Betta fish have a reputation for being aggressive and territorial. Betta fish flare their fins and attack other males of their own species, which is why you should keep them individually in small tanks. Bettas may also become aggressive towards other types of fish, especially those with long fins or bright colors that resemble their own. This is why they are not recommended to be kept with other types of fish, especially other males.
Betta fish will bite their tails in addition to biting the tails of others. The unmistakable indicator of stress in bettas is self-inflicted fin-nipping. Poor water quality, aggression from other bettas, or unintended harm by tank decorations can all contribute to this. As a result, except for reproductive considerations, Siamese fighting fish shouldn’t be kept with other fish or together.
Reasons Behind Fin Nipping In Fish
The following are a few causes of the fin-nipping habit in betta fish:
Naturally Aggressive
Fin-nipper fish, like bettas, are more violent than other fish. As soon as they spot any nearby small or long-finning fish, they start to pursue and attack.
Because of their ancestry, they are inherently more aggressive. Additionally, as the species continues to reproduce, their hostility has recently increased.
Territorial Aggression
Bettas are rather picky about where they can live in the aquarium. They keep all other fish species out of a particular tank area that they occupy.
They typically get hostile and attack any fish that enters their tank zone. Furthermore, they finally pursue and nibble the fins of their tank mates after finishing their attack.
Bullying From Tank Mates
Bettas become aggressive if they are around bullies in their tankmates. They act aggressively as a result of bullying and threats.
They thus pursue and bite the fins of these tank companions to vent their frustration.
Breeding Induce
Another justification for being hostile to other tank mates has been breeding incentives. Due to the breeding persuasion, betta fish, particularly men, seem to be more aggressive and intense.
If their desire to mate is not satisfied, the fish tend to become violent and nip the fins of their tank mates.
Assuming Fins As a Food Source
Because they think it is food left for them, betta fish chase long-finning fish and nip their fins. The fins are undoubtedly smaller, leading the fin nippers to believe it is live food.
Additionally, betta fish have the propensity to devour everything small enough to fit in their mouth. Concerning this, the betta fish do make an effort to nip their tank mates’ fins.
Improper Tank Habitat
Betta fish need a suitable tank arrangement for a comfortable life. The betta fish feels strange and uneasy in this situation if the tank arrangement is imperfect or if the tank is overcrowded.
Even when the fish are quiet, this anxiety causes them to behave poorly in the tank. They’ll behave dreadfully and start attacking the other tanks.
Their mental and physical well-being is also slowly hampered by unfavorable traits. The betta fish could eventually get ill and attempt to attack other fish in search of food, cover, or occasionally for no apparent reason.
Points To Remember While Keeping Fin Nippers In The Betta Aquarium
Betta fish are distinctive and enjoyable in their way. Therefore, keeping them in the aquarium is acceptable. You merely need to provide regular upkeep and attention. As a result, the following considerations should be made when keeping fin nippers inside the betta aquarium:
- To prevent territorial disputes from escalating, give all fin-nipping betta fish enough room in their tanks.
- Before placing the bettas in the same tank, consider how other betta fish behave and whether they get along with the fin-nipping fish.
- When choosing tank mates for such fin nippers, stay away from slow-moving fish species.
- Create enough hiding places for the betta fish in the tank, so they have a place to call their own.
- When keeping betta fish in an aquarium, ensure that there are very few male fish in such a group. Fin nippers are far more aggressive as a male than a female.
- Keep the tank from being too full. Alternatively, avoid using a tiny tank for a big number of fish.
Tail Biting and Fin Rot
How to distinguish between tail biting & fin rot is one of the questions I am asked the most. Consequently, it can be difficult to distinguish between the two if this is your first time confronting the problem. It can even be difficult to distinguish between the two if you are an experienced user.
Tail Biting
It is rather obvious what tail biting is: a betta nibbling its tail. However, it might be challenging to make a diagnosis because owners so infrequently capture the fish throughout the act.
Tail Biting Symptoms
Some symptoms of tail bitings can be seen as follows:
- Fins lacking chunks, usually circular but not necessarily (usually the caudal or dorsal)
- Damage appears to “advance” quickly (such as overnight or mere hours, depending on the biting severity)
- The edges of the damage are still very clear and uncolored.
- The borders of damage are typically not evenly distributed.
Treating Tail Biting
Fin-nipping fish can be quite harmful to the entire aquarium if they are present. You could unintentionally commit this error as a newbie. However, there are some ways to fix this.
Typically, ornamental fish develop fin-nipping behaviors due to their genetic makeup, stress, territorial attitude, and lack of food and room. Large aquariums with lower stocking levels mostly minimize fin nipping. Enough cover locations also lessen this. To prevent fin nipping in the incidence of heredity, it’s preferable to keep them apart.
