betta nipping own tail

**mmramos** · 8th Sep 2009, 12:22

Hi guys,

I just bought a betta 2 weeks ago. 1st week everything is working fine but during the 2nd week i noticed my betta's tail is rotting or got nipped off. i thought initially it was the cardinals doing it but i observed it last night and i saw the betta circling around nipping it's own tail!

what should i do??

**Bettafanatic** · 10th Sep 2009, 14:53

Is he the only male betta in your set up? You might want to add in some females for him to chase and flare around and get his mind off his tail.

**shrimppaste** · 10th Sep 2009, 21:44

He's got fin rot. Very common for betta if water condition is not good.

**mmramos** · 11th Sep 2009, 12:48

yup he's the only male betta with 2 cardinals in the tank. i thought male betta will kill the female betta if in the same tank too long?

**mmramos** · 11th Sep 2009, 12:49

Originally Posted by shrimppaste

He's got fin rot. Very common for betta if water condition is not good.

nope i don't this fin rot.. i caught him on the act nipping his own tail like a dog chasing his tail.

**Bettafanatic** · 11th Sep 2009, 17:17

Originally Posted by mmramos

yup he's the only male betta with 2 cardinals in the tank. i thought male betta will kill the female betta if in the same tank too long?

How big is your tank? If your tank is a planted of at least 2ft, having a few females (so he wont concentrate on chasing/stressing one only) for him to chase isnt a problem. No real injuries will be made as the females could swim away and hide among the plants easily.

if not, try to place him in a larger tank and flare him regularly, this will help take his mind off his tail too.

Good luck!

**seanskye** · 11th Sep 2009, 17:21

could it be ich? Some of my clown loaches used to rub themselves against rocks and driftwood. No symptoms initially so I thought they did it for fun. It was only after a while that the white spots appeared.