# Tail biting or tail caught in filter?



## keelybambi (Apr 2, 2011)

Housing 
What size is your tank? 3.5 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 78-80
Does your tank have a filter? Yes but I have turned it off
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? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2 times a day

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? 50% once a week, 100% every two weeks
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? see above
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Betta plus conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? all normal

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness: 
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? chunk missing out of tail fin and a little ragged along the rest of the tail fin
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? no behavior change
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Last night
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No, but I was thinking daily water changes and salt
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? 3 months


Donut has never torn his fins. I put him in this new tank and he's been in there for almost 3 weeks with no problem. He swims around a lot. I have live plants that are very smooth so no tail is catching on them. He had a filter but I have turned it off in case he got his tail caught in the filter. He has his tank heated. His fins had all grown about half an inch since he got his larger tank and no fin rot is there. Any ideas? I will post pictures.


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## keelybambi (Apr 2, 2011)

I know they're blurry but he just doesn't stay still ever. He likes to flare at your hand and camera and then dance beside them so these are the best I can do.


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## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

it's hard to tell from those pictures, but are the ends feathery?
I know my boy has turned into a tail biter and the ends look really ragged, kinda feathery.


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

What does "normal" mean? It helps to know the actual levels.


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## keelybambi (Apr 2, 2011)

The ends are definitely feathery looking. Do you think adding some stuff to his tank would entertain him more and prevent this? He's never done anything like this before in the 4 months I've had him and only started doing it in his big tank...

Ammonia: this I haven't tested because I haven't gotten a kit for it yet (water was just changed 2 days ago)
Nitrite: Nitrate: I don't remember the exact numbers (I'm away for the weekend and my boyfriend is caring for him) but I remember they were very low... like (very light pink, barley pink on the strip test)
pH: 7
Hardness: soft
Alkalinity:


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

Okay well the test strips are inaccurate and unreliable, so that doesn't help too much. 

Ammonia is an extremely important test kit to have, probably more important than the nitrite and nitrate. If your tank isn't cycled, you aren't going to have a reading for nitrite and nitrate anyways so they are basically useless.

It does look like something is irritating his fins though.


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## keelybambi (Apr 2, 2011)

Ok, any suggestions of what to do then? I did the same thing for his bigger tank as I did in his smaller tank, even have all the same stuff in it (I'm going to get him more plants next week). I can have my bf test the water's ammonia with the liquid test but he couldn't do it until tonight.

Should I have him pull him out of the tank and set him up in a cup with salt water with daily changes until I get home?


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

keelybambi said:


> Ok, any suggestions of what to do then? I did the same thing for his bigger tank as I did in his smaller tank, even have all the same stuff in it (I'm going to get him more plants next week). I can have my bf test the water's ammonia with the liquid test but he couldn't do it until tonight.
> 
> Should I have him pull him out of the tank and set him up in a cup with salt water with daily changes until I get home?


Yes, make sure it is aquarium salt. 1 tsp per gallon.


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## keelybambi (Apr 2, 2011)

Ok, I'll have him do that.  I tried so hard to stay home until I knew he'd get better but I was forced away. I'll have him test the water's ammonia too.

Will washing his tank out and setting it up again work or is there something special I should do?


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

Rinse out the tank with hot water many times. Some people like to use diluted bleach, but I don't like to risk that.


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## keelybambi (Apr 2, 2011)

Alright, I'll do that again then. Hmm, I'll have him float the cup in his old tank so he still gets to stay at temp. Thanks for the help, I'll post any updates to his fins. I guess I'll also up his water changes too that I've been doing to two 50% once a week and 100% every two weeks.


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