Hi,

Just have a couple of questions. I've noticed some betta's tails will randomly split. Anyone know the reason for this? My betta Henry, his tail is appearing to begin a split in the middle. I checked the water parameters and they all appear to be in the "safe" zone. Henry also seems to lately not want to eat his Betta Bites food, but rather freeze dried blood worms. Is he just a picky eater? I don't want him to just eat those, since they cause swim bladdar and he always has had a hard time swimming. Thanks for any suggestions anyone has.

jen

Do you have anything sharp in his tank, such as plastic plants? They can sometimes split the delicate fins of bettas. Also, too much current can cause problems with fins, too.

As for the food, perhaps you could try frozen bloodworms instead

I put plastic plants in with my betta and just two days later his fins were all cut up! I agree with touchofsky, if you have plastic plants take them out. Also betta fix remedy has worked really well for me. in the past. Mabye you should try stress coat too? It might be a stress related thing.

Thanks for the replys. I'm just worried about him, he isn't very excited about eating. I hope he isn't getting sick. I think I'm going to do a partial water change.

I'm thinking fish go through phases and their tails split. Perhaps they split them on a plant.

Thanks again. Does anyone use Melafix for tail repair? I've used it a couple times, and the bettas I have used it on their gill had turned red. It kind of makes me nervous. Has anyone had good results with Melafix?

jen

You should use Melafix at half strength for bettas. Some bettas are sensitive to it and have bad reactions.

What I would do is add 1/4 dose as recommended on the package, then if they are OK with that, I would add another 1/4 dose.

So, if the regular dosage is 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons, I would add 1/4 teaspoon, and wait about 12 hours, and if everything is OK, add the next 1/4 teaspoon.

What size of tank do you have him in?

Henry is in a one gallon tank with no filtration. I adopted him from my friend, since she didn't want to take care of him anymore. I have always debated transferring him to another one gallon tank with filtration, but he is a weaker smaller fish who has trouble swimming, and he has lived in his current home for a year or more. His tail splitting does not seem to be progressing anymore, so I will wait on the Melafix. Thanks for the information about cutting back on the dosage, touchofsky. I will remember that for next time I have to use it.

jen

If he isn't a very strong swimmer, I wouldn't add filtration in a small tank. I would not use a filter in a tank smaller than 5 gallons. JMO

If his tail isn't a big problem, I would just keep up the water changes and keep his water as good as possible. That is really the most important thing, and goes a long was to keeping their fins in good shape.

Good luck and keep us posted. BTW, I'm glad you adopted him