Tail Biting...what Do I Do To Stop It?

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Well this is the first time i have ever experienced a problem with my betta(had him about half a year now) and i don't know waht to do, basically i believe he is biting his tail(he's just a bog standard VT, didn't have a much of a long tail in the first place) and i want to help stop him do it before it gets too bad as he's taken alot off in just a couple of days(he does not have finrot or any other fish deseases).
He lives in a 10gal tank with 6 very small otos, a couple of trumpet snails and an armoured shrimp, the tank has a large filter but the current is adjusted to be quite gentle, the tank is stuffed to the brim with silk plants and fake bogwood(very smooth) and the tank itself is in the kitchen by a window- he gets a diet of TetraPro vegetable and color fish flakes plus frozen(and freezedried) bloodworms, krill and occasionally tubifex.
Water quality is excellant and the tank gets weekly water changes and substrate/sand cleaning session.

Is there anything i can do to stop him chewing his tail off ?

 

[Synirr]

In my experience, bettas tailbite for two reasons:
1) Boredom
2) Stress

The key is figuring out which it is. Since he has a relatively large tank and some tankmates to keep him occupied, I doubt it's boredom... is your kitchen a high traffic area? Some bettas are bothered by having too much going on outside the tank. If you think that might be the problem I'd try moving him to a quieter place, but if that doesn't work there's really not much you can do. In some bettas tailbiting is partially genetic, like obsessive-compulsive disorder in humans, so the best you can do in that case is just try to minimize it.

 

[Bloo]

Did the tailbiting by chance start after adding new fish to the tank ?
I had a couple (of tailbiters) and one got very stressed in a divided tank - but as soon as I removed the neighbour, he stopped biting overnight !

 

[Durbkat]

Well I stopped one of mine by moving his tank by my computer so he wouldn't be bored. Then another one of my bettas used to bite his tail but once I gave him more room in a divided 2.5g tank he stopped.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Thanks for the replies sorry i didn't get online sooner, the kitchen is not a very high traffic area although his tank is fairly close to the dishwasher which can vibrate a bit from time to time, so might be a posibility for causing stress, but his tank has been in the kitchen for almost 2months now so its a bit odd to why he is only getting stressed now- the other option is the oto's, i havn't had them very long at all but the betta seems to have accepted them very well into his enviroment and they do not bother each other one little bit(same goes for the shrimp and snails).
I don't really have anywhere to move the tank but i will try and put somthing under the tank like a towel or peice of plastic/foam so if it is vibrations that the tank may be feeling from the dishwasher, hopefully it will stop them(if its vibrations that are stressing him out)- if not then im really not sure what to do as i don't really have anywhere i can move the tank too right now.
ps: I tried showing my betta a mirror so he could see his reflection, i was expecting him to flare alot but he was totally not interested- he used to be a very violent/agressive betta, couldn't put any tankmates with him in the past, not even snails, but since i upgraded his tank to a 10gal he's become alot more subdued. He still regually makes bubblenests but its like all the agression has gone out of him, is this anything i should worry about considering he's tailbiting ?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

bump?

 

[Bloo]

You should definitely try to figure out why he's tail biting. One of mine bit himself almost to the base of his tail I can imagine vibrations (from the washing machine) is not a good thing, and might be something that's been building up as frustration etc.
Adding some Styrofoam or a towel underneath should help a great deal. Else try to move away as far as possible from disturbance.
Some of mine didn't flare either - I wouldn't worry about that too much.

 

[Dart]

I have an ocd tail biter, i've switched him from big tanks to small, current no current, high traffic low traffic, beside males or females to being by himself. And he stills bites his tail , he;s my rose tail too so he had a really pretty tail. So i guess maybe try moving him different places to see if there's any difference?

I actually think mine started when my friend looked after him for 3 weeks and he developed fin rot, it's gone now but i think he still needs to take all the fin rot off

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Thanks for the replies/tips, i will add some styrofoam under the tank and re-arrange the tank ornements and plants around a bit and see if that helps, will keep you updated if anything changes .