Hi guys! I've been on here with my goldfish problems so long I haven't had a chance to show off my bettas! I have two of them. They each have their own 2.5 gallon tanks but eventually I want to move them into the 5 gallons I have I think. The first one is Betta Maureen "B"

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j272/Cou...taMaureenB2.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j272/Cou...ttaMaureenB.jpg

The original betta maureen looked almost identical but only lived for a day. I wasn't done with the name though : ) And my second one is Betta B Anthony (yep I have weird names!)

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j272/Cou...taBAnthony2.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j272/Cou...ttaBAnthony.jpg

About 2 weeks ago. (maybe a bit less) I noticd that something happened to Betta B Anthony's tail and fins. It looks like it was ripped off. It was instant, overnight. Not a gradual deterioration. Like he got caught under something. This is what he looks like now:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j272/Cou...taBAnthony3.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j272/Cou...taBAnthony4.jpg

He hasn't shown any signs of infection and is behaving completely normal so I haven't done anything out of the usual. It does look like its growing back. Do you all think I should be giving him melafix, or should I just leave him be since so far so good?

That same thing happened to one of my males!! Perfect one day, then shredded tail the next. I thought he got it caught on the one plant in there so I took it out. I'll never know if it would grow back because he passed away a week or two later right after a water change. It was very sudden--he seemed fine then a couple minutes later he was zipping all around like a crazy man then he floated on top and was gone! I have no idea if the two incidents were related somehow but it was very distressing--he was my favorite and soooo beautiful. Kinda looked like Anthony, too.



Both your bettas are gorgeous by the way!!

To answer your question--it would probably be best to just make sure his water is pristine rather than add melafix right now. Clean water will keep away fungus and give his tail a chance to regrow.

They do look similar! They both have those red edges! Yours had more teal in him, which I actually LOVE because it's my favorite color. Actually YOUR fish reminds me of one of my old bettas that had similar coloring. I tried to look for a picture but I can't find any on this laptop. I think I have them on a different computer.

Aww sorry your betta didn't make it. Now I'm all nervous because I noticed mine has been zipping around more than usual too.. I keep telling myself he's just active because of the warm weather. Let's hope so! Thanks for the advice. I've been doing extra water changes in his tank. Of course, this week of all weeks the power was out, and his was the only tank that wound up with a tiny nitrite spike. Just up to 0.10 but I still did a water change right away. I am gonna test it again later on to make sure everything's alright now.

I found a few pictures of my fish but I have better ones somewhere. For now this will have to do:

Bettalicious: http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j272/Cou...ettalicious.jpg

Yeah they do look similar--cool! I really hope your guy will be ok. Sounds like you are doing all you can for him.

Absolutely gorgeous boys!

Well this thread is old, but I have good news and wanted to update! Not only is Betta "B" Anthony (as in Susan B Anthony.. I was watching Prison Break and they call the evil girl Susan B Anthony lol) alive, but his fins are growing back!! They are getting longer and the red edges are starting to appear again.. He looks great. I never added anything to the water (not even melafix) just made sure his tank stayed nice and clean. So knock ON wood, he is OUT of the woods. lol Thanks for your help Kristi! : )

Oh thats gr888 Sue...I am so glad his fins are back...and absolutely gorgeous guys..I love their blues..both have wonderful blue colors to them...good to know no chemicals used...Like u always believe, to stay away from chemicals as much as possible..tht gr8...Beautiful bettas....

Glad to hear he is doing ok and the tail is growing back. He's a beauty!

I think I read somewhere that they sometimes nip their own tails cuz they're so long. I don't know how true that is tho. None of my boys ever had those issues.

I am so glad to hear that he is regrowing those wonderful fins.

One day I'll start a tropical tank and get a Betta

Thanks so much everyone : )



FUN! Now that you have the idea in your head, I bet I'll be seeing a thread in no time.. "Meet My New Betta". LOL

It will be some months at least
And I have a lot of reading up to do before hand as I want tetras as well

I want to get some guppies. I just cleaned a tank with PP, and I threw some extra biomax into the tank I have the platy in, then I can steal it back in a few days and get a cycle going in the other tank I just cleaned.I've had the platy almost two months now and I want to QT one or two guppies to go with her.. (All your fault Chrissy! Thanks LOL) Tanya asked me to go today to the fish store, but I knew the tank wasn't ready so I resisted the urge : ) I've been reading a lot too..

