Okay, I am really starting to suspect Orchard is tail biting, and does not have fin rot. I've had him for 6 months now ( and he's always had "fin rot" on and off. Sometimes it used to start right after a waterchange if I wasn't gentle enough, or sometimes right before if I waited too long, and sometimes when he was stressed, but most of the time it is just plain radom. He has been blowing bubble nests and acting very active, happy, and healthy through most of this. When it does start, it doesn't slowly disintigrate. His tail just suddenly has chunks missing. Within a half hour, a huge chunk would be gone. All of this I never see and happens when I am not in the room. I am starting to get the feeling that Orchard is an emotionally troubled fish and this is his way of crying out for help and attention. He wants me to be with and watch him all the time, and its working!!! Okay just kidding. Is there ANY way of telling if this is tail biting, besides catching him in the act? Is it possible that he is just hungry? I saw Sandy made a reply to Lucy's fin rot topic that tails regrow very very slowly after rot. Most of the time Orchard's tail regrows almost completely in about 2 months (if it gets that far) and a couple days after, you can usually already see a very visible amount of new growth. Is this weird?

When a fish bites tail off it grows back quicker than rot because the bacteria has essentially killed off the ends and growth is a lot slower.
So if the bettas tail has blown then you will see the growth come back quicker but how to stop it is another thing. Maybe he is bored on his own, what size tank is it? Does he have a cave or something to interact with? He seems healthy enough if he is still eating well and blowing nests, maybe another tank with a female might perk him up a bit.

I think also that during fin rot the end of the tail looks like it's melted a bit and darker in color...whereas when it's bitten, this isn't so obvious.

Orchard is in a 3 gallon w/heater. He's got a huge tree trunk/cave with lots of holes and silk plants on it, but other than that, his tank is pretty bare and he lives alone. Maybe he is bored...all he does is dance and beg for food from me. The end of his tail has never looked "melted" or had any darkness to it. A female in another tank next to him is probably not a good idea because I already have enough tanks to keep me pretty busy, and I need to make sure I can some how bring all my fishies to college with me in a couple years. Even though I'd LOVE a female (bettas have become my favorite fish) I have to be responsible.

I'd think live food would keep him entertained, but I'm not allowed to buy any live food or anything that needs to be refridgerated/frozen. I have one idea I would like to try. Maybe I could introduce a few ghost shrimp to his tank? I'd make a nice tower in the corner out of small river stones so they could have a place to hide. If it didn't work out and Orchard became aggressive toward them, I could move them into the tropical 10 when I get a hood for it (soon!). What do you think about that idea? I'd be too afraid to introduce him to other fish in a ten gallon. An easier idea could be to use a mirror with him every day. Do you think that would work? The only hand mirror I've got is broken, but he doesn't seem to mind.

Try the mirror - I think that is the safest thing to keep him entertained. Or you can get him some new plants, maybe a new background. At Christmas time I put little window clings on the outside of the betta tanks - they loved playing and hide and seek with me around them - you can try that too.

And I was just thinking of PMing you to see how he was doing!!

Thanks Littleone I'm gonna get my butt off the computer and go play with him. He hasn't seen his reflection in a long time because I've been so busy with sickies. Orchard is doing well, I'm fattening him up I read the pinned thread about feeding very sparingly and soaked pellets and they recomended only one or two pellets a day so that is what I did. He was getting thinner and thinner..are you guys sure thats right? He was constipated a couple months ago so I kept with that amount (didn't know it was due to the cold at the time). I'm feeding him the recomended amount on the back of the hikari package now, 2-3 pellets 2-3 times a day...I think thats what it said? He seems happier and is starting to gain weight back, but he is still pretty thin. That is why I asked if this behavior could be caused by hunger. Orchard's tail has started healing again and the past few weeks he has been absolutely bubble happy

What are the risks of this behavior? Even though his tank is always pretty clean, I'm afraid it will get infected some how.

Orchard is pretty big, right? I feed my big guy 2 - 6 pellets a day depending on how quickly he finishes eating them (I can tell how hungry he is based on his reaction to the food hitting the water). My little tiny Red who is only an inch long (including a ratty tail) gets 2 pellets a day. So, I agree with you on feeding him more.

I am not sure about infections though, perhaps just keep the tank salted just in case? Maybe now that you have the temperature and feeding down pat he will stay away from tail nibbling.

I think is body is just under 2 inches..I think he'll grow and fill out a bit more once he starts getting enough food. Poor baby, I didn't know I was starving him.

You were just doing what you thought was best for him, don't be too hard on yourself. He is still much better off with you than he would be with anyone else!

"They really dont need much more than a pellet or two a day, or every other day. "

It was actually a moderator that said that so that is what I did....can someone edit that out so others don't make the same mistake?