Betta Newbie... And I Have A Question.

[Mrs.Spray]

I am new to the betta world and I am hooked. I have a beautiful male and he interacts with me daily, He has won my heart. He is in a community tank with a few other fish (Comets, Corys, Plecostomus & Crawdads). He seems to like being in there with them all and every once and a while flares up at our smallest Comet who then swims off not at all bothered. We have been gone for a week and my mother in law watched them. After looking them over when we got home everyone is a little fatter and the tank looks like they have been fed a tad to much (gotta love grandma). Tonight, I was cleaning out their tank and Neptune (Betta) was swimming around me interacting I noticed he dosent look like he did before we left. His tale fins (?) are shorter and look as though they have been munched on or possibly clipped be a claw. What do you guys think? It seriously looks as if he has gotten a trim they are pretty even and its a large portion of them. The tank is small and we were out shopping for a bigger one this afternoon so he will be moving to larger quaters soon. OK so for the questions since i have babbled:

Do you think:

1. Fish are picking on him
2. Crawdad got him
3. Over fed so just not looking healthy
4. Natural Shedding? (keep in mind I know very little about bettas or any fish for that matter, I have been learning as I go so please dont laugh at me..haha)

What is causing the tale fins to look trimmed. And if it is the other fish/crawdads will putting them in a bigger tank help? He is my fav of all the fish and I will do ANYTHING to keep him happy/healthy. He has been so much fun to watch and interact with and has seemed very happy to be with all the others. i hate the thought of putting him in a tank alone but maybe he needs very passive fish? We have discussed him in a big tank with 3-4 female bettas to make him even happier.

Im at a lost and so I come to the betta gerus.... HELP!

Oh hi by the way... I think this is my first post....haha!

 

[Colin_T]

An overfed fish won't lose its tail and they don't shed them. Something probably got him. The crawdad might have caught him during the night. Keep an eye on the damaged area and make sure it doesn't go white and fluffy or red and inflamed (hard to tell on a red fish). The white fluffy is fungus and the red inflammation is a bacterial infection. As long as the damaged area doesn't get infected with either of these he should be fine and the tail will heal up and regrow.

Any crustacean with some size will become a potential fish eater. If more fish start getting damaged fins then move the crawdad out.

It isn't normally recommended keeping a group of females with the male. Quite often the male will kill the females or the females kill him. You can try adding one or two females but watch them closely for the first few days. if there is any aggression then separate them.

 

[Mrs.Spray]

OK Been reading and is it fin rot? It doesnt look shredded its all very even like clipping? But what do you think?

Thanks Colin... I will watch him. My hubby loved the Crawdad (bright blue) and he is a tiny bugger but we will probably just give him his own tank with hearty fish he cant eat. i dont like the idea of him eating the others. Thanks again!

 

[Colin_T]

fin rot occurs slowly over a few days. If the tail was fine one night and ripped up the following morning, then something got him. Fin rot usually only occurs in tanks with dirty or poor water quality. Regular water changes and gravel cleans help prevent this and many other problems.

 

[Amunet]

I have to disagree with just a small bit of advice Colin has given you.
I would NOT try to add any females into the tank with the male. Not even if I was home all day and able to watch them all the time. IMO it's just not worth the risk of having them fight with eachother and get stressed out.
MAYBE... and I definitely mean MAYBE if the tank were really big and very well planted w/ lots of caves and such it might work, but even then.. I think I'd always be paranoid about it lol.


Anywho... when you say comets.. do you mean goldfish?
If so, goldfish are really cold water fish while bettas are tropical... it's the same with some cories (well, I think they're more mid-temp.. mid 70's) and I'm not sure what kind of temp plecos thrive in and I have no idea about the crawdad either heh.
So yeah, if it's goldfish, then I would seperate them into their own tank. Goldfish need very VERY large tanks due to the sizes they will eventually grow and the mess they make.

And uhm, yeah... I'm tired so if I'm reading a bit scatter-brained it's b/c I'm really trying not to fall asleep lol.

So, definitely get a MUCH larger tank for the comets (if it's goldfish)... I'm not sure how big, but I think they can get up to 12inches... and I think it's suggested that they're more of a pond fish due to the size that they will get to.
And yeah, I'd get a heater and seperate the betta from the crawdad if you think it's the one that clipped the bettas fins.

I'm sure I would say more but my brain doesn't want to cooperate anymore.

 

[Colin_T]

And uhm, yeah... I'm tired so if I'm reading a bit scatter-brained it's b/c I'm really trying not to fall asleep lol.
I'm sure I would say more but my brain doesn't want to cooperate anymore.

Don’t fall asleep on the keyboard. You could drool onto the keys and catch a virus

 

[Amunet]

And uhm, yeah... I'm tired so if I'm reading a bit scatter-brained it's b/c I'm really trying not to fall asleep lol.
I'm sure I would say more but my brain doesn't want to cooperate anymore.

Don’t fall asleep on the keyboard. You could drool onto the keys and catch a virus

Lol... I've actually never fallen asleep at my computer. Almost a few times, but never all the way. I got my 2nd wind a few mins ago but now I'm spent.... off too my soft warm comfy bed..............zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz