Corwin the tail biter

[Sahabo]

So I woke up one morning to find chunks of tail missing from my betta. I immediately assumed blown tail, finrot, etc.

But then I caught him in the act of biting his tail! He circles, circles, circles, and then CHOMP!

It's either stress biting or boredom biting...I think it must be boredom because everything in his tank is perfectly stable. Hopefully when I upgrade him to the new 10 gallon and put something lively in the 5 gallon next to him, he'll stop the self mutilation.

Anyone had success with curing tail biting?

[Musket]

wow, was he a dog in a past life?
I've had bettas for what seems forever, and have not seen or heard of this behavior.
Gotta be bored. Get hima fish video like they have for dogs and cats?
Too bad they don't make bitter lime for fish.
Good luck, keep us posted.
Give him some melafix to help with the healing.

[Zagz]

I have never heard of this either. Do not use melafix with bettas. Just keep up with the water changes as I know you do.

[Sahabo]

hmmm...why not Melafix with bettas?

[Zagz]

Melafix can damage the labrynth organ of bettas or gourami's. There are widely differing opinions when researching this but I prefer to err on the side of caution.

[Sahabo]

Thanks Anne

[Zagz]

I did some research and found that it is actually fairly common.for bettas to nip at their own tails sometimes. That is something I did not know.

[Sahabo]

yeah...really frustrating! He seemed to take a break from it yesterday as I was working on the new 10 gallon right next to him all day, and no new loss of fin this morning. Hopefully he just needs more stimulation in his environment.

[jsoong]

Try putting a mirror next to the tank wall. The betta we used to have thought that the reflection was another betta, so would spend all day flaring & attacking the image. This might give yours some diversion & hopefully he will attack the tank wall rather than his tail!

[Sahabo]

well he seems to have lost the taste for his fin and I'm seeing some regrowth. phew! hoping it was just a short lived phase. He's very interested in the new tank being set up next to him and now spends time watching the bubbles in the empty tank as it is cycling

[Musket]

goofy fish
Just another reason why we fall for them.