Tankmates for a tail biter or no?

[KhloeM]

hi guys! so i've recently found that my betta Zeus is *i think* biting his own tail. ugh, so frustrating! i think it's more of boredom since he is in my bedroom all day with no one in there while i'm at school. i don't believe it could be stress because i tested the water with an API Freshwater Master Test Kit, and all is good.
Zeus is in a heated 5 gallon tank with a sponge filter, all by himself. I have two silk plants, one live plant (Anubias), a moss ball, a ceramic log that he likes to go inside, and a little plastic tree decoration (that is smooth, won't hurt his tail, but i'm getting rid of it anyways.)
i tried different things to entertain him such as putting a clean ping-pong ball on the surface, but he just doesn't seem to really care. i'm using bettafix for his tail (which seems to be helping a lot) but i'm afraid that if he gets bored he'll just start biting it again.
what i had planned on doing was adding ghost shrimp to entertain him, if he didn't eat them all, but my mom found it necessary to pull up all of the negative reviews on PetSmart's website about the horror stories that people have experienced with ghost shrimp eating their fish. and now i really don't think i was to take the chance, even though plenty of people have had ghost shrimp with their betta and had no problems.
my question is, do you guys know of anything at all that would entertain my little guy so he doesn't bite his tail? here's what i'm definitely going to do so far:
•add more live plants
•get live brine shrimp for him to hunt down once in a while

thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Pseudomugil]

I have never heard of ghost shrimp eating fish. If anything it's the other way around. If you want ghost shrimp though than I say go for it.

 

[Burstatol90010]

Hey Khloe! here is some options, Chould get a snail , shrimp( some don't like them then eat them), definitely add more plants( I can hook you up if you like) . Add some driftwood but make sure to boil it first . Just a few options and shrimp will only eat fish that are deceased


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[absolutangel04]

Have you seen him bite his tail? It could be tail biting, or it could just be bacterial (aka, fin rot).
As for ghost shrimp, there are multiple species sold as "ghost shrimp." Typically, they are totally fine with fish. I know of a few exceptions where one snagged a guppy fry, but I never heard a reliable source witness any sort of ghost shrimp on betta violence before.
Would you mind posting you water parameters for us? Also, how long have you had him? I ask because fin rot in fairly common in new bettas, though certainly not unheard in older bettas.

 

[KhloeM]

Hey Khloe! here is some options, Chould get a snail , shrimp( some don't like them then eat them), definitely add more plants( I can hook you up if you like) . Add some driftwood but make sure to boil it first . Just a few options and shrimp will only eat fish that are deceased


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thanks nick but no, actually shrimp eat fish if they're asleep or just sick. there have been many cases of shrimp clawing out fish's eyes and tearing fins. had it happen before, just not with bettas. that's why i was asking for someone who's had them before to let me know.

 

[Burstatol90010]

That is true if they hang around the bottom. It sounds like a apple snail might be the thing for you . Or cherry shrimp because they are small


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[Mar23]

I have ghost shrimp with my puffer. They are pretty vicious little creatures. Nothing hits the water that they don't try to eat right away, dead or alive. They even stand up to my puffer when he tries to eat them (he eventually does catch them). I can see these shrimp attacking a fish that is just resting on the bottom, but I suppose a healthy fish would be able to get away if that happened.


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[KhloeM]

Have you seen him bite his tail? It could be tail biting, or it could just be bacterial (aka, fin rot).
As for ghost shrimp, there are multiple species sold as "ghost shrimp." Typically, they are totally fine with fish. I know of a few exceptions where one snagged a guppy fry, but I never heard a reliable source witness any sort of ghost shrimp on betta violence before.
Would you mind posting you water parameters for us? Also, how long have you had him? I ask because fin rot in fairly common in new bettas, though certainly not unheard in older bettas.

thanks for the reply! actually i've never seen him bite his tail! that's why i'm so confused! but i posted a thread earlier and plenty of people said tail biting, even on another forum. maybe he's doing it when i'm at school or at night?
yea, i don't know, i'm confused about all of the reviews on PetSmart about them eating their guppies and tetras and stuff. the only experience i've had was a ghost shrimp took an eye of one of my neon tetras, which was awful but it never actually ate the fish.
okay, so my water parameters are as follows:
ammonia- 0
pH- 7.0
nitrites- 0.0
nitrates- trying to remember, i think between 10-20 ppm? maybe not, i forgot to take a picture of that result
i've had Zeus for a little while now, hmm maybe 6-7 months?
thanks!

 

[KhloeM]

I have ghost shrimp with my puffer. They are pretty vicious little creatures. Nothing hits the water that they don't try to eat right away, dead or alive. They even stand up to my puffer when he tries to eat them (he eventually does catch them). I can see these shrimp attacking a fish that is just resting on the bottom, but I suppose a healthy fish would be able to get away if that happened.


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thanks yea i think i'm just gonna stay away from them. not worth risking it! i just am trying to think of ways to keep him from biting his tail! so frustrating!

