Shredded Dorsal Again

[Winterlily]

Well, my red and purple guy, Roo, kept getting shredded fins. Dorsal really bad, but also the anal fin as well. I covered the filter intake. It kept happening. I had silk plants in there, but I suspected them anyhow because they SO often have plastic bits and little sharp things and and and. Took them all out and put live plants in out of desperation. He did great. Fins healed, TONS of new growth, no shredding. But, I couldn't keep the plants alive. They continued to turn brown and die. They also brought with them a whole host of things I did not want, particularly these teeeeeny freshwater shrimp that Roo delighted in fishing for and eating. He was getting fat as well as overeating badly and was almost always bloated. No good. So I moved him to a new tank - no live plants (such a relief - I know they're good for the water and they are gorgeous when alive - but I'm just NOT good at it), just carefully picked silk ones with, I thought, no hard plastic that might tear fins etc. He's been in that tank for all of 2 days and his dorsal (the back half) is totally shredded again. (Yes the filter intake is covered.)

?? I have not a CLUE what to do here. I wish SOMEone would make truly betta-safe silk plants. But in the meantime, what should I do? I can't keep him with live plants, I can't keep him with silk. ?? Suggestions?

 

[kizno1]

you could try java moss thats really easy to keep alive
and you could try fake rubber coral plants theres one in my tank and mine loves swimming throught it

 

[Bebobb]

you could try java moss thats really easy to keep alive
and you could try fake rubber coral plants theres one in my tank and mine loves swimming throught it

Way to keep it natural. Oh and if the plants have sharp edges that may be causing it. They might die because of not enough light, ot enough nutrients, or not enough CO2.

 

[kizno1]

well its better than having nothink or stuff that will shred its fins in the tank

 

[Winterlily]

I tried the natural route, and I ended up with a sick betta because he was gorging himself on the freshwater shrimp hitchhikers that came in with the plants. Ended up with a betta with a HUGE belly and I couldn't fast to help him, because he had his OWN food supply in there. No good. I know, with effort, I could've figured out how to keep the plants alive, but honestly, I'm just not a live-aquarium-plant person - I don't DO it well and it's not where I want to put my effort you know? I love planted aquariums - gorgeous! - but it's just not for me. Some of us are good at it and some of us maybe not so much. <shrug> I tend to like the, at least, natural LOOK; all of my tanks are green plants (silk) and Mopani wood and rocks, but, as Kizno says, having some fake coral type things in there instead is lots better than the current alternative, which is shredded fin and possibly, ultimately, fin rot because of it. I'd far rather have a less "natural" looking tank than an ailing Betta.

The live plants weren't causing any fin shredding problems. And yeah, again, I'm sure eventually I could've worked out what they were dying from. The silk plants I checked carefully (I thought!) for anything sharp. I just don't get it. I was shocked to see the shredded dorsal yet again - and so fast.

Kizno... you're talking about those super soft rubber-feel type plants right?

 

[Bebobb]

I tried the natural route, and I ended up with a sick betta because he was gorging himself on the freshwater shrimp hitchhikers that came in with the plants. Ended up with a betta with a HUGE belly and I couldn't fast to help him, because he had his OWN food supply in there. No good. I know, with effort, I could've figured out how to keep the plants alive, but honestly, I'm just not a live-aquarium-plant person - I don't DO it well and it's not where I want to put my effort you know? I love planted aquariums - gorgeous! - but it's just not for me. Some of us are good at it and some of us maybe not so much. <shrug> I tend to like the, at least, natural LOOK; all of my tanks are green plants (silk) and Mopani wood and rocks, but, as Kizno says, having some fake coral type things in there instead is lots better than the current alternative, which is shredded fin and possibly, ultimately, fin rot because of it. I'd far rather have a less "natural" looking tank than an ailing Betta.

The live plants weren't causing any fin shredding problems. And yeah, again, I'm sure eventually I could've worked out what they were dying from. The silk plants I checked carefully (I thought!) for anything sharp. I just don't get it. I was shocked to see the shredded dorsal yet again - and so fast.

Kizno... you're talking about those super soft rubber-feel type plants right?

Hmmm, Silk plants are not known to shred fins. I said what I did about the natural because A fake rubber coral does not look natural in a freshwater aquarium. The rocks might have done it.

 

[Winterlily]

Yeah, I know what you mean about the fake coral. I really do, but if it's my only option... The rocks he has are totally smooth - completely and totally smooth, sorta like river rocks are? The Mopani wood has NOTHING to jag his fins on - I spent hours sanding the thing down so it would pass the "pantyhose test."

I'm at a total loss, honestly. It's just a killer because with the live plants, his fins were FINE. (Had wood and rocks in that tank too, btw.) It just has to be the silk plants. The silk part is fine of course, but the stems are plastic, as are the bits that hold the silk leaves on. <shrug> I dunno. There MUST be a way to decorate this tank safely.

 

[betta fish]

Hi, your fish is shredding his own fins I'm afraid, it's nothing to do with the decor or filter, they can do this because they are stressed for some reason but finding the reason can be difficult and some fish never get out of the habit, all I can say is keep the water super clean to help the fins heal and try to distract him somehow, I hope he recovers

 

[loraxchick]

are you sure hes not biting his tail and dorsal? perhaps he wasnt bored in the tank with the hitchikers becasue he had something to do all day with his energy/interest...people say bettas will bite their tails out of stress, bit o think after watching my tail biter that they just dont have enough to do. give them a job, like flaring at a mirror for longer than normal, or give them things to chase or look at or swim through and they stop.
just an idea.
best of luck.

 

[Winterlily]

Yeah, I know, but thing is, it's not his tail at all. Ever. The one fin he could most easily reach if he was doing it himself. It's always his dorsal. Sometimes his bottom fin gets a bit shredded too, but it's always his dorsal.

If he is doing it himself, I would've thought that a new tank, with all new things to explore etc would keep him from being bored? I know one of the "fixes" is to rearrange their tank - this was the ultimate rearranging: a new tank!

What are my options then? Seriously, is it better in the scheme of things to keep him with those silly freshwater shrimp so he can always hunt, but he'll always be bloated from overeating - but won't be shredding his fins? Or better to have him shredding but not overeating? What's "better" ?

I definitely don't believe it doesn't have to do with the tank change somehow - be that the silk plants or the loss of the shrimp to hunt - because he was always shredded before, put him with live plants and shrimp and it all healed up. Take him out of there and back in with silk plants and no shrimp and in less than 2 days, it's a mess again.

or give them things to chase or look at or swim through

Swim through... like plants and wood arches and all that? He's got that. What kind of things to chase?

 

[loraxchick]

sorry if that sounded confusing.
what i meant was he enjoyed the live plants more than fake- most fish in general do. not only did he have things to swim through and around and between, but also things to chase (shrimpies) when he was in that set up. he was more distracted.
tailbiting isnt always their tail. to me, it sounds like he is doing it himself. i have a tailbiter, ive seen him do it numerous times... and after watching and watching and thinking about what to do, i hung a PERMANENT mirror (as an experiment to see if it would help). and three weeks later all healed up. now, some folks im sure will come along and say dont leave the mirror all day, you will stress him out. well ive noticed the opposite effect in the tailbiter case. it is situated where he doesnt NEED to see it all the time. it is out of sight of most of the tank (due to the placement of decorations and plants). he does not spend all day flaring at himslef. only when he feels like it. he gets bored of the game of trying to get to the other betta.
it might be worth a try in your case to do the same. cant hurt, right? and it might just be the remedy he needs.
all the best

 

[doggiebag]

be careful if you go for the soft corals, I had these in my tank and they seemed to cause nitrite spikes while in there. I took readings with them in and out over the course of a week or so and they always caused the spikes.......may be better in a mature tank, mine was just at the end of a cycle. I had mine with a betta and whenever they caused the spike his tail would get blown and I would have to start healing him over again.

 

[Winterlily]

Thanks loraxchick ... will try the permanent mirror! Thank you (you are great, as always!)!

How bad is it, honestly, do you think, to have the little shrimp things in there for him to chase, catch, and (over)eat? I'm not terribly interested in any more live plants (I do so badly with them), but I could easily get a moss ball and some java moss etc, I'm sure they'll hitchhike on it again. Particularly in light of the below - he's going to lose his little "bed" again - would love to get another moss ball, but not if eating the shrimp is going to cause a problem with his eating too many of them all the time.

doggiebag - !!!!! Oh that is sooo weird that you say that. One of the things that Roo loved best was his opened moss ball, which he used to lie on like a mattress. I couldn't find anything similar at all (fake) except for this silly little flat, low coral thing (this thing). He loves it - lies on it all the time. But. No ammonia in this new tank. I was absolutely and totally shocked and perplexed to find a .25 nitrite reading! Consistently. Couldn't figure out how I could have nitrite without having had ammonia yet. Then I read your post. HAS to be that! Okay, so that has to come out. Bummer - he loves it a lot. Anyone know if it STOPS leeching nitrites? If so, I could soak it somewhere else (bucket or whatever) for a while.

Thanks!

 

[soph_betta]

Heya
Have you tried planted bogwood/ mopani wood instead as i found my live plants kept dying too think its cause i didnt have enouth substraite for them but ive found with having it onthe wood for some reason it lives and all i do extra is add a bit of plant food (Interpet flora boost) every time i do a half water change bout every 2- 3 weeks!

 

[doggiebag]

doggiebag - !!!!! Oh that is sooo weird that you say that. One of the things that Roo loved best was his opened moss ball, which he used to lie on like a mattress. I couldn't find anything similar at all (fake) except for this silly little flat, low coral thing (this thing). He loves it - lies on it all the time. But. No ammonia in this new tank. I was absolutely and totally shocked and perplexed to find a .25 nitrite reading! Consistently. Couldn't figure out how I could have nitrite without having had ammonia yet. Then I read your post. HAS to be that! Okay, so that has to come out. Bummer - he loves it a lot. Anyone know if it STOPS leeching nitrites? If so, I could soak it somewhere else (bucket or whatever) for a while.

Thanks!

Yeah, my guy adored his too, used to curl up inside it like a puppy to sleep.......

Im not saying they all do it, yours appears to be a different make to mine, but it looks the same thing anyway.......mine was a foreign make that comes in a clear round package (don't wanna say the brand in case Im not allowed). It may be fine if you have very mature media that can cope with the nitrites, but all I know is I would get sudden spikes in nitrite, ranging from 0.50 to 1 and once even 5.....all when this thing was in there. Taken it out now and found some ultrasoft silk plants, even went over the plastic bits and sanded any rough peices down, and the levels are much better in his tank.
He had finrot when I got him and lost half his tail, got him over that and it all grew back, then everytime I got a nitrite soike his tail would blow and we'd be back at square one...... guess your guy could bite his own tail if he's stressed over the raised nitrites.....just a thought.
Try removing it then do a partial water change to bring the nitrites down again and test it over the next week to see if they come back......will be interesting to see if the levels stay low after removal like they did with mine.....worth trying anything when your desperate lol