Shredded Tail Again

[anusingh88]

Hey Guys,

So this has happened twice when i clean his tank.....His tail is super shredded after obviously gorgeous growth.....I dont understand if its my method? I usually use a cup, put it in the tank, and let him swim into it and then take it out. And then once i fill the water back up and put him in..I see he has a shredded tail.

Wondering if i should get a net? But been afraid of that...since it would seem like his fins would get caught easily and then he would freak out and blop everywhere causing more damage.

When they shred their tail, does it hurt? He''s acting normal....but i dont want to hurt him. Thanks!

 

[divegirl]

Why are you taking him out of the tank for water changes? I never take any of my fish out during tank cleaning, this includes two Bettas.
That said, it doesn't sound as if your method of removing him whould shred his fins.
What decorations do you have in the tank? Bettas can easily hurt themselves on plastic plants and ornaments [even if they don't look sharp].
What sort of filter do you have? Could he be catching his fins in it?

Lisa x

 

[Luke_emma_23]

totally agree thet they dont need to be removed for water changes.
Its a game for mine, they swim around & around the syphon hose!!
One of mine appeared with a shreaded fin that i can only think was done in the filter so i cut the foot off a new pair of tights & put it over the bottom part of the filter, he has not had any shreading since!!

 

[doggiebag]

one of mine shreds his own tail. If it is fine going in the cup, but shredded coming out, then I suspect he may be shredding it himself while in there, maybe from stress, but also as its easy to curl up in a cup and reach it, this is how mine does it, he curls inside a cave and shreds it. Some bettas do this, maybe boredom, maybe stress, some say they do it to relieve drag due to large fins.......sounds to me like its stress while being in the cup.
Like others, my boy stays in the tank while waterchanging, he loves chasing bubbles up the siphon and the flow of fresh water going in, much less stressful than being caught. Not sure I would use a net with a betta......

 

[pippoodle]

what tank mates if any are in the tank
have you got plastic plants , or a cave in the tank

 

[anusingh88]

I know it can't be the decroations because it never happens when he is in the tank, and he goes very close to the filter and i've observed him....and the intake isn't that strong on it.

I remove him, because there is a stone cave, and I try to clean the gravel, and pick up debris every time i do a water change, so he kind of gets in the way every time. I'll try to keep him in the tank next time i do it....thanks!

 

[Curiosity101]

He'll soon learn to get out of the way once you've bashed him with the vac a few times. I'm not saying do it on purpose, and certainly be careful cause a full power bump could cause him some injury.
But basically ignore him whilst you syphon, and if he gets a bit of a bump then he will learn not to go near it.

 

[snowflake311]

I never had any problems catching my betta. I would use a clear cup and during feeding time he would be near the top I would just scoop him up in the cup and he was fine. They were trained.

Back in the day I kept 5 bettas all in 1 Gal jars with no heaters or filter. I know betta abuse. But they had weekly 100% water changes and lived in a heated room. They lived to be 3 - 5 years old. The scoop method worked for me. with little to no stress on the fish.