# Fin Biting Vent!



## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

<------ My beautiful boy, who isn't even fin heavy, decided to give his tail a trim! :redmad: I really hope this doesn't become a habit!


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

My gorgeous guy has decided he wants to look like a double crown tail. I feel your pain.


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## DangerousAngel (Mar 26, 2015)

I feel yah. Dangerous decided he needed to nip to get my attention. There is regrowth though.


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## Tree (Sep 29, 2013)

and my CT decided to rub on so many things that it made his tail fin so fragile it breaks all the time. And I have nothing in his tank that is sharp! Naughty Bettas causing their owners stress. LOL


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

My boy isn't too bad, but there is definitely nipping. He bit his anal fin once before, but has always left his tail alone. Stinkers! Stressing us out about what might be stressing or boring them! Not great pictures, neither the fish nor the phone were cooperating ...


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH Apparently he thought biting his tail was great fun and now he just freaking destroyed it! Any tips on helping him heal? Just frequent water changes?


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## Ayame (Feb 6, 2015)

I was just going to vent about my little guy, he's been biting a bit more consistently as of late and I feel so helpless 

Last night, I came home to "Double Tail" with a bulgy tummy. Ugh. It hurts my heart to see him like this.. TT^TT


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

It's just so frustrating! I've had him for a year come september and he's never done anything like this!


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## Ayame (Feb 6, 2015)

We should make a "Fin Biters Club" thread or something, not the greatest club to be a member of, but at least we can vent to each other our nip-happy friends... =_="


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## Tealight03 (Nov 15, 2014)

It's the worst. Mine just took probably half his tail off while I was gone for a couple days. So frustrating.


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

I was gone for 3 days also, fri, sat, and sun...he didn't bite it until tuesday though. He has been flaring a lot at his reflection in the glass though, I'm wondering if his tail caught his eye and so he grabbed it while stressing over his reflection. I've done several things to try to reduce his reflection, but nothing seems to be working. I'm going to buy him some live brine shrimp today to help distract him a bit.

A club! That is funny, but really, you can't understand the frustration until you get a biter.


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Warm, clean water and a good diet help regrowth the best. Mine started biting when he could see another fish. Even though I've blocked the vision, it's like a habit now. Like a person chewing their nails.


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

Ha, that's what someone at my office said...like a nail biter!

I put some different paper on the back wall to try to block his reflection a little better. I have the water at 80 degrees F and am going to up my water changes as it regrows (if he stops the biting) and have been feeding a mix of pellets, live brine shrimp, and flightless fruit flies. I did buy some frozen blood worms to mix in the diet too today, LFS said it would help him heal.


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## Tree (Sep 29, 2013)

OMG what a naughty BOY!!!! D=

have you tried Indian Almond leaves to calm him down? I think that heals too. I could be wrong though. the leaves cause the water to turn brown which makes the betta happy.


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## Greenapp1es (Dec 4, 2014)

Yeah....biters. :-(

My first guy USED to bite, but I got him to stop. The guy I recently lost refused for a long time to eat anything EXCEPT his tail. Now my rosetail is doing a number on his dorsal fin. Not even his tail, which I KNOW is too heavy, his dorsal fin.

*sigh*


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Mr. Fish just shredded the regrowth on his dorsal.


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

@Tree, I've been using live oak leaves in his tank, I always have them on hand for my frog tanks. It's supposed to have the same effect. I should probably throw some more in because the last ones are starting to break down to the point that I'm not noticing much tannins in the water.

These silly fish. The pet store joked that next time I should request a psychiatric evaluation before purchasing a fish lol (As he eats the algae tablet I just put in for the rabbit snail who keeps going after my anubias)

The new paper I put on the back seems to have reduced the amount of reflection he sees. Hopefully that helps.


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

How long does it typically take to notice some healing?


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## Ayame (Feb 6, 2015)

Lilypad said:


> How long does it typically take to notice some healing?


Within days really, you'll notice a clear, white-ish film start to grow back. 

For my guy it's been about a week or so and I've already noticed regrowth, but he tore off a big piece in the middle of his tail so the growth is more obvious. 

Although I found while observing my guy, the further away the fin was from the body, the slower it took to grow back, but that could just be me.