Glad to hear Betta "B" Anthony is recovering.
I'm starting to get real interested in bettas myself.
Just bought an all blue female about an hour ago.
Thinking about calling her Blue Bell.

Thanks Montman!!!

Oh cute!!! I like the name... You should an an 'e' at the end. Blue Belle, make it more feminine! : )

ALSO! A few weeks ago I found that you had posted on the thread I wrote when I was a new member, about music. (the eagles). I never saw your response, and found it a few weeks ago. I must have looked like a real jerk!!! I wrote back to you on there, but you may never have seen it LOL

Blue Bell...awesome name Montman...and Blue Belle...nice..makes it really feminine Sue...
can we see her pictures please??..

Ok..now looking at you guys going the tropical way...I wanna tank too.. ... but with this little apartment I have no place left...welllll but what can stop all of us from having more tanks right??LOL...so might consider that too...

yes you might have a tail bitter. sometimes the betta gets stressed and bites his tail. one of my males used to do it. Adding a little melafix and salt will not hurt and may help his tail grow back in faster . you may be able to figure out what is stressing him and alleviate it . My tail biter's tank used to be on the nightstand next to my bed and when I moved his tank across the room he quit bitting his tail. I guess he just did not care for all that constant movement next to his tank. Maybe move his decor around in his tank .

Thanks Betta Queen & Tetra! I'll continue to keep a close eye on him.. It's been a few months since it happened, and luckily so far he seems to be healing really well.. I had no idea they could bite off their own tails!!!! Very strange. Hopefully it won't happen again!

Guess I forgot to knock on wood.. NO JOKE the tail is broken off again!!! It's like he was waiting for me to say "it's healing" just so I would look stupid! It MUST be him biting it!!! How strange!! I wonder what's stressing him??? Have you ever seen it happen?? The tail biting? This is soo weird...

ooohhh really??...thts weird...true..I have never seen this...so you gonna use some melafix or salt??...I am sure your water parameters are gr8...I dont see a reason for him to do this...

EDIT: Hey Sue, found this http://bettysplendens.com/articles/page.imp?articleid=1113

http://nippyfish.blogspot.com/2006/10/tail...ing-bettas.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9...ail_biters.html

the last post says, seeing another betta....dont you have two bettas in the same room???..could tht cause it??..I am not sure...but I think I remember this...check out the sites...

Now that is just weird! Never had any that I've had thru' the years bite their own tails. Could he be getting it caught by the filter somehow?

Thanks so much for the articles!! They were really interesting and helpful.. Oh and just for the record. I saw your name in your welcome thread but your sig says JC. Is that what you liked to be called? I am sick of saying "Sunshine Girl' like I don't know you because we have talked so much it seems silly LMAO

OKay I think I am figuring this out. There ARE two bettas in the same room. They are on opposite ends of a long piece of furniture with an empty tank in between them.. (It never has fish, I just haven't figured out where it will go yet). My bettas have always been kept like this, and the two that are in there now behaved fine this way until the incident a few months ago. My thoughts now come down to the fact that Angel is being kept in a tank in that room too. It's not on the same piece of furniture though... But Angel IS near the betta who is biting. However, Sheldon was in there for a while too.. I am looking at the dates and the inital time this happened the tank where Angel is in was EMPTY.. However, it was also just AFTER Sheldon was in there.. Maybe this is the cause!!!!!! Angel's tank is in direct view, and I have heard that bettas CAN mistake goldfish for other bettas because of the flowy fins. And maybe since the goldies are BIGGER than the bettas, it's scary!!!! This will be the first thing I do.. Try moving Angel's tank!

Like I said, Angel is not meant to stay in that room.. Right now I just ran PP through the 29 gallon tank. Miranda & Samantha are going to go in there. Once they are moved, the 10 gallon they are in will be Angel's home. That was the plan all along.. That is in a different room than the bettas all together... Maybe this will solve the problem..??

As for the tail. I am still undecided as to melafix and salt... Some people suggest that, others just pristine water. Last time just having perfect water did the trick.. But at the same time, it took a long time to start to grow.. The readings in that tank are always zero ammonia, and zero nitrite.. The nitrate in my tap is at least 10 initially, so it's impossible to keep it much lower than 20. However, every week I do a 100% water change for them, and every week when I test the water it is 20 nitrate. Which is higher than SOME people like, but certainly not a BAD level. Crazy bettas!!!

