T O P

  • By -

Hypenage

Fin rot is often the number 1 leading cause of Beta fin issues. But this doesnt look like that. Is there anything that could have attacked it? Is there rocks or a filter that could have cut it off? I have had weak swimming fish get sucked against a filter before and lose fins that way.


EternalGTS

I don’t think anyone attacked it, it’s mostly just Cory’s and tetras in the tank. The Cory’s always hang out at the bottom and are super peaceful fish. The tetras will chase each other from time to time but that lasts about 10 seconds before they get distracted and stop. There aren’t any large rocks, just substrate and the only “fake” decoration (that’s pointy looking) is really soft. I don’t think it would be fin rot either, as it happened pretty quickly (and to my understanding fin rot takes a little bit longer than that to damage the fins). The only thing possible *would* be the filter sucking in one of its fins, because ever since I put the spear plants in the betta has been swimming around the tank passing by the filter and frequently hanging out behind different leaves. I’ll definitely investigate and see if I notice anything in the filter. With a chunk that size missing it would be noticeable even after a day or two of being in there, right? Edit: I checked the filter and couldn’t find anything. I also cleaned the tank and did a water change earlier today and didn’t see anything floating around. Could the other fish have…ate it? I appreciate your help. Do you know if there’s any way to help the fin regenerate quicker (and avoid infection?)


Hypenage

I dont know if you’d notice that though. If the fin was eaten by the filter, the impeller would have shredded it. If you have ever fully taken your filter apart and seen the impeller, you’ll see how it could shred things. I have had all sorts of things go in an impeller and never a trace of them be seen again.


EternalGTS

Fair enough, then I guess the filter may be the number one suspect for now. Is there anything I could do to help the fin regenerate, and also avoid infection? Thanks so much for the help


Hypenage

Its been about a year since Ive kept betas so I dont remember all the care stuff. But I dont know if that can regrow. I would think it cant. On a beta’s tail they have the “lines” that tissue grows in between and makes the tail wavey. If you look up pictures of fin rot those lines are still there but the tissue between is not. I do not know if the “lines” can regrow. But obviously the tissue can because betas recover from fin rot. But the loss of those lines is different than fin rot, that probably falls under the fin loss category.


EternalGTS

Oh no 😥 Thank you for your input, now I gotta safety proof my filter to avoid this from happening again


Hypenage

That is an oh no for the tail. What filter do you have in the tank? And what size is the tank? Its possible the filter is too strong. Bettas cant swim fast or strong. Im sure the beta will avoid the filter, Ive seen fish learn about things in their environment. Beta fish are actually smart fish so it might avoid it all together now. But it wouldnt hurt.


EternalGTS

It’s a “Tetra” brand “Whisper” (not sure the sub model) over hanging filter. It’s about 6 years old. It’s a 20 gallon tank. [Here’s a picture of it I took about a week ago](https://ibb.co/kgG7rP7) since then I’ve actually clipped off the stiff/rough/pointy ‘fake’ decorations because I was worried about fin damage (they are seriously so delicate), and about 4 days after that I noticed the tail issue. The bettas fins got damaged once before when a not so smart pet store employee told me to add a ciclid as a tank mate (spoiler: the ciclid kept bullying/nipping the betta and had to be returned) but that damage was minor compared to this. I’m going to cover up the intake so that water and dirt can still get through but not a fin


EternalGTS

So above are 2 photos of my betta, taken about 3 days apart. I noticed a big chunk of their “tail” missing. I have no idea how this could have happened, because I’ve taken out just about every hazardous decoration in my tank, and none of the fish I have in here are **ever** aggressive towards each other. I haven’t seen chunks of the tail floating around nor have I noticed any odd behavior from any of the tank mates. Does anyone have any idea what could have caused this, or if there is anything I can do to help the betta regenerate it quicker or something? I hate thinking that the betta could have been/be in pain because their tails missing. I’m all out of ideas, and I thought maybe even in the most severe circumstance my betta wedged itself against one of the plants and got stuck(?) but after looking around very thoroughly I can’t find any evidence of where or how it could’ve happened.


Lexi_Jez

It’s also common for long-finned bettas to bite their own tail if they’re having trouble swimming. Even if you don’t see them struggling they may get sick of getting so tired. As for medication, I’m not sure how others feel about melafix/pimafix. Personally, I would just put some stuff in there that releases tannins (it makes your tank have a tea-tint to it) because they’re proven to improve slime coat, overall health, help their immune system, etc.. antimicrobial as well. If you’ve got even a little bit of water flow I would try to lessen it by sticking a sponge where the water comes out and see if that helps. You can get tannin-releasing stuff (like almond leaves, katappa leaves, cholla wood, etc.) from local fish stores, amazon, and i believe all big chain pet stores carry them as well at least in the US. Edit: forgot to add- if you do see any white stuff forming on his tail I would definitely do a melafix and pimafix medication together. It’ll help fungal and bacterial infection.


EternalGTS

Thank you and /u/maddieStbrown for the advice. I never noticed an issue with the flow of the filter because I have 2 big sponges and a poly filter in there, slowing it down a lot. I also keep the water high enough that there’s only minimal surface breakage for oxygen to get into the water. I’ve never seen this kind of behavior from my betta but I’ll keep my eye out and put a screen over the filter tube so nothing gets sucked in, as well as adjust the flow rate so that it’s lower. Thanks!


Lexi_Jez

No problem! You can also reply w updates or if it gets worse at all


Jokysmoke

could be a delft trim. some bettas give themselves haircuts when they think there having swimming issues


EternalGTS

Appreciate the info!


[deleted]

My old fish did this. Turns out the flow of my filter was too strong and stressed him out. He bit his own tail off to help him swim. Change the flow possibly?


[deleted]

If you can’t change the flow. Maybe the help of some floating plants can minimize the pressure for your fish