Please Help, My Betta Is Nipping His Own Tail

[autumnang]

I've had Stanley, my betta, for about a month now. He lives in the office and gets regular 30-50% water changes every Mon, Wed, Fri. and a full bowl wash every two weeks. I use the same brand of natural spring water each time, and his bowl includes glass beads, a castle for hiding, real plants, and a small heater. I took yesterday off work, and didn't get in until 2:30pm today, and I noticed the ends of his tail are newly frayed. After watching him for a bit, I noticed him circling around and nipping his own tail, much like a dog would do. Coworkers fed him yesterday and this morning, so I don't think its because he's hungry. What would cause a betta to behave this way? Did he miss me, or miss having visual stimulation? This seems wrong too, as he is here on the weekends by himself every week. Please help! I hate to see Stanley mutilating himself this way!!

Thanks!

 

[rob158]

Hi and


mayby he has white spot and is trying to get it off, i dont know though so its realy best for someone else to say.

 

[autumnang]

thanks for the welcome

What is white spot?

 

[rob158]

white spot is a very small parasite that lives on fish, from the photo you put up i cant see any on him, but like i said i dont know that much about betta (even though ive had 3) so its probably not white spot, but its best you know about it as its quite common,

 

[dayzofspeed]

hi and welcome to the forum, whitespot is a parasite, it shows up as small white spots as you would expect, they are about the size of a grain of salt, generally when a fish develops this it will become irritated and will start to flick its sides against an object in the tank. check for the spots, it can be treated though so dont worry if it is whitespot, from looking at the picture though i dont see any sign of it yet, that doesnt mean its not the cause because they take time to develop, whitespot is also known as ich or ick, you can find more information about it on the web as well as on this forum. I dont keep bettas myself so i dont know enough about them to advise you on any other ailments, maybe he has become bored or something and needs some kind of stimulation, sorry i cant be of more help but i'm sure someone will be along to offer you more assitance soon.......... good luck

do you dechlorinate the water when you do your water changes?

 

[AstonN24vantage]

i think whitespot can also be called ich, (pronounced ick) if im not mistaken

 

[dayzofspeed]

do you dechlorinate the water when you do your water changes and do you have a water testing kit? like i said i know nothing of bettas or of keeping them, but is it normal to use spring water, i would check the water first to see if that could be the cause

 

[autumnang]

thanks, upon closer inspection, there are no white spots. Another development, he is flaring more than usual, even at my finger when placed close to the glass. Think Stanley is losing it!

I didnt think I had a need to dechlorinate as I'm using bottled water, and no testing kit as I'm changing water every other day I havent really been in need of one...

 

[dayzofspeed]

maybe there are additives in the spring water, i assume its meant for human consumption?

 

[autumnang]

indeed, meant for human consumption, but has been fine for a month now

 

[dayzofspeed]

i'm not saying the water is bad... i dont know enough but its the first thing i would look into

 

[KittyKat]

autumnang: take some of your water and find an LFS which will test it for you. Write down the exact readings. Yes, it is important that you have a full, liquid test kit. Just because everything should be fine, that doesn't mean it is.
A quick tip which will probably help immediately (although is not a long term solution): find an oak tree and collect a couple leaves.. if you live in a city or a polluted area, wash them very well under the tap and put them in with the Betta.

What is the volume of the bowl?

What is the temperature?