A Betta Experience: Fin Surgery

[Rediahs]

So, at the advice of Linda Olson, I performed fin surgery on my Agrias who was biting his own tail down to the base. She said that he probably felt like his heavy fins were weighing him down, especially since he tended to swim with his tail down. He always looked like he was weighed down at the butt . This is one halfmoon who isn't quite happy to be a halfmoon.

I wasn't confident that I could snip his fins in mid-water, I was scared that I would accidentally cut him in half or something. So I opted for the out-of-water treatment. Possibly more stressful for the fish, but at least I knew I wasn't going to cut him in half.

The first thing I did was try to find a suitable surface. At first i thought I'd do it in a bucket, but I couldn't get anything that was even on the bottom. My first attempt was a total failure. I tried to do it on the lid of a bucket, but he drifted into the corner..... fail.

I finally decided on doing it flat on my table on a damp cloth. I gently poured him out of his cup onto the sopping cloth. He looked so defenseless laying there... but at least he didn't drift around. He kept flopping and flopping and I started freaking out, so I kept pouring plates of water over him and eventually he calmed down a bit. I carefully folded the cloth over his head, to try to keep it dark, and eventually he stopped flopping. I got my knife and - ACK! He flopped again UP AGAINST the knife! I got really scared and checked him all over any cuts, but he looked fine. His scales and slime coat probably protected him.

Okay. I wasn't bringing anything sharp around him again until I was sure that he wasn't going to flop. I secured him a little better in the cloth, and pressed very gently against his tummy through the cloth. He tried to flop, but all it did was make him jiggle a bit. Okay. He was safe now.

At first I overestimated my knife - I pressed into his fins and didn't realize it wasn't actually cutting him - he floopped as I touched him with the knife!! Ahh! Was I hurting him? I had to remind myself that everything I've read says that they don't feel anything in their fins. I also had to remind myself that he was biting them himself, so if it hurt, he probably would have stopped.

So this time I pressed harder and he didn't move. I sliced neatly around his fins and cut them down to about half their original length, then quickly let him back into his tank.

He sunk to the bottom and GLARED at me I couldn't help but laugh, he was just so cute being mad at me... he swam around and hid under a plant and I haven't seen him since. I did notice, though, that one of my cuts didn't go all the way through his fin, just part of the way, so he's got some messy edges and some parts that are hanging loose.. but he still looks a lot better than before.

He's lost most of his colour, but he should get over it. I hope he swims a little easier now and stops biting his tail!!!

 

[Betta5]

WOW, there is no way that i could do that. At leased you helped and hope he has stopped bitting his tail. Will it get infected? or have you put salt in the water to help them heal.

Good luck and i hope he is ok after his ordeal with a human

See ya later

Betta5

 

[Rediahs]

Yeah it was scary, I took more than an hour to do it! It was hard, but if I did it again I wouldn't be as scared... theoretically his fins shouldn't have to "heal", we don't really want them to grow longer again... but I guess they probably will, and I'll probably have to do it again.. heh.... but yes i have salt in his water, but I always do that anyway.

I feel much more confident about it now. I know how to do it now and if I had to do it again, the only problem would be with stressing out the fish. I know how now, and I know I'd do a better job next time.

I might have to do it again in a few days to get rid of the scraggly ends that I left over, but I don't want to super-stress him out, so I'm going to leave him to himself for now.




It's funny but ever since I found out he's biting his fins cause they're too long, I've been admiring more plakats.... they just seem more attractive than they used to. I used to be all for the big fins, but now that I've seen what it does to some fish, well.... they weren't designed to have such big fins. This is so artificial. And it bothers him so much that he bites his own fins, how messed is that?

 

[Tangerinefizz]

Wow! Way to go Chrissi!! Pat yourself on the back for that one! He is probably really thankful for you doing that for him now. Doesn't sound like it at the time, lol poor little glaring man! Good job! I'm totally calling you if I ever get a HM that doesn't like being one!

 

[aquagirl]

Good job.

Jeesh you're brave.

 

[Rediahs]

Update: He appears to have recovered! His butt isn't droopy, he's swimming around like normal, his fins have un-clamped, and he just looks like a happy fishy Thank god.

I think I need to perform a few more snips on him though. He's got scraggly ends where I didn't cut properly, and I think his tail needs a bit extra trimming as well, since some of the chewed portion is still showing.

 

[Rediahs]

I gave him a second trim. This time I trapped him in a corner with my hand and brought his head out of the water. He didn't flop too much.

I am getting less and less sure that it doesn't hurt him. Every time I snipped at his fins, he lept out of my hand back into the tank, as though he were reacting to the pain. Not sure what to think about that.

But his fins are neat and clean now. Wonder how long they'll stay that way.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Good job, I've done a few bits of minor snipping where assorted circumstances (fighting, self biting etc.) have made the fins grow back so weirdly the fish starts going crazy... I know what you mean about the jumping, but they recover quickly and once it's over it's much better for them.