How do I keep his fins from being ripped to shreds

[BettaMomma]

Okay - I think I got it all now - I just might be a success at cycling.
Yeehaw.
Stopped by the office today and Amos looks so pitiful staring over at his new tank. I bet he just can't wait.

 

[BettaMomma]

Well, he's moved in!

He hasn't gone over by the intake tube once yet.
He LOVES the place. His favorite place to stop and rest is right under the palm tree - there's no current there.

 

[BettaMomma]

Well, it happened.

I went to lunch today - came back an hour and a half later andhalf of Amos' tail is gone - and MAN is he mad. Eek! I feel horrible
I'm going to bring in the nylon tomorrow. I opted not to put it on from the beginning, STUPIDLY. Will he be okay during the night, or what should I do??

I have aquarium salt - should I put some in?

I'm a HORRIBLE mother.


He's swimming around in a circle now trying to look at his tail. I feel so bad.

 

[SRC]

Is there not a convienence store close by? Most of them sell pantyhose .

 

[BettaMomma]

This is true.
There's a Walgreen's just down the street.
Good plan

 

[cation]

He's swimming around in a circle now trying to look at his tail. I feel so bad.

Hmmm. This can be a sign that the filter might not be at fault. If you put the nylon on, and his tail continues to be shredded, you may have a tail biter on your hands...

 

[BettaMomma]

So, if that's the case, wouldn't I find a hunk of the tail in the tank?

 

[cation]

Eh, he might just eat it. I've never had a tail-biter myself, but lots of folks on this board have - I can't recall offhand if they saw any tail chunks around. Another possibility is he's biting it, not eating it, and it's gettting pulled into the filter (the bitten off bits, I mean)

 

[BettaMomma]

Ya know, that make sense, I guess because a chunk of his tail mysteriously disappeared when he was in the tank withOUT his filter and I never did find it.
That would be SO completely disgusting if he ate this whole wad of tail. It was HALF OF HIS TAIL.! eek -
That'd be like biting your own toenails and eating them.. EWW.

Any thoughts on why they do that? Boredom? Hunger? he CAN'T POSSIBLY be hungry - he eats more than any of my other bettas and is always begging for food...