You must take a few easy precautions in an aquarium to prevent fin nipping. Even while some of these measures may initially cost more, they eventually pay off in the long run. Let’s review these actions.
Separate Fish Nippers From Mother Aquarium
In an aquarium, it is most likely the greatest strategy to prevent fin nipping. Your aquarium’s fin nippers must be located and kept apart from the parent tank.
In this instance, the long-tail fish and fin nippers are both in good health. Depending on the other characteristics of the tank, they might survive well in different tanks.
Fin nippers are generally curious about everything. When encountered by nature, they attempt to nibble lengthy fins. This causes a lot of stress in long-tail fish. When this tension is too much for the long-tail fish to handle, they might even perish.
Add Almond Leaves To The Aquarium
Bettas occasionally begin biting their fins. Since the fish in this situation begins to deteriorate gradually, this is quite dangerous for fish keepers.
Stress is a factor in incidents of this nature. Almond leaves work most effectively to stop this. Stress is lessened by almond leaves releasing antioxidants into the water. These antioxidants transform aquarium water into “blackwater,” which is beneficial for lowering fish stress levels.
Almonds also leave aid in protecting long-tail fish from predators. Additionally, it is beneficial to replicate the natural environment of these species. This is another method you may use to stop your aquarium’s fish from nibbling on their fins.
Add Enough Hiding Places In Fish The Tank
A betta fish tank must have enough places to hide. You must keep this in mind if you are new to this activity and wish to establish a betta fish tank.
The shortage of tank space typically causes ornamental fish to become more stressed, which is why some fish begin to nip other long-tail fish’s fins.
For instance, you shouldn’t maintain tetras of any kind with bettas or long-tail fish of any kind. Inside the aquarium, there will be a significant rise in the likelihood of fin nipping. However, if the tank is too large and has enough places to hide, live plants, and driftwood, you can mix each of the species of fish in it.
Sufficient Foods In Aquarium Reduce Fin Nipping Of Fish
An aquarium needs enough hiding spots, as well as enough food for the betta fish. Fish with enough food experience less stress, which lowers the likelihood of fin nipping in the aquarium.
In this context, “enough food” refers to the amount of food consumed by the betta within the first 2 minutes of feeding. You must do this if you’re a newbie. Fish meals can be given to them twice daily.
You cannot control fish that possess the genetic propensity to nibble on the fins of other fish by giving them enough food or hiding spots. However, you can attempt to use this initially.
Avoid Mixing Slow-Moving Long-Tail Fish With Fast-Moving Fish
Fish that move quickly or that are very energetic cannot coexist with slow-moving fish. Some tetras, such as the neon, rose, emperor, and serpae tetras, are particularly active and move quickly. Now, it will be a catastrophe for you if you keep this one with any slow-moving fish.
Fish that move quickly will nip at their fins, which can stress them out. That tank will eventually develop into an unfit environment for life.
In this situation, having enough food and hiding places might not be sufficient to prevent fin nibbling. So, before creating your first aquarium, make sure to choose your fish carefully.
Try To Keep Schooling Fish In A Group
Betta fish like to hang around in schools. They maintain their composure while attending school. Some of the fish among them, naturally bite the fins of other fish.
Now, some novice aquarists select one fish from each species and assemble a community tank. This is not the way to go about creating a betta fish tank. As a result, there is a lot of fin-nipping action in the tank.
If you have done this all with the betta fish tank, you should choose fish differently in the future. Maintain a school of schooling fish. This lessens hostility, and hence, fin-nipping will lessen as well.
Build Condos In The Mother Aquarium
Another strategy to lessen fin-nipping activity is to construct condos within the mother tank. You can use this strategy to lessen fin nipping if you’ve tried to lessen it but were unsuccessful and didn’t have enough money to purchase another tank.
Inside the mother aquarium, condominiums are viewed as modestly sized rooms. Because they employ “betta condos” to contain multiple bettas together in a single tank by lessening their hostility, betta fish owners are well recognized for it.
This now also applies to fin nippers. It’s because condos lessen fish hostility. You can construct condos to keep fish that move quickly and slowly together. This shouldn’t be used right away because condos limit fish’s ability to swim. This is not relevant except if you possess an extremely large aquarium if your fish are medium-sized.
Fin Rot
The most prevalent betta fish infection is thought to be fin rot, a bacterial infection that primarily affects large-finned species. It generally happens to weakfish that have suffered physical harm, have been parasitized, or live in unfavorable water conditions. If not treated, the illness will eventually kill it, especially if it gets within the body.
Fin Rot Symptoms
- The raggedy dorsal, caudal, anal, or ventral fins
- Infected fins are frequently colored black or red.
