White opal betta fish tail all ripped up

Hi Everyone so for sometime I have been noticing somethings wrong with my betta fish so when I first got him he was super active and swam all around all the time and would go crazy every time I walked up to the tank to check on him and feed him he was acting like this for months so all normal right? But now when I walk up to his tank he's not as active and I have been noticing that is tail looks all ripped up. I look around his tank for things that could be ripping up his tail but find nothing I still sand down his decorations just in case and do a 25% water change. I heard somewhere that white betta fish usually bite there tail the most out of other betta fish. So whats wrong with him and if its tail biting how do I stop it and help him heal?
Edit: It also could be fin rot.

 

I have never heard of a betta biting its own tail... My guess would be fin rot. Check your water parameters, and look for some fin rot treatment. do at least a 25% water every week.

 

Could you post pics of the tank?
Is the tank properly cycled?
Water parameters?(exact numbers plz, not just ‘good’ or ‘fine’)
Any tank mates? If so, what kind?

 

What kind of filter do you have? Some filters can damage a betta's tail.

 

Betta fish tail biting is either caused by stress or boredom. In rare cases it can be a permanent behavior problem, but usually it can be fixed.

To figure out how to treat your fish the following information is needed:
• Tank size?
• Water parameters (exact numbers)?
• Tankmates?
• Kind of filter?

 

Thanks for the reply's that was fast.
So the tank is 5 gallons, I don't know the parameter of it, there are no tank mates, and its a sponge filter.

 

Thanks for the reply's that was fast.
So the tank is 5 gallons, I don't know the parameter of it, there are no tank mates, and its a sponge filter.

Do you have a test kit? Preferably a liquid one? In order to properly diagnose him we will need to know paramaters.

 

I think it’s fin rot. In spots it looks like I can see white edges, but he is a white fish so it is really hard to tell. Could you post a pic of the whole tank so we can see if there is anything. sharp?

 

White bettas like him are very prone to fin issues from some of the research I’ve done on them. They are bred for their color, so often times breeders will choose fin color over fin quality.

 

It looks like some snags combined with fin rot to me. Tail biting would be rectangular-ish chunks taken out along the edge of the fin and not so much splits. I’d keep up at least 25-30% water changes daily and consider adding almond leaves. If the fins do not begin to have new growth, I would progress to daily salt dips (1 tablespoon salt per gallon) in a separate container for 8 minutes max.

 

Do you have a test kit? Preferably a liquid one? In order to properly diagnose him we will need to know paramaters.

Yes I just got one
pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate:0 ppm But it looks like it might be in the middle 0 ppm- 5.0 but i can't really tell

 

Could you post pics of the tank?
Is the tank properly cycled?
Water parameters?(exact numbers plz, not just ‘good’ or ‘fine’)
Any tank mates? If so, what kind?

pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate:0 ppm But it looks like it might be in the middle 0 ppm- 5.0 but I can't really tell

 

pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate:0 ppm But it looks like it might be in the middle 0 ppm- 5.0 but I can't really tell

Ammonia is high... looks like you’re starting a cycle. The ammonia could be inducing stress which would cause fin nipping or the poor water quality (ammonia) is causing melt or rot.

 

Ammonia is high... looks like you’re starting a cycle. The ammonia could be inducing stress which would cause fin nipping or the poor water quality (ammonia) is causing melt or rot.

What do I do to lower the ammonia?

 

What do I do to lower the ammonia?

First, before I recommend anything, how long have you been running this tank? Just to make sure we get this done correctly

 

First, before I recommend anything, how long have you been running this tank? Just to make sure we get this done correctly

I'm not sure how long exactly but I think its been about 11 months so almost a year. I'm really new at keeping fish so I just got a water testing kit.

 

I'm not sure how long exactly but I think its been about 11 months so almost a year. I'm really new at keeping fish so I just got a water testing kit.

You can get rid of the ammonia by changing about 50% of the water, I would recconond doing so every other day. When you change the water dose with enough Seacham Prime (which I would suggest buying if you don’t already have) to treat the entire tank. It will neutralize ammonia for 24 hours.

 

You can get rid of the ammonia by changing about 50% of the water, I would recconond doing so every other day. When you change the water dose with enough Seacham Prime (which I would suggest buying if you don’t already have) to treat the entire tank. It will neutralize ammonia for 24 hours.

Thanks so much for the help!

 

You should probably do a bit of research on the nitrogen cycle, just so you understand what is happening. 11 months though is so late. IDK what’s up with that.

 

You should probably do a bit of research on the nitrogen cycle, just so you understand what is happening. 11 months though is so late. IDK what’s up with that.

Could be a mini cycle. How much are you feeding every day? And how do you clean your tank every week?

 

Could be a mini cycle. How much are you feeding every day? And how do you clean your tank every week?

Well the tank is a 10 gallon that I divided so there are two betas on ether side of that tank I feed them 5 frozen brine shrimp on some days and on other days I feed them bug bites. When I clean there tank I do a 25% water change every week but this week I just did a 100% water change because its been a month. I use a gravel vacuum to get all the waste from the bottom then after I'm done with that I get a bucket fill it with water and treat that with water conditioner and stability then add it I let it run for a bit. Plug the heater in then add the fish that's how I clean my tank.

 

You are most likely experiencing a mini cycle due to the 100% water change. Was the filter media cleaned out as well?

 

I don't know kind of I remove the sponges and put them in a container with the same fish tank water just to move it out of the way.