Triming

[Grim Reaper]

i went to me LFS where i saw one of they display betta which looked like they cut his tail so i asked one of the guys who works there and he told me that one of the staff trimed the tail 4 some reason,
now whats that all about i never heard of people triming they betta tail
anyone care to explain???

 

[Ethos]

There shouldn't be an explaination

 

[BrookeLea]

Sometimes tails get trimmed to curb fin rot. Hopefully that's what it was?

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

Poor fish!!! I got given a girly friday for free because the other girls were picking on her mercilessly. Trouble is, although she's now got her own space she's not picking up much. Her tail is almost entirely absent. treated with melafix as there's no fungus or finrot, just seeming tired and quiet, bless her. Am hoping she'll pick up a little in a day or so. She was also rather on the thin side but that's rectified itself pretty well, except she refused food today. Hate that lfs's don't or simply can't give their fish the care and attention they need. And despite all out efforts it's sometimes too little too late. I hope little 'Stubby' can pull through this.
Hugs,
P.

 

[Flu]

It's normal. I've posted a thread just like this a while ago.

 

[OrkyBetta]

You can easily operate on fish's tails. They really don't have much feeling in their fins, and a lot of times it is done to stop bad fin rot from reaching the body, or if a tail is severely damaged, it will grow more evenly if it is trimmed.

Not likeI would have the guts to do this, but it can be done.

 

[thelastbetta]

You can easily operate on fish's tails. They really don't have much feeling in their fins, and a lot of times it is done to stop bad fin rot from reaching the body, or if a tail is severely damaged, it will grow more evenly if it is trimmed.

Not likeI would have the guts to do this, but it can be done.

How would someone operate on a fish? I mean, whenever I even just take mine out of the water they flop around like they're rabid.

 

[Ethos]

Same with me. You have to get someone to saftely put them out - I've seen it on the discovery channel.

 

[Grim Reaper]

It's normal. I've posted a thread just like this a while ago.

i tryd searching for it but notting came up

 

[thelastbetta]

It's normal. I've posted a thread just like this a while ago.

i tryd searching for it but notting came up

Here.

 

[DJ Prem]

i went to me LFS where i saw one of they display betta which looked like they cut his tail so i asked one of the guys who works there and he told me that one of the staff trimed the tail 4 some reason,
now whats that all about i never heard of people triming they betta tail
anyone care to explain???

Explains.

 

[catxx]

how do people go about trimming a bettas tail?? can it only be done to their caudal fin? or anal fin too?

reason i ask is i saw a poor VT in my LFS yesterday with a fuzzy grey fluffy anal fin, going right to his body. i felt so sorry for the poor guy, especially seeing as some moron had put him in with 5 large gouramis!! (i got him moved out though). not that i'd attempt trimming, i'm too scared and don't have steady enough hands!

 

[CatLover]

Yes, betta tail trimming is common, and is safe if done properly by someone who knows what they're doing.
You lay the fish on a wet paper towel, and use another wet towel to cover the head and torso. Then fan out all the fins - you can trim the anal, caudil, or dorsal, and probably the ventrals too. The cutting is done with a sterile razor blade by pushing firmly down. Do not drag the blade because that will cause ripping of the fin. Only the edges are taken off, not too much. They do have feeling in their fins (short finned bettas more so than long finned ones), but since trimming only occurs when the fish has finrot, the goal is to trim off the dead, damaged parts of the fin. The nerves in the finrot damaged edges are dead, so the fish can't feel it.

And that's how and why betta fins get trimmed.

Also, sometimes fish do need to be operated on, and it's possible. I believe CFC had to do "surgery" on one of his monster fish. He mentioned it a really long time ago, so I don't remember what was wrong or what species of fish it was.