- The afflicted fins might or might not have pinholes.
- Depending on the severity of the illness, infected parts may take more time to develop, but if they reach the body, they can be fatal.
- Once the immune system is weak, the infection can cause a variety of other secondary issues and illnesses.
Treating Fin Rot
The actions you must take if you’ve contracted fin rot are listed below:
Remove The Sick Fish
In the betta tank, the diseased fish must be removed right away and put in a quarantine tank. Then the tank must also be closely monitored because it’s potential that other fish may well be impacted.
You can decide to maintain and care for the fish in the main tank if it is the only fish in the aquarium. However, you must first manage the water characteristics. Thus, a significant water replacement (at least 50%) is advised before treatment. It’s also crucial to be aware that if you decide to take antibacterial medications, your cycle can be thrown off.
This is due to the possibility that the antibacterial medications used to treat your tank’s harmful bacteria may also harm the good bacteria found in your filter. To keep the helpful bacteria alive, you might wish to take your filtration and place it in a different tank before treating it.
Ensure That Your Water Is Pristine
Test the water’s characteristics! Is nitrite or ammonia present? Do you have 40 ppm or more nitrate? If so, you must perform water changes to bring those levels down.
Many times, even increasing the water changes and controlling your water parameters will be sufficient to combat minor fin rot. Sometimes, simply maintaining good water quality is sufficient to halt fin rot within the tracks. Make sure to get a liquid water test kit, for instance, the API Master Freshwater Testing Kit, to determine your current water quality situation. Avoid strip tests at all costs! They frequently make mistakes.
Try to perform 20–50% water changes every day for a while, changing the water in the tanks of diseased fish to see if it benefits. Make sure you always add a water purifier when changing the water.
Additionally, lowering the temperature to the low to moderate 70s is advised (around 73-74). The progression of fin rot is slowed or stopped by lowering the temperature because bacteria flourish in higher temperatures.
Use An Antibiotic Treatment
You will need to switch to something much more powerful, like antibiotic treatments like API T.C. Tetracycline, API Triple Sulfa, API Furan-2, or Seachem KanaPlex, if increasing the water changes does not work. However, any treatment for fish that kills gram-negative organisms ought to function.
We successfully treated our betta’s fin rot using API T.C. Tetracycline, which caused the water to turn a striking shade of yellow. Antibiotic therapies should only be used as a last option, though. Additionally, such medicines should only be applied sparingly because frequent usage can impair immune function or lead to resistance.
Determining whether your fish could be tail biting rather than having fin rot is crucial because of this. Owners may also believe they have fin rot if their fins have been ripped by decorations or filters. Once more, if you maintain clean water, torn fins through tail biting and perhaps other causes might not become infected. Be certain to remove the activated carbon from the tank before administering any meds because it can filter the medication.
FAQ
Does Fin Nipping Hurt Fish?
It certainly hurts the fish when fin nippers surge in and starts chomping the fins. Your fish initially becomes perplexed, but sooner or later, the pain begins to rise. The fish may become ill as a result of their fear and agony.
If you don’t cure the fish right away or remove the fin nippers from the tank, the problem can worsen later. The fish may eventually pass away from great physical and mental anguish.
Will The Fish Fin Grow Again?
After some time, the fish’s wound does heal. The length of time for healing, however, is unknown because it is based on how severe the injury is. However, the wound usually closes up after five to six weeks of nipping.
The fish’s fins typically regenerate in their original shape. However, regrowth is only possible if the fish’s primary fins still have some remaining tissue in their bodies. Additionally, timely and accurate assistance must be given to the fish.
What Causes Fin-Nipping?
It is generally accepted that stress connected to having huge fins which drag the fish down is what causes tail biting. The behavior is often observed in large-finned species, and it might be an effort on the part of the fish to lighten its load to swim more easily.
Do Betta Fish Bite Their Tail?
Bettas might bite their tails out of anger at not being capable of getting to other aggressive fish if they are present. Feeding your betta regularly will help to guarantee that hunger is not a factor.
Conclusion
Your betta friend may be experiencing fin rot as well as fin loss if he develops shredded, ragged fins. Fin loss typically results from an injury brought on by the fragile fins pinching or hooking on something harsh in the tank. A sickness called fin rot is brought on by bacteria.
In both situations, it’s critical to keep the water in your betta’s aquarium in excellent condition by performing routine water changes and taking good care of the filtration system. If you only rebalance the water’s parameters and lower the quantities of ammonia, nitrites, as well as nitrates, mild symptoms of fin damage frequently resolve on their own. But to cure severe cases of fin rot, an appropriate over-the-counter antibiotic medicine is necessary.