Betta Fins getting shorter??

[erin14]

My male Betta's fins seem to be getting shorter...especially the dorsal and tail fins...i can't understand why they would get shorter though:huh: It almost looks like they've been ripped or shredded kinda. His fins were so long and nice and now they seem to be getting shorter and shorter. No one in the tank bothers him, infact pretty much all the fish are intimidated by him and keep well away from him. I've sat for hours just watching and never once has any other fish nipped at his fins, if anyone comes within 2 inches of "his space" he chases them away. He acts completely healthy..swimming around, flaring his fins...he takes blood worms and flakes into his mouth but always seems to spit them back out but other then that hes completely normal. Whats going on here? Any ideas?? My parameters are pH- just a little over 7 (like 7.2), ammonia-0, Nitrite- 0 and nitrate- 20...i've worked so hard to get the levels where they are so hopefully they don't need to be changed...HELP!

 

[Oilibhear]

Maybe he could've torn it on somthing in the tank like a rock or somthing like that.

 

[jm1212]

it couldve been any of the tetras. all three species can be nippy with other fish if they are not kept in sufficent schools. you should pick one species and return the other two to the LFS and then replace them with more of the species you picked.

 

[kimmisc]

Can you tell if the shortened fins are darker or a different color on any of the edges where they weren't before? Could it possibly be fin rot?

 

[erin14]

The tetras aren't nippy at all though thats just it...the Betta won't let them near him and never has let them come near, they don't bug him at all and i've watched them before and they never have tried to nip him. I thought that maybe it was fin rot but his fins look fine, just a little ripped looking. I know what fin rot is though, one of my platys died from it and thats not how his fins look and there really isnt anything that he could shred them on in the tank...i'll try to take a pic

 

[DarthPookie]

I have a betta in its own tank that likes to hang around the filter intake way too much. He got his tail caught in there on more than one occasion, resulting in very short tail and fins. I thought the same thing: "There is nothing in this tank for his tail to get caught on, why did it get shredded/cut?" Then I thought about the filter, so I unplugged it for about a month, just doing water changes. Wouldn't you know, his tail grew back. I turned it back on, two days later he was missing 1/2 his tail again.

Right now I keep the filter off...I only run it when I am there to watch the fish. When he gets too close to the intake, I pull the plug. Eventually I will get some kind of mesh or screening to cover the intake so his tail/fins can't get sucked in.

Maybe this is your problem?