Can anyone help answer?

WhistlingBadger said:

Looks like a tear to me, but it can easily turn into fin rot. Keep his water clean, try not to stress him, and have some paraguard or similar on hand just in case if develops into something bad.



































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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Thank yofor your cments.u































Looks like a tear to me, but it can easily turn into fin rot. Keep his water clean, try not to stress him, and have some paraguard or similar on hand just in case if develops into something bad.















Looks like a tear to me, but it can easily turn into fin rot. Keep his water clean, try not to stress him, and haveThank some paraguard or similar on hand just in case if develops into something bad.



Looks like a tear to me, but it can easily turn into fin rot. Keep his water clean, try not to stress him, and have some paraguard or similar on hand just in case if develops into something bad.

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Greeny said:

Hi, apologies as I'm still getting g accustomed to using the site. Whistlingbadger thank you for your swift reply...very much appreciated and has eased my mind a little. We had a 22 hour power cut at the weekend and I was worried that it could be fin rot from the stress of no filter or heater for such a long period. I spent the entire day heating hot water bottles to put inside the duvet I had wrapped around the tank!
Regards Steve

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wasmewasntit said:

Although I agree that the damage looks like a tear, it is also important to know that some Betta can get aggressive with themselves and self harm

It is not unheard of for a Betta with the longer finnage to bite their own. Reasons vary as to why some do it, it could be stress or the weight of dragging so much excess around behind them (it can be a common issue where the aquarium is quite deep and being a surface breathing fish, its alot of excess weight to drag to the surface every time they want to take air)

Keep an eye on him when he surfaces, especially from the substrate levels, if he seems to be struggling or appears to turn on his own tail you might want to get him a leaf hammock or two that can allow him to rest on the way up (easily obtained at aquatic shops or online and not expensive)

Tail and fin biting is fairly commonplace in the more exotic finned Betta........as a comparison, think of it as a bride in her dress with a full train trying to swim from the bottom of the pool to the surface.......sounds silly but these fish can be weighted down by their finnage - they are a very small bodied fish, afterall, and that tail/finnage is often two or three times their body size.

Watch his body language as he is swimming and surfacing...watch for irritation with his own finnage, snapping round at his own tail, stopping part way up to the surface, heavier breathing when he gets to the surface as if from exertion.

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Greeny said:

Thank you for your reply, you guys are so helpful! Actually he seems very happy, he swims around the tank and is always investigating his area. I haven't noticed any problems with him moving around the tank. I tend to agree that the artificial plant was the culprit as he's very inquisitive and spends his time exploring.

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