Topic: How to stop a tail biter?

[md7]

my hm is crazy now!! he keep chasing his own tail and i think there's blood at the end of his tail. i saw he bit his own tail once and i think the blood at the end of his tail is because of his bite. what should i do to stop him from biting his own tail?

[frogsnbettas]

Usually they bite because they're unhappy about something.  Did you change the location of his tank or any of his ornaments?  I'd try moving him to a different location if he's in a high-traffic area or vice versa.  I'd add some salt to his tank, too.

[md7]

i moved some of the plants inside his tank... i put some aquarium salt into his tank.. he still seems a bit stress but i think he's ok... his tail seems to have lots of red at the end of it (i'm quite sure that it's blood)... will he be ok?

[Jessie226]

I may have a tailbiter on my hands as well. I think my betta, frank at work is biting his tail on the weekends while I am out. It looked a bit more ragged than usual on monday morning (He is recovering from rot), but he definitely hasn't bitten it all week, it's already growing back. So this weekend is the big test, if he looks ragged on Monday, I don't know what I will do. Maybe move him to another part of the office that has more traffic over the weekend...

[wendyjo]

Yeah, maybe he gets lonely on the weekends.

[dorn27]

Sometimes a fin being trimmed with red is a sign of fin rot.  If it seems kind of a musty red (and not blood red), its likely fin rot.  My betta has clear fins, and I can see the rot color clearly.  

My betta had healed up and was showing regrowth, now under relapse.

Keep an eye on it.  You might have a fin bitter, but you might have rot.  Do section of his tail look like the are breaking apart? As this is sometimes (not always) a symptom too.

[Jessie226]

Sometimes you will see 'strands' of the tail sitting on the bottom of the bowl or tank, this would be a sign of rot.

[firestar]

Bettas' tails don't bleed.  If it's red, I'd have to agree with Dorn that it sounds like tail rot.  What may have happened was that the bitten part got infected.  If it's getting worse, you may want to consider mediciating the tank for tail rot.

Unfortunately its often impossible to stop a biter.  You can try moving him to a low-stress environment (not many people, no bright lights, no loud noises, etc).  Or you can try showing him  a mirror to flare at for a 1/2 hr each day, in case he's bored.

But if you're not able to stop him from biting, its important to keep his water extra clean.  I had a tail biter for a year, and I was never able to stop him from doing it, but I always kept his water in decent shape, and he never got infected.  It is possible for a biter to live a long, happy life.