Help! Veiltail Betta tearing chunks off tail every day

I noticed a tiny bit of damage to my Betta's analfin a few days ago and was keeping a close eye on it (it seemed to be healing perfectly) and then today, in the space of about half an hour, half his tail disappeared. This is him a few days ago:


(eta: I was keeping a close eye on those white tips, I think they were due to new growth rather than fin rot?)
And this his him today:





I noticed that he had two small pale marks in the same place on each side of his body, close to his tail - they've since disappeared and were hard to photograph. So I figured that probably what had happened was that he had got stuck between two rocks, and ripped the tail off while getting free.


Needless to say, I've taken all these rocks out, and did a ~25% water change while I was at it. I'm kinda kicking myself for having the rocks in there in the first place.

The shredded, dangling bits of his tail have gone a bit grey in the last few hours, which I expect is normal and they will drop off before he regrows his tail? But I've never had this level of damage to him before and I wanted to get some input from anyone more experienced. I've had him nearly two months, 15gal tank, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, <5ppm nitrate, ~7pH. Three Amano shrimp buddies that stay mostly hidden in the undergrowth.

Apart from doing regular water changes (probably every day for a few days), any other advice? Anything in particular I should look out for with regards to rot setting in? Thanks!

 

That's the thing with bettas, they always find a way to squeeze into places they don't belong! Idk why they seem to like to squeeze into tiny spaces, but don't beat yourself up. Something similar happened when I first got my betta and he scrapped off a few scales. It's not the worst rip I've seen, just keep up with the frequent WCs. If he begins to develop fin rot will appear more black/brown around the edges.

 

That's the thing with bettas, they always find a way to squeeze into places they don't belong! Idk why they seem to like to squeeze into tiny spaces, but don't beat yourself up. Something similar happened when I first got my betta and he scrapped off a few scales. It's not the worst rip I've seen, just keep up with the frequent WCs. If he begins to develop fin rot will appear more black/brown around the edges.

Thanks a million, that makes me feel a lot better! Haha yeah he sure does love his tight little places, such a little weirdo. Will definitely keep on top of the WCs!

 

Try Indian almond leaves if you can get your hands on some those. Definitely made my betta happier and less stressed. I always pour some IAL tea into the tank when I see some fin damage on my guy.

 

Try Indian almond leaves if you can get your hands on some those. Definitely made my betta happier and less stressed. I always pour some IAL tea into the tank when I see some fin damage on my guy.

Thanks I'll try that.

Bad news, though. If it wasn't fin nipping before, he's fin nipping now. Woke up to find a huge chunk of his analfin gone. I'm fairly certain it's not fin rot, the edges look too clean to my eyes.




I'm very disheartened, to put it mildly. He does sometimes stress at the glass and I've tried to reduce reflections but it didn't seem to work much. But overall I thought he was doing good. Not sure what to do from here, apart from trying to get my hands on some Indian almond leaves.

 

The circular chunk missing looks like fin nipping, however there are some edges on the caudal fin that look a little black/brown which could be the beginning of fin rot.

Alternatively if you can't get your hands on IAL plain rooibos tea works great too. I use it in my tank since it's way cheaper and I can keep large brewed batches in the fridge for WCs.
Here's the tea I use: Celebration Herbals Rooibos-South African Tea Organic 24 Tea Bag, 48Gm : Amazon.ca: Grocery & Gourmet Food

 

The circular chunk missing looks like fin nipping, however there are some edges on the caudal fin that look a little black/brown which could be the beginning of fin rot.

Alternatively if you can't get your hands on IAL plain rooibos tea works great too. I use it in my tank since it's way cheaper and I can keep large brewed batches in the fridge for WCs.
Here's the tea I use: Celebration Herbals Rooibos-South African Tea Organic 24 Tea Bag, 48Gm : Amazon.ca: Grocery & Gourmet Food

Thanks for the link - I managed to order some Indian almond leaves today though, they should be here tomorrow.

I had a really close look at his caudal fin there and I'm pretty sure that the dark edge in the photograph is just a shadow - his fins get wavy at the ends so I think that's why. But I'll be keeping a very close eye on everything anyway.

ETA - what are your go-to treatments if fin rot does become an issue? I have shrimp in the tank and no other tank to move him into so really hoping that doesn't become an issue.

 

Thanks for the link - I managed to order some Indian almond leaves today though, they should be here tomorrow.

I had a really close look at his caudal fin there and I'm pretty sure that the dark edge in the photograph is just a shadow - his fins get wavy at the ends so I think that's why. But I'll be keeping a very close eye on everything anyway.

ETA - what are your go-to treatments if fin rot does become an issue? I have shrimp in the tank and no other tank to move him into so really hoping that doesn't become an issue.

I've never treated fin rot, I've only helped heal missing scales. I've also never done salt baths myself but that could be one course of treatment if he develops moderate-severe fin rot. For infections I usually add a low dose of salt to my main tank coupled with frequent WCs, but in this case you can't because of the shrimp.

It's not uncommon for long-finned bettas to have persistent fin issues, but keeping the water pristine should help some. *fingers crossed*

 

I've never treated fin rot, I've only helped heal missing scales. I've also never done salt baths myself but that could be one course of treatment if he develops moderate-severe fin rot. For infections I usually add a low dose of salt to my main tank coupled with frequent WCs, but in this case you can't because of the shrimp.

It's not uncommon for long-finned bettas to have persistent fin issues, but keeping the water pristine should help some. *fingers crossed*

Thanks, yeah I'll try to have a hospital tank picked out that I can quickly buy if it comes to that! It's a pity about the shrimp and the salt, I hadn't realised that until after I'd stocked the tank, unfortunately. It definitely makes things a little trickier. But hopefully the Indian almond leaves will help. And the WCs!