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

Hmm, doesn't really look any different than last week. At least it isn't worse though. Need to wipe down my tank, didn't notice water stains until this pic lol.


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## Tree (Sep 29, 2013)

Lilypad said:


> @Tree, I've been using live oak leaves in his tank, I always have them on hand for my frog tanks. It's supposed to have the same effect. I should probably throw some more in because the last ones are starting to break down to the point that I'm not noticing much tannins in the water.
> 
> These silly fish. The pet store joked that next time I should request a psychiatric evaluation before purchasing a fish lol (As he eats the algae tablet I just put in for the rabbit snail who keeps going after my anubias)
> 
> The new paper I put on the back seems to have reduced the amount of reflection he sees. Hopefully that helps.


oh good! thanks for reminding me as well, I need to add more in my tanks. 
its so frustrating that fish cannot tell you whats wrong. like "Mom I don't like that snail." or "I hate that rock!" LOL but alas, we need to figure it out on our own.


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

"I'm jealous when I can see you feeding another fish over there! I see you! You're looking at her! Come play with me, and bring me food!"


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## Tree (Sep 29, 2013)

Right?! naughty little things. lol


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

Just as I was starting to worry a bit...there is a considerable amount of healing today! Looks very different than yesterday already! Hopefully he doesn't redestroy it now lol.


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## allied123 (Dec 11, 2014)

I don't want to hijack this thread or anything but I thought it might be good place to ask/tell my story.

So my last guy bit his fins quite a bit but I just kept the water clean and did the best I could but when I woke up one morning and went to check on him his entire tail fin was gone. Completely gone almost to the nub. He was also lying on the floor of the tank swimming around a little, not much, and seemed to be gasping. I had to go to work for a few hours and got back and he held on for a few more hours before he died (I'm not exactly sure . There was nothing else wrong with him, is it possible he bit his own fin off like this? (I completely broke down the tank and never found the rest of his tail)


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

allied123 said:


> I don't want to hijack this thread or anything but I thought it might be good place to ask/tell my story.
> 
> So my last guy bit his fins quite a bit but I just kept the water clean and did the best I could but when I woke up one morning and went to check on him his entire tail fin was gone. Completely gone almost to the nub. He was also lying on the floor of the tank swimming around a little, not much, and seemed to be gasping. I had to go to work for a few hours and got back and he held on for a few more hours before he died (I'm not exactly sure . There was nothing else wrong with him, is it possible he bit his own fin off like this? (I completely broke down the tank and never found the rest of his tail)


Hijack away, this was pretty much for anyone who wanted to vent about fin biting 

I've seen photos of some pretty extensive biting, but never that much. Was it only his tail missing? I wonder if it got caught in a filter or something


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## allied123 (Dec 11, 2014)

That was my concern! But I really doubt it...originally I thought all the damage was because of the filter (he was in a fluval spec v and I had a skimmer on the way) but the bites were really u shaped and he did bite his dorsal and anal fins too.. I did take the filter sponge out afterwards and everything looking for like over an inch of tail but I never found anything... But I feel like usually when they fin bite they don't usually bite the rays off? Idk I'm very conflicted over what could have happened...

If the filter was the case then I think the new guy should be okay as I've attached some fake plants to the intake so he won't get stuck...I still feel incredibly guilty about the last guy even though I really do think he bit it (the new guy bites too.) The filter just never seemed strong enough for that much ripping...


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

I have no idea, sorry  I'm new to bettas in general and only have 1, so not a lot of experience to go off of. 

If you have the fluval spec, do you have LED's on it then? I've seen other threads suggesting that the brightness can be a bit much. Maybe try diffusing it a bit with plants? I have Salvinia minima and duckweed (came mixed with the salv) on mine to help diffuse the light a bit.


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## allied123 (Dec 11, 2014)

I do have the lights on to grow some crypts and hopefully other plants soon! I had never even thought about the lights bothering them! I wanted to look into some floating plants but I have a lot of concerns about them and having them shipped (cant seem to find them in store) and worry that they'd block out too much light for the other pants... Hmm that will definitely be something to look into, if that really makes him stop it'll be totally worth it, thank you so much for that suggestion!


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

You're welcome! I ordered some of mine on amazon, they showed up just fine. I don't let it grow crazy, I take some out now and then so the light is filtered instead of blocked. I have crypts, anubias, java moss, and a moss ball that all grow just fine. I do add flourish excel though because the salvinia and duckweed suck up a lot of nutrients.


