touch traveling down the rays as vibrations, so they don't feel pain when they bite, just a pulling.

My Betta's fins grow back slowly, too. I've seen reports of incredibly rapid growth, but a mm a day or a bit less seems about normal for mine.

 

There are a lot of theories- too much stress, not enough hiding places, too much water movement, too much light, boredom, etc. I've tried to address these one at a time and see if I could figure it out, but haven't succeeded so far. Honestly, I think some are just tail biters- and I noticed an odd thing, when mine bites his tail he does so aggressively, but not like he's fighting. He never flares his gill plates like he's mad, so it may be that some just think they're big toys to play with, or potential food. As I understand it the actual nerves stop in the base of their tails, with input about touch traveling down the rays as vibrations, so they don't feel pain when they bite, just a pulling.

My Betta's fins grow back slowly, too. I've seen reports of incredibly rapid growth, but a mm a day or a bit less seems about normal for mine.

I've been doing the same as far as trying to address the problem. The thing is I used to see him doing it but I haven't in a long time. Maybe his tail just isn't growing back very fast or he's doing it when I'm not around which isn't very often because I'm around so much. His fins are so long and I know it impacts his swimming ability so I'm thinking that could have something to do with it. What type of Betta do you have?

 

What type of Betta do you have?

He was labeled a double tail, but he's not a Double Tail because he's only got one tail, though when it wasn't all chewed up the coloration looked almost like he was supposed to have two but they didn't split. I've looked at a couple of different identification charts and he doesn't look like anything on them. Since he was sold through PetSmart he may have been a hybrid that didn't quite meet expectations, or maybe a throwback that should have had two tails, but they didn't develop. In any case, before he chewed his tail to pieces and somehow broke off half of his dorsal fin he was really pretty. Luckily, like most Bettas, he's got tons of personality. He's always happy to see me, though happiest when I break out the fresh shrimp or Betta Bits, a little less happy if it's Bio Gold or New Life Spectrum. And he may be the most laid back Betta on the planet. I've only seen him flare his gill plates twice- once when he thought the gravel siphon was getting too familiar, and once just a few days ago when instead of greeting me with his typical enthusiasm he flared and went back and forth along the front of the tank just daring me to put my hand in, only stopping when I broke out his feeding wand.

 

He was labeled a double tail, but he's not a Double Tail because he's only got one tail, though when it wasn't all chewed up the coloration looked almost like he was supposed to have two but they didn't split. I've looked at a couple of different identification charts and he doesn't look like anything on them. Since he was sold through PetSmart he may have been a hybrid that didn't quite meet expectations, or maybe a throwback that should have had two tails, but they didn't develop. In any case, before he chewed his tail to pieces and somehow broke off half of his dorsal fin he was really pretty. Luckily, like most Bettas, he's got tons of personality. He's always happy to see me, though happiest when I break out the fresh shrimp or Betta Bits, a little less happy if it's Bio Gold or New Life Spectrum. And he may be the most laid back Betta on the planet. I've only seen him flare his gill plates twice- once when he thought the gravel siphon was getting too familiar, and once just a few days ago when instead of greeting me with his typical enthusiasm he flared and went back and forth along the front of the tank just daring me to put my hand in, only stopping when I broke out his feeding wand.

He sounds like an amazing Betta Fish. What's his name? Your most definitely right about them having so much personality. I consider my Bettas just as much of a pet as someone would think a dog or cat is. I love of all Betta Fish and they are so smart. Smarter than what people would think. Who makes the shrimp Betta Bits that your referring to? He sounds very lucky to have you as his owner.

 

He sounds like an amazing Betta Fish. What's his name? Your most definitely right about them having so much personality. I consider my Bettas just as much of a pet as someone would think a dog or cat is. I love of all Betta Fish and they are so smart. Smarter than what people would think. Who makes the shrimp Betta Bits that your referring to? He sounds very lucky to have you as his owner.

Thanks. His name is Boris. Sorry, I was talking about two different foods. The packaged Betta food he goes nuts for is Northfin Betta Bits- He used to go after HikarI Betta Bio Gold with the same enthusiasm, but not after he had the Northfin. It's not the easiest food to find, but it's highly rated, both by fish keepers and Boris. It looks like they sell direct, but I was able to get it from Amazon.

The other food he likes is cooked shrimp, no seasoning, cut into tiny pieces with the sharpest knife in the house. I save this as a treat because while it's fresh, I don't believe it has all the necessary vitamins and minerals. It's just meat, and in the wild Bettas eat whole insects, including their gut content, which provides their 'vegetables.'

There are a couple of packaged Betta foods he'll turn is nose up at when it's floating, but will eat off the bottom of the tank in an hour or so when he realizes nothing better is coming. (Sorry, Boris.) Healthy Bettas are always hungry and I've never had to siphon any food from his tank.

I try to feed a variety of foods even if he isn't crazy about them all, mimicking nature where he'd have to eat whatever insect happened to fall into the water above his territory. I'm not sure if this makes for a healthier fish or not, but it is supposed to make it easier to give them oral medication if that ever becomes necessary because they don't immediately reject something with a slightly different taste.

 

Thanks. His name is Boris. Sorry, I was talking about two different foods. The packaged Betta food he goes nuts for is Northfin Betta Bits- He used to go after HikarI Betta Bio Gold with the same enthusiasm, but not after he had the Northfin. It's not the easiest food to find, but it's highly rated, both by fish keepers and Boris. It looks like they sell direct, but I was able to get it from Amazon.

The other food he likes is cooked shrimp, no seasoning, cut into tiny pieces with the sharpest knife in the house. I save this as a treat because while it's fresh, I don't believe it has all the necessary vitamins and minerals. It's just meat, and in the wild Bettas eat whole insects, including their gut content, which provides their 'vegetables.'

There are a couple of packaged Betta foods he'll turn is nose up at when it's floating, but will eat off the bottom of the tank in an hour or so when he realizes nothing better is coming. (Sorry, Boris.) Healthy Bettas are always hungry and I've never had to siphon any food from his tank.

I try to feed a variety of foods even if he isn't crazy about them all, mimicking nature where he'd have to eat whatever insect happened to fall into the water above his territory. I'm not sure if this makes for a healthier fish or not, but it is supposed to make it easier to give them oral medication if that ever becomes necessary because they don't immediately reject something with a slightly different taste.

That's so funny that you mentioned NorthFin Betta Bits because that's pretty much their staple diet. I add in a could variety of frozen food as well but I always keep a bunch of NorthFin on hand. It's such a great food and it's a good size too. Not too big for them but not to small. How many Betta Bits do you feed per feeding? I usually do 3-4 because they are smaller then most other pellets.

 

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That's so funny that you mentioned NorthFin Betta Bits because that's pretty much their staple diet. I add in a could variety of frozen food as well but I always keep a bunch of NorthFin on hand. It's such a great food and it's a good size too. Not too big for them but not to small. How many Betta Bits do you feed per feeding? I usually do 3-4 because they are smaller then most other pellets.

Wow, that's a lot of Betta Bits. How many Bettas do you have?

I generally feed Boris about 6 of the Betta Bits, maybe 3-4 of the Bio Gold, and 2 of the New Life Spectrum (cut in half for 4 pieces). I judge how many to give by how hard he strikes. He'll strike at most food put in his tank. The foods he doesn't like he spits out and waits for to sink, but will come back for later. When it looks like he's striking for the heck of it I stop feeding. I also try to feed slowly- one piece every 3o seconds or so, something I'm sure isn't possible for people with a lot of fish.