Suddenly Shredded Betta Tail?

I have a blue male veiltail betta (his name is Red) who suddenly came up with a shredded tail over night. He’s in a 10 gallon with a few glowlight tetras (who are pretty afraid of him and don't get near him) and two cory cats. I know its not fin rot, since it happened very suddenly and its been healing up, but he does have a tendency to get stressed easily. I took out every plastic decoration in the tank, the bottom part healed but then the top got torn up. Just to see if it was the tetras nipping him, I put him in a 1 gallon tank over night with no decorations and woke up with him having a bottom fin with a few “bites¿” and tears taken out (its healed up completely now). His tail is definitely shredded and it doesn't look like bites, but when I put him in a jar to do a gravel clean and water change, it came out a bit more shredded. Ive taken out anything that might have torn his fins up, and just recently I've taken out the heater since he's always resting near it and it’s set to 82°. Our house is at a stable enough temperature for me to do it. I'm just scared hes going to get fin rot, because just as its getting better, it gets worse.

Here are the pictures from about 5 days ago vs today & his original fins

 

Sorry to hear about your fish, I have read that they will actually bite themselves at times. Although with a veil tail its less likely than other types. It could be Red got sucked into your filter intake for a second, or some other decorations in your tank. I have seen corries "go after fish" but highly doubt it. As far as overnight fin rot, I have no clue

 

If it were me, I would keep him alone. I keep my girls in community tanks, and even then, the tanks are large and they are the LAST fish I put in the tank. Let us know what you discover, try keeping him alone till he heals and see how it goes.

 

I have a blue male veiltail betta (his name is Red) who suddenly came up with a shredded tail over night. He’s in a 10 gallon with a few glowlight tetras (who are pretty afraid of him and don't get near him) and two cory cats. I know its not fin rot, since it happened very suddenly and its been healing up, but he does have a tendency to get stressed easily. I took out every plastic decoration in the tank, the bottom part healed but then the top got torn up. Just to see if it was the tetras nipping him, I put him in a 1 gallon tank over night with no decorations and woke up with him having a bottom fin with a few “bites¿” and tears taken out (its healed up completely now). His tail is definitely shredded and it doesn't look like bites, but when I put him in a jar to do a gravel clean and water change, it came out a bit more shredded. I don't think it was the filter, since I put rocks around it, but he might have ways around them. Ive taken out anything that might have torn his fins up, and just recently I've taken out the heater since he's always resting near it and it’s set to 82°. Our house is at a stable enough temperature for me to do it. I'm just scared hes going to get fin rot, because just as its getting better, it gets worse.

Here are the pictures from about 5 days ago vs today, you can see how its slightly healed in spots and more torn in others, and how the bottom fin had tears previously

If it is not fin rot then it could be him doing that himself. Sometimes they can be stressed and will bite their own tail, his large fins could be making it hard to swim, boredom, etc. This might just be stress so just try to decrease the light or add some Indian Almond Leaves but this could make your tank murky. Using these will make it just like their natural environment. Also, you could use API Stress coat.

 

If it is not fin rot then it could be him doing that himself. Sometimes they can be stressed and will bite their own tail, his large fins could be making it hard to swim, boredom, etc. This might just be stress so just try to decrease the light or add some Indian Almond Leaves but this could make your tank murky. Using these will make it just like their natural environment. Also, you could use API Stress coat.

Do you think he might've started biting his own tail off because I added fish he likes to chase around? he was fine with them for 2 weeks but it suddenly turned shredded. But it looks too torn up to be bites imo. but I've never experienced this before, so I don't really know. thanks for the suggestions though, ill do it if I'm able to

 

It's not fin biting. If it was fin biting the fin rays and webbing in between would be missing in chunks, but only the webbing between the rays is missing. It's also not fin rot as it wouldn't happen overnight and wouldn't cause such neat damage on the webbing.

What type of filter do you have? Can we get a picture of the tank?

 

It's not fin biting. If it was fin biting the fin rays and webbing in between would be missing in chunks, but only the webbing between the rays is missing. It's also not fin rot as it wouldn't happen overnight and wouldn't cause such neat damage on the webbing.

What type of filter do you have? Can we get a picture of the tank?

Yeah that's what I thought, I knew it was way too shredded to be biting. But I got the whole tank as a “Top Fin” 10 Gallon tank setup, so I don't really know about the filter.