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## Greenapp1es (Dec 4, 2014)

I think I mentioned earlier that Neptune (my rosetail) has been biting his Dorsal fin, the ONLY one of his fins that *isn't* so heavy that it's a hindrance to him moving.

*sigh*

Anyway, I actually got a pic. Behold.


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

Oy, what a stinker! Wish I could read their minds some days!


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## Greenapp1es (Dec 4, 2014)

With Neptune, I'm pretty sure I know the reason. I think it has something to do with "Mom, my tail is so heavy I struggle to swim across my tank! It's ANNYONING!!!"

But at that, I just don't get why he's biting his DORSAL.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Hmm. Ever had that lock of hair that always gets in the way and needs to be brushed/tucked behind the ear? Maybe it's like that.

Poor Neptune. Those fins sure do look heavy.


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## Darius359au (Apr 12, 2014)

I've given up on my fish ,only fin he bites is his tail and he keeps that trimmed to about a quarter of it's normal length  ,he's a veil tail and all his other fins a beautify long and flowing as they should be ,just his tail gets trimmed) 

Tanks fine ,foods fine etc he's just a tail biter it seems:frustrated::sob:


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

I think my fish is just neurotic lol. I just caught him FLARING at his own tail and attacking it. He didn't go after it until he caught a glimpse of it. I see spots that are healing, but I'm thinking he's just going to shred them again. Oy. Planning to upgrade his tank to a 7.5g and add more plant coverage...maybe it'll help break this habit.


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

I can see healing, but I just watched him trying to bite it again. And another picture just because he looks like the naughty boy that he is there!


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## Tealight03 (Nov 15, 2014)

My biter does the exact same thing. He's always been a glass surfer and I'm wondering if he's so agitated he's taking it out on his tail. I saw him chasing his tail the other day and he spent two days with a towel over the tank because every time I removed it he would spaz out. We're also dealing with ick at the moment. I don't know which has caused him to be so extreme lately. He has always had problems with biting but I can't believe how much damage he has done to his tail lately.


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

Ugh, very frustrating! I just bought my fish another anubias, some ludwigia, and more duckweed to diffuse the light. The tank is looking pretty crammed with plants, but he seems to be enjoying exploring.


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## Tealight03 (Nov 15, 2014)

I gave mine two more silk plants. He did seem to enjoy them. I'd like to get him a large anubias from Petco and maybe order some water sprite online. At some point I'm going to have to draw the line with buying stuff though. I also have 2 boys that seem to be bored and have done a little biting. Not nearly as bad as Phil.


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## BubblesTheBlueBetta (Jul 15, 2015)

I have a biter too. Maybe I could give him some new plants, ornaments, or something. Any ideas? I heard somewhere that if you keep their light off, they'll stop. At this point I was eager to try *anything* so I went ahead and tried. Then, a few days later, HEALING! Any other tips to on how to stop him from biting??


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

I added some more plants and haven't noticed any new bites. Lots of clear growth. Maybe someday he'll be restored to his former glory. I looked at a baby veiltale the other day at petco, he was a real beauty already for his teeny size, it was hard to walk away. Then I thought about that heavy tail...if my DET that isn't fin heavy chooses to destroy his tail...what would a VT do?? haha


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## Ayame (Feb 6, 2015)

BubblesTheBlueBetta said:


> I have a biter too. Maybe I could give him some new plants, ornaments, or something. Any ideas? I heard somewhere that if you keep their light off, they'll stop. At this point I was eager to try *anything* so I went ahead and tried. Then, a few days later, HEALING! Any other tips to on how to stop him from biting??


May I ask how big his tank is? and what you already have in it? Like tank mates, plants, decorations?


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Sorry to hear about your fin biter. Unfortunately for most fish this becomes a habit and they will bite for the rest of their lives. I mean you would bite your fins off too if you realized the lightness and freedom you could get from having less finnage  This is why I pray everyday for my shortish finned betta's tail to remain short short short.


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

Well, my betta now has some significant healing going on and no new bites YAY! However, I can see that the rays are all messed up as it's growing out, boo. He's also glass surfing again today, so He'll probably shred them again.


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