BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Fish Shredded tail fin

I've been having the same problem! A few months ago, my fish's fin was "mysteriously shredded." I added salt and changed his water more frequently, and it healed up very nicely. A couple of days ago, i noticed that it happened again! Whats more, I caught him swimming in tight circles this afternoon trying to bite off the remaining little bit of fin! He seems to be otherwise healthy (good color, eating well, occasional bubblenest), so I don't have the foggiest idea what he is trying to accomplish. I'm beginning to wonder if maybe his tank is too small. He is in a one gallon tank right now. Maybe if he had a little more space he would be less inclined towards self-mutilation. I agree, though, it is very frustrating! Plus, he looks ridiculous!

Okay, we seem to have an epidemic of "cutters".

One of my bettas seems to do this as well. I would take EVERYTHING out of his tank and would get his fins back to normal and a few days later, they're ripped again. I've seen him eyeing his tail and I really think he's doing it himself. We need a Back To School Special or something to bring this disorder out into the open. Rex: The Story of a Fin-Nipper. He's in a two gallon tank with a little silk plant (with no sharp edges) and often has another fish to look at and is on my desk so he gets a lot of attention, but I swear he's still nipping his own fins. I don't know if there's anything you really CAN do about it. Any thoughts, Jilly? They get ripped in the same place everytime and when they start to grow back, I watch him turn and he's so angry when he sees those fins back there. But he's a great fish, so I don't really care how pretty his fins are---he's got personality enough to make up for it.