 

I posted a couple of days ago, thinking my Betta had gotten trapped in his tank and torn half his tail off. Since then, it has become absolutely certain that he is tail biting, badly. He has done extreme damage every day for about four or five days now. He has halved his analfin and his caudal fin is about 3/4 gone now and in absolute tatters.

There has been no evidence of stress apart from this. He's in a very heavily planted tank with shrimp and seems curious about his environment, so I'm doubtful that he's bored. My best guess is that he decided he didn't like his long fins, as he had had a very extreme growth spurt a few weeks before this started and his tail nearly doubled in length. However, it now seems he's formed a habit.

He seems to do all the biting while squirming around in a carpeting plant at the bottom right corner. He's enjoyed playing around in the grass ever since I got him, and never seemed to do any tail biting until now. I'm almost tempted to rip the whole carpet out but there's aquasoil under it and I really don't know that it's a great plan to just leave a bunch of uncovered aquasoil. It would also totally destroy the look of the tank. And I'm not convinced it would stop him, anyway. I'm sure he would find other ways to curl himself up and bite at it.

Any advice would be great. Tank is 15gal, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, <5 ppm nitrate. I've ordered Indian almond leaves but annoyingly, they've been delayed and I probably won't have them til Monday. I've been changing 25% water every day. I'm primarily concerned about him developing fin rot if he has constantly damaged fins, and of course about stress. The ends of his caudal fin are looking a bit black now and I would like to try something to clear up the rot but I don't have a hospital tank and not sure what's best to try, anyway.

 

It is always hard to tell what stresses bettas. You mention the indian almond leaves and those are a great idea. If there are lots of plants do you have any floaters. They can often darken up the tank and reduce stress. Another thought is to get some of the betta hammock leaves that stick to the wall so he has multiple places to rest. If his tail has doubled in size he may be having trouble dealing with the extra weight so the more places he can sit the better. You may also try rearranging the tank every so often so he has new things and places to explore. It could be a good distraction. Good luck.

 

It is always hard to tell what stresses bettas. You mention the indian almond leaves and those are a great idea. If there are lots of plants do you have any floaters. They can often darken up the tank and reduce stress. Another thought is to get some of the betta hammock leaves that stick to the wall so he has multiple places to rest. If his tail has doubled in size he may be having trouble dealing with the extra weight so the more places he can sit the better. You may also try rearranging the tank every so often so he has new things and places to explore. It could be a good distraction. Good luck.

Thank you for these ideas! I hadn't thought of more places to rest, there are some large leaves in the tank but maybe not enough. I'll try it! I don't have floaters, they're weirdly hard to find where I live, but I had been thinking that too much light might be an issue as the room is very bright in the summer.

 

Thank you for these ideas! I hadn't thought of more places to rest, there are some large leaves in the tank but maybe not enough. I'll try it! I don't have floaters, they're weirdly hard to find where I live, but I had been thinking that too much light might be an issue as the room is very bright in the summer.

If you cant find floaters there are mutliple stem plants that can be used- hornwort, wisteria, water sprite, anacharis, money wort. Just make sure to leave enough room for the betta to raech the surface. Pruning may be required over time.

 

re: his tail nearly doubled in length.

ah, I see

I had a betta with an excessively long tail ( sorry my pics of him are on my old computer). he swam at half the speed of any of my other bettas. it was heart breaking. But he never bit his tail.

does your betta get any stimulation?

I currently have 5 tanks with bettas, 4 are solo tanks, but they have opportunity to see other tanks and get other forms of interaction.

I say htis as I had a pet bird who got over stressed and never stopped plucking ( it's a huge issue for birds). It was a stress response which is why I'd look more at stress/under stress as cause

-too much light
- little to no stimuli ( i rotate decor every 3-4 months), and they also can use line of sight to see others ( bettas can see up to 35 feet)
-frogbit/duckweed - bettas love to sleep under it.

 

re: his tail nearly doubled in length.

ah, I see

I had a betta with an excessively long tail ( sorry my pics of him are on my old computer). he swam at half the speed of any of my other bettas. it was heart breaking. But he never bit his tail.

does your betta get any stimulation?

I currently have 5 tanks with bettas, 4 are solo tanks, but they have opportunity to see other tanks and get other forms of interaction.

I say htis as I had a pet bird who got over stressed and never stopped plucking ( it's a huge issue for birds). It was a stress response which is why I'd look more at stress/under stress as cause

-too much light
- little to no stimuli ( i rotate decor every 3-4 months), and they also can use line of sight to see others ( bettas can see up to 35 feet)
-frogbit/duckweed - bettas love to sleep under it.

Too much light may have been a factor when he started this habit, his tank is near a very large window and we've been having a heatwave, i.e. unusually sunny all day every day where it's usually cloudy. I've been keeping a white canvas up against the side of his tank that faces the window to block the daylight, but not sure if it's helped much. With stimuli - I guess I maybe naively thought that a heavily planted tank with some Amano shrimp would provide him with plenty of stimuli! His tank is also right next to my work desk so I'm here beside him most of the day. He does sometimes come and check me out and beg for food.

I'm going to gradually build up the floating plants and see if he will start playing amongst them, I floated trimmings before and he seemed to love that though he's been ignoring them this time. I've also ordered a betta cave and betta hammocks. I was also planning to add a nerite snail to the tank and see how he gets along with it too, maybe that would give him better stimulation than the shrimp who hide in the plants all the time!

He's pacing the glass today though :/ so I'm think it might be more of a stress rather than under-stimulation issue. The Indian almond leaves can't arrive soon enough!

Thanks for all your help!