Also, the tank looks pretty bare because I removed ALL plastic decorations, but since he doesn't constantly bother the other fish in the tank and they don't really hide anyways, i'm sure its okay

 

How spiky is that plant in the background? If it’s too spiky he might be trying to rest on it and ripping the fin

 

How spiky is that plant in the background? If it’s too spiky he might be trying to rest on it and ripping the fin

its some sort of rubbery stuff, I don't know what its made of but its soft and extremely bendy... could be latex

 

its some sort of rubbery stuff, I don't know what its made of but its soft and extremely bendy

That’s all I’ve got then! Doesn’t sound like it’s causing your issue if the filter intake is the problem, ordering a sponge to cover it might help. The sponge also acts as a biological bacteria holder and makes sure big stuff isn’t sucked into the filter

 

Yeah that's what I thought, I knew it was way too shredded to be biting. But I got the whole tank as a “Top Fin” 10 Gallon tank setup, so I don't really know about the filter.

Also, the tank looks pretty bare because I removed ALL plastic decorations, but since he doesn't constantly bother the other fish in the tank and they don't really hide anyways, i'm sure its okay

The filter has an intake, uncovered intakes are notorious for sucking up and shredding betta fins. Tie a pantyhose around it with a rubber band or get a filter intake cover.

 

You mentioned your Glo light tetra are afraid of him, another reason to keep him alone. You're asking for problems, your fish will get sick and die from stress. If you ABSOLUTELY have to keep them together, take him out for a while, rearrange your decorations and put him back in. Again, Red should probably be alone, ESPECIALLY in a tank that small

 

You mentioned your Glo light tetra are afraid of him, another reason to keep him alone. You're asking for problems, your fish will get sick and die from stress. If you ABSOLUTELY have to keep them together, take him out for a while, rearrange your decorations and put him back in. Again, Red should probably be alone, ESPECIALLY in a tank that small

They aren’t afraid of him as much as they keep away from him... I said that as way of conveying they don't nip him or get close to his fins, they'll sometimes hang around by him but he just chases them off if they get too close. I do a water change every 4 days and rearrange stuff every time so he doesn't get too bored. But Red has never really bothered them, so its not completely necessary to do it every single time.
Also, is ten gallons actually considered that small? I did a lot of research and everything said its the right size if you want a betta community tank... (though it IS the minimum) He's actually apparently a perfect community betta because of his laid back temperament, i've had him with all the other fish for 2 weeks and he doesn't bother them unless they get too close to him. Hes not stressed with them around, and its easy to tell on him because he gets prominent stress stripes if hes even a little bit stressed.

 

They aren’t afraid of him as much as they keep away from him... I said that as way of conveying they don't nip him or get close to his fins, they'll sometimes hang around by him but he just chases them off if they get too close. I do a water change every 4 days and rearrange stuff every time so he doesn't get too bored. But Red has never really bothered them, so its not completely necessary to do it every single time.
Also, is ten gallons actually considered that small? I did a lot of research and everything said its the right size if you want a betta community tank... (though it IS the minimum) He's actually apparently a perfect community betta because of his laid back temperament, i've had him with all the other fish for 2 weeks and he doesn't bother them unless they get too close to him. Hes not stressed with them around, and its easy to tell on him because he gets prominent stress stripes if hes even a little bit stressed.

Sorry but 10 gallons is way too small for a community tank with a female betta let alone a male. Sure everything can be ok for some time but then......bam dead fish. I am not sure where you read that a 10 gallon is ok for a community tank, but that is simply just not true. I know it's not what you want to hear, but he should be kept alone. There is plenty out there to support this. You can get away with a female in a community tank in a 29 gallon or maybe a 20 and that is after adding her last. Even then you have to monitor them. They are called fighting fish for a reason. You could put him in a 5 gallon tank and he would be just fine. Good luck

 

Hey guys, turns out it was actually the filter, I wrapped it with clean pantyhose & a hair tie about a week ago and now his tail has been healing up pretty well ! Thanks! I’m pretty happy it wasn't caused by any disease or fin biting

 

Hey guys, turns out it was actually the filter, I wrapped it with clean pantyhose & a hair tie about a week ago and now his tail has been healing up pretty well ! Thanks! I’m pretty happy it wasn't caused by any disease or fin biting

I am glad that you found the cause to the issue, and I hope the fins recover quickly!

P.S: I couldn't help by notice your poster in the background in the picture you sent, very cool. I have one just like it

 

I am glad that you found the cause to the issue, and I hope the fins recover quickly!

P.S: I couldn't help by notice your poster in the background in the picture you sent, very cool. I have one just like it

yep! he’s doing well and I put his favorite soft plastic plant back in the tank now that I know it wasn't the issue
&
hahahah yeah! the detective pikachu poster? I really like it thanks ! that's kinda cool!

 

yep! he’s doing well and I put his favorite soft plastic plant back in the tank now that I know it wasn't the issue
&
hahahah yeah! the detective pikachu poster? I really like it thanks ! that's kinda cool!

I would also include something in the tank that is big enough for him to completely lay down on to rest his fins, some bettas like to take breaks in between swimming more than others.

Yeah, that poster is great, just couldn't help but notice it and have to mention it