 

[rockyofhockey]

thanks for the reply! actually i've never seen him bite his tail! that's why i'm so confused! but i posted a thread earlier and plenty of people said tail biting, even on another forum. maybe he's doing it when i'm at school or at night?
yea, i don't know, i'm confused about all of the reviews on PetSmart about them eating their guppies and tetras and stuff. the only experience i've had was a ghost shrimp took an eye of one of my neon tetras, which was awful but it never actually ate the fish.
okay, so my water parameters are as follows:
ammonia- 0
pH- 7.0
nitrites- 0.0
nitrates- trying to remember, i think between 10-20 ppm? maybe not, i forgot to take a picture of that result
i've had Zeus for a little while now, hmm maybe 6-7 months?
thanks!

Your parameters are fine.... Does he have very long fins?


Rockyofhockey _/.\_

 

[KhloeM]

Your parameters are fine.... Does he have very long fins?


Rockyofhockey _/.\_

that's a picture of his fins before they got all torn up.
that's what they looked like when it first started last week.
this is a picture i just took. this picture makes me question whether it is fin rot? at first there was no discoloration at all but now i don't know?

 

[absolutangel04]

10-20ppm nitrate is fine. Since you have had him for only about 6 months though, basic fin rot is definitely suspect. The fact that you have never witnessed the tail biting adds to my suspicion. But, it could be either. Both need to be treated for bacterial issues anyways, so it is not really that big of a deal what the cause is since the solutions are similar.
When bettas are tail biters, there is not a lot you can do about it, honestly. Some seem to do it when bored, but some just seem to do it for seemingly inexplicable reasons. Like, the fins are long, and the betta sees them and just chomps. I've seen it happen with crowntails in specific a few times.
Ghosties are scavengers, so they get blamed for some fish deaths accidents and deaths that they did not perpetrate. I wouldn't be too concerned. Bettas usually ignore them though, so I don't know how much difference it will make. I think it worth a try though. Another critter that makes a good betta tankmate is a nerite snail. They eat some algae and biolfim, are not crazy messy, don't reproduce in freshwater, and stay in their shell enough that they can't really be harmed by a betta if it does happen to be a feisty one.
To treat the fins, keep up with the water changes and see if it gets any better. You can try salt, I know that is commonly suggested on betta forums.
If the tail gets bad, you will likely have to upgrade to a heavier antibacterial medication.

 

[absolutangel04]

View attachment 268090that's a picture of his fins before they got all torn up.
View attachment 268092that's what they looked like when it first started last week.
View attachment 268091this is a picture i just took. this picture makes me question whether it is fin rot? at first there was no discoloration at all but now i don't know?

In bettas, it can be hard to see the discoloration because of their color. That tail looks kinda short though for the betta to be reaching it with his mouth continually. Again though, either way you still do the same treatment to help the tail grow back.

 

[KhloeM]

10-20ppm nitrate is fine. Since you have had him for only about 6 months though, basic fin rot is definitely suspect. The fact that you have never witnessed the tail biting adds to my suspicion. But, it could be either. Both need to be treated for bacterial issues anyways, so it is not really that big of a deal what the cause is since the solutions are similar.
When bettas are tail biters, there is not a lot you can do about it, honestly. Some seem to do it when bored, but some just seem to do it for seemingly inexplicable reasons. Like, the fins are long, and the betta sees them and just chomps. I've seen it happen with crowntails in specific a few times.
Ghosties are scavengers, so they get blamed for some fish deaths accidents and deaths that they did not perpetrate. I wouldn't be too concerned. Bettas usually ignore them though, so I don't know how much difference it will make. I think it worth a try though. Another critter that makes a good betta tankmate is a nerite snail. They eat some algae and biolfim, are not crazy messy, don't reproduce in freshwater, and stay in their shell enough that they can't really be harmed by a betta if it does happen to be a feisty one.
To treat the fins, keep up with the water changes and see if it gets any better. You can try salt, I know that is commonly suggested on betta forums.
If the tail gets bad, you will likely have to upgrade to a heavier antibacterial medication.

thanks so much! you really helped! i'm mot sure if i've seen much of an improvement with the bettafix, but i know it has worked a little bit to help the tail regrow. i've been putting dissolved salt in his tank too, which i'm sure helps as well.
nerites are very cool. i have two of them in my 10 gallon, and they do great! only thing left to decide is do i try ghost shrimp or no? ugh, decisions decisions! thanks for the help!

 

[Burstatol90010]

I personally whouldent risk with the ghosts . Maybe with cherries, maybe. If I were you, I whould get a nertle snail or apple snail


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[Shana0310]

It was recommended to me once a pair of African Dwarf Frogs. I had them with my first betta that died within 3 days of having him. I blamed the frogs but it was probably something else since I wasn't testing the water or making sure they had something to eat. I ended up returning them. They are great fun to watch and its recommended tow get them in pairs. Perhaps someone with more experience can weigh in on this.


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[TMRC Exotics]

Looks to be fin rot. Maybe up the water change schedule.

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