Tail Biting Update

[ellena]

My 2 bettas are such a sorry sight I thought moving lotus to the hex tank had sorted him, he was growing back nicely, then he's just gone and chomped himself to bits all over again, for no reason that I can see.
And peacock has made a real mess of his tail now too. I still haven't got on top of the uneven temperature (I have an idea for another arrangement to try when I do the water change tomorrow) To make it worse, the plug for his heater got pulled out accidentally so it has been off since last night
He still has the possible columnaris on his back too. I have run a 5 day course of myxazin then left it a few days to see. The white fluffiness has gone, but the fin has gone between the next 2 rays now, so I've started another course.
Why can't they just be easy like rufus, my VT at work? He's so happy with his shrimp, making happy bubbles every day

 

[aly_starh]

Oh no Sorry to hear that Ellena.

I havent got experience with tail biters, but would a daily flare in the mirror not help,

 

[ellena]

I've put their tanks next to each other and while the lights are on, they can see each other. I have a board between them the rest of the time. I was hoping this would be enough stimulation for them.

 

[silverrabbit]

Sorry to hear they're not doing too well have you tried having tankmates with them? Might be a bit distracting if they can see something else zooming around

 

[Honeythorn]

Sorry to hear it.

I wonder if perhaps it's some form of mental problem some fish are born with?

 

[ellena]

I'm reluctant to add fish due to bioload. I would love to get shrimp but both tanks have had copper in them. I intend to get a test and some copper remover but they're both quite pricey.
I thought I had solved the uneven temp by moving the heater. A couple of hours after I moved it, temp at the bottom was 25C, but it's gone back to 21C now
I don't think it's a from birth thing in this case honeythorn. Peacock never touched his tail until I moved him into this tank. There's something about the tank and the uneven temp is the only thing I can see.
I would like to move them back then at least I might have one happy?

 

[Mauricia]

That's really weird about your problems with the heater, I've never had this problem. Do those heaters cause the same problem in a different tank? Or what about moving that tank do a different location? Is there a window or heating vent anywhere near the tank that could be affecting it? Is your thermometer accurate? I've found a lot of thermometers are off by a little bit, you could try getting a temperature gun.
I have a fish that I can't figure out his tail biting with and man it is driving me nuts so you're not alone!

 

[Honeythorn]

Get a new heater. Of a completely different brand.

 

[Mauricia]

But if I remember correctly this is a different heater in the same tank and both have had the same problem, which doesn't make sense. Are they the same brand? I suppose that would make more sense.

 

[Honeythorn]

Actually what brand of heater is it? I know a few people have had problems in the past with Elite heaters. I haven't myself and use them in all my tanks but I think a bad batch went out at one point, and some folks had some problems with them.

 

[ellena]

Both tanks are next to each other. The one nearer the window is fine. I've tried with a thermometer from work too and exactly the same reading. I can feel it by hand anyway, that's how I first noticed.
Both heaters were superfish I think, 25w then 100w. I like them as they come with a black cover so they blend into the background really well. I have a 100w visitherm in the other tank. I am going to swap them and see if that works. The other tank has much better flow with a waterfall filter.

 

[silverrabbit]

I have superfish heaters i've found them really good in my smaller tanks. Going back to what Honeythorn said about the Elite heaters - do be careful with them, was just setting up a new tank, left it for a while, tunred the heater on and it started throwing out blue sparks for no reason at all - heater was less than 8 months old. Just glad there were no fish in there LOL!

Anyway back to topic, apologies I really hope you get this heater issue sorted out.

 

[Mauricia]

Yeah see what happens when you swap them for experimental purposes. Honestly flow shouldn't matter that much I've had heaters in unfiltered tanks with no problem. But see if it does anything. If you can get the unevenness to be less it should be fine, I don't think it has to be perfect. But I've been thinking about your situation as it doesn't make a whole lot of sense and I want to figure it out. What about the lid on the tank, is it different than the lid on the other tank? Is it particularly well insulated? My thought is that it could be trapping hot air in which keeps the upper water warm. What about if you experiment by wrapping a blanket around the tank? Or putting a mesh screen on top instead of the lid? The thermostat on the heater must be where the water is warmer so it stops heating the tank at this point, so maybe if you insulate the bottom part of the tank it would keep it more even. You would be amazed at how much just wrapping three sides of the tank with tshirts, even with the front exposed, raises the temp. Another idea would be if you have a hood that has a bit you can open but leave the hood on (does this make sense?) you could open that, cover it with fabric mesh to keep the fish in, and run a fan, while wrapping the bottom in towels.
I know these all sound goofy and aren't going to be good long term but if you see what helps the problem you can get a better diagnostic view of whats going on. I would also see if you can borrow a different brand of heater from someone to try temporarily.
Of course you want to try these when you're at home, insulating the tank can cause the temp to raise quite quickly, and usually thermostats on heaters work by relative temp not absolute temp so don't trust it to not heat up too much.
Oh, you could also try an under the tank heater for reptiles, this might actually be a good long term solution, depending on the size of your tank. Make sure to follow the directions, you may need to put little feet on the tank. They do sell plastic safe ones. Maybe you have a friend who could loan you one, or look on ebay or something for a cheap one. Reptile heating tape is even cheaper and this might also help. You would really need a thermostat though which can be expensive, so maybe you could test it out first while watching the temp and see if it helps at all.

 

[ellena]

Mauricia I didn't 'swap them for experimental purposes'. I swapped them in an effort to see what was making one so unhappy that he bit his tail. Swapping has told me it is the tank so now I am trying to solve that problem.
The 2 taks are totally different in design so do have different hoods. I don't want to cool to top level of water, just heat up the lower levels.
A reptile mat wouldn't work as the tank has a built in layer of polystyrene or something similar in the bottom which would provide insulation.

 

[Kitty_Nin]

How is your heater situated? Vertical? Horizontal? Diagonal? Maybe you've already done all this, but maybe try scooting the heater down or changing the direction you have it in. Good luck, I'm starting to suspect that my boy has become a tailbiter as well, but I've yet to catch him in the act.