I don't think it's the filter. Its the same filters I have always used for my bettas and I have never seen this before.. But you never know huh? Weird weird weird..

hehehe..I know SunshineGurl..I am kinda bored of that name too.....you can call me Jyoti or JC..watever you like...but Jyoti is just weird for a lot of people to write or pronounce..so to make it easy the initials JC...watever u like..I am fine with any...

The articles are informative...It was good to know..I have a betta too..so I ll be careful with that guy...and ur Welcome..

Ahhhh..the tank placement makes sense...yeah try a different place..maybe it solves the problem...

I think just stick to pristine water...the healing will be done like it worked last time...how does Stresszyme sound??..do u think tht will help him calm down a bit???just sometimes...

Trust me I have a had my share of bettas and a couple tail biters .Keep the water pristine and do the salt and melafix combo. It will work. It will still take time to grow back though

BettaQueen do you think the placement of the goldy might be the cause of this?



Thanks Jyoti!! I'll get used to the name.. What do most people call you in real life? Anyway, I think stressyme is mainly just bottled bacteria, so I dunno if that would make any difference. (and even at that some people say it doesn't work).

I might try the melafix salt.. Same dose as for goldies?? 0.1% salt?? Or less?

Found this on a forum.."Bettas usually tail-bite out of stress, so adding salt to his water will probably not help much. Just keep his water clean so it will heal. If you decide you do want to try aquarium salt, be careful. Salt can be harsh on scale-less fish like already mentioned, but also harms sensitive fish including some types of tetra and bettas. Some bettas have fatal reactions to salt, so only dose .5 to 1 teaspoon per gallon. Dissolve salt in water before adding it to the tank, and watch closely for the first 15 minutes. Be sure to have a bucket of dechlorinated, temperature matched water ready incase he does not like it"
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/aq...0161726903.html

Ppl have different opinions on using salt...I would just start with 0.05% and then go to 0.1% salt..if needed...I think it would be best to keep the water pristine...and change his tank position..I believe that would be enuf...

Ah...I thought Stresszyme was something used to calm bettas...bacteria...now I get it.. ..yeah in tht case don't use it...

Oh..and in real life ppl call me Jyoti (its pronounced as Joe+tea..simple )...many friends call me JC...or even Jyo (as in Joe)... any of this is good..

I have a betta that nips his fins. I'm not sure why he does it but it makes me sad. He had the most beautiful, long purple fins when I got him but about a month later he started destroying his tail. He'll get it short enough to where he can't reach it and then leave it alone for a few months until its growing back and starting to look good and pretty again...then he starts nipping again. He always looks so raggety

Hey nichjake...Did you read the articles in one of the posts...chk it out...it helps...

Jyoti, JC, Jow, Sunshine.. THANKS : ) LMAO.. Maybe I'll just start a new nickname for you and call you "J". LOL

Thanks again for the articles you found..They are really helping me out!!!! I heard the same thing with salt, that it can be trickier with bettas or trops. That sometimes the dose needs to be lower, or that sometimes they freak out... So far I haven't added anything to the water... I'm just keeping it clean and watching him..



Exactly... that's exactly how he looks. What do you do for it? Salt, melafix, nothing?

Hey Sue...I was checking out bettatalk.com....and on the Diseases page the lady who owns the site and is a breeder herself..suggests that betta tanks should always have salt in them 1 teaspoon for every 2.5 gallons...this prevents almost all the diseases...chk it out here...http://bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm
Almost all here diseases descriptions read this line...I am myself planning to add half dosage, 1 teaspoon to my 5 gallon betta tank...

-J (sounds gr88 )

I always kept salt in with my bettas too. I have breeder freinds that do the same. The salt, melafix or betafix which ever you chose to use should heal him up

If he is in view of the goldie it might be causing him to stress out . You might try putting his tank in a low traffic area ( human traffic and fish) . Try changing or switching around tank decor. Is there a filter? He might be stressing out due to filter flow.Trust me on the melafix and salt and increased temp. I had a 3 1/2 year old betta I adopted that had tail rot when I got him and a tail bitter and the salt and melafix combo and raised temp healed them up. Stresszyme will not be that much help. It takes awile for the tail to grow back but it will. Check for stressors as mentioned and try to create a calming envoirment for him

Thanks BettaQueen for all of your help! : )

I'm thinking I need to get these fish tanks out of my daughter's room.. When I originally set them up, she was younger. Now she is getting older, and louder... All the tanks are Pink though LOL And I have NO idea where I can make room for them... Looks like I am going to have some rearranging to do!!!