# Tail split? Tail biting? Fin Rot? What's going on with my betta?



## kirbomatic (Oct 8, 2012)

I'm not sure what's going on with him, but I think something is wrong. I noticed a split in his caudal fin late last week, and noticed another split today! I also noticed that the tips of that fin seem ragged and receding. I was worried that the split may have been caused by one of the "plants" in his tank so I removed it, but could it possibly be fin rot? What do I do?

Here's what he looked like a couple weeks ago when he built his first bubble nest for me <3








Notice the tail fin's shape.


and here's what he looks like now.










*Housing *
What size is your tank? *2.5 gallons*
What temperature is your tank? *80 F *
Does your tank have a filter? * No (it came with one but it's too strong) *
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? * no *
Is your tank heated? * Yes *
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? * n/a *

*Food*
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? * Top Fin Color Enhancing Betta Bits x5 daily, Omega One Freeze Dried Blood Worms 1x a week in place of pellets, no food 1 day a week *
How often do you feed your betta fish? * I feed him two pellets in the morning and three pellets in the evening *

* Maintenance *
How often do you perform a water change? * 1x a week *
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? * roughly 50%... I change a gallon of the water out of the 2.5, but with the decor in place, it seems closer to 50%. *
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? * 2.5 mL of water conditioner (the bottle says 2.5 mL per gallon and I change a gallon of water), and .5 tsp of Aquarium Salt (the past few water changes because of continuing suspected fin rot) *

*Water Parameters: *
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
* not yet, planning another trip to the pet store for the kits asap *

* Symptoms and Treatment *
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? * Two splits in caudal (tail) fin about 3/4ths the way to body, edges look more ragged, perhaps a loss of color (i'm also concerned about the darker rust type coloring shown in the picture on his anal fin). He has little tiny black spots on all his fins, but that may be coloring, and his dorsal fin's edges are curled, but have always been, and may have a tiny hole in them.. *
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? * He's as chipper as ever, honestly. He doesn't seemed bothered. *
When did you start noticing the symptoms? * The first split happened on Thursday I believe, and I just noticed the second split today. I noticed the ragged, receding end of the tail fin on Saturday. I've been worried about fin rot since I got him a month ago, but there didn't seem to be any real symptoms until the split fin. *
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? * Not yet other than the aquarium salt. *
Does your fish have any history of being ill? * Not that I know of. At least not in my possession. The curled tips on the dorsal fin suggest past fin rot to me, from when he was at the store. *
How old is your fish (approximately)? * I got him a month ago from PetSmart *


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## kirbomatic (Oct 8, 2012)

Aww man he has a split on his anal fin too!
And the weird coloration on his anal fin is actually more of a blood red and it's present on his dorsal fin a little too. Could it just be his coloration or something more sinister? Oh yeah and I have no idea what's going on with his ventral fins. They've always been black like that. Well, lighter on the inside of them, with little black spots. They worry me too.

I just want little Finn the Fish to be okay. Well, more than okay. Splendid. Betta Splendid. Ha. Haha.


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## Eep Crood (Jan 23, 2014)

It looks like fin rot. However, it could be tail biting.try adding decorations to cheer him up. Bettas like caves, plants, castles, logs, pebbles anything that they can hide in or swim around. And also, test the decorations to see if they are tarring his fins. Run it across a pair of pantyhose. If it snags, rips, or tears the pantyhose, It will do the same thing to your bettas fins, and you should not add it to the tank. There are a few things you should change about his environment. For one, filters are reccomended. Try a gentle cycling filter. And two, I am not sure you are feeding him enough. I feed my bettas 3 pellets in the morning, one freeze dried bloodworm in the afternoon and 3 pellets in the evening. I know none of this has anything to do with your bettas fins. But I think it is fin rot, so treat him for that.


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## Taeanna (Apr 2, 2013)

That long straight shaft of a split looks like a fin blowout. basically the fish flares so hard they cause a ladder in their fin as if it was a stocking.

Unfortunately its a problem betta keepers face occasionally, sometimes its a sign they are flaring too much (for instance have a tank neighbor they fight with or can see their reflection in something) and really all we can do is keep an eye on them.
Unfortunately fin rot can get into these splits and this may have happened- if it has you have really jumped on it though because there isnt too much damage being done. 

I recommend clean water and if you wish AQ salt for short periods (nothing over 10 days/2 weeks to give his organs time to rest) and if you like swapping his water treater to stress coat or something else mild. It really isnt needed at this stage i can see however.

Keep an eye on it and if you see it getting worse let us know and we can take it from there.


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