Bettas fins torn and damaged!?

Fins on a Betta are quite fragile. The Betta has been bred for much larger fins than those in the wild. Many things cause their fins to tear, and I always recommend AGAINST putting male Betta's in community tanks, or any tank with a filter. I also warn against a tank larger than about 4-5 gallons for a Betta . No rocks or ornements with edges.

Turn off, or remove the filter. Do 20% - 25% water changes weekly. Do not feed more than the fish will eat in 10 minutes. If food is left, then you've overfed, feed once a day or skip a day occasionally and the water won't need to be filtered. Betta's come from slow moving, shallow, warm waters in S.E. Asia and shouldn't be in a filtered aquarium if you value their beautiful fins.

Split fins, tears, all will heal themselves over a short time. Your Betta's fins will look almost new in a few months if you eliminate what caused the damage.

Betta Fins Torn

I doubt the cories have nipped him. Black edging doesn't always show up with fin rot..the fins just seem to disappear at times and the fins can actually get holes in them. also plastic plants can snag them. Use the silk ones sold now for tanks. Also, some bettas become bitters of their own fins. Usually from stress. Listen to the poster, Loupa. do not use Melafix. I don't really like Bettafix either as it has the same meds as melafix but just watered down. The best cure for the start of fin rot is clean water. Usually I recommend some aquarium salt, but check about the cories first. If the terage continues, you might want to seperate him and try some other treatments like maracyin 1 or two, but only if it gets worse.

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Bettas fins torn and damaged!?

My bettas fins are shorter and look torn. I noticed it the day after I did a complete water change. They look all ripped and torn in the back. Is it because of the filter? It's the aqueon 2.5 filter.

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Black around the edges is usually a result or ammonia burns. I recommend testing your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. As for the cory cats, they shouldn't be bothering him. With their turned down mouths, nipping isn't really a common behavior for them. What kind of plants or ornaments do you have in there? Any plastic plants or rough ornaments? I had a male who tore himself up something fierce on a plastic plant after having been fine with it for over a month. I now only use silk and live to prevent this from occurring again. I recommend upping the temp to about 80 degrees, though I do not recommend adding any salt since this wouldn't mix well with the cory cats. Keep an eye on him, but be careful what meds you choose to add, as many contain warning about scaless fish, ie the cory cats. Also stear clear of Melafix and the watered down version Bettafix, as this can coat their labyrinth organ and make breathing difficult. Best of Luck! EDIT: With so much plastic in an unheated tank, I'd say it's very possible he's developed fin rot. Both the cat and betta are tropical fish, you should get a heater asap, especially since we are transitioning into cooler weather. It'll help prevent fin rot, as well as help him fight it off, and prevent a secondary infection. Def get a heater, and consider live or silk plants. He'll just keep harming himself on them, and while he can heal some fin damage, it won't all always grow back.

It could be the filter. Look at the fish. Is he being "blown" around the tank? If yes, get a more gentle filter. If he's able to swim comfortably, it's not the filter.

He's probably biting them himself. Fin nipping is caused by stress, genetics, and because some fish are jerks. LOL! Don't worry, they'll grow back over the next few months.

If it happened right after a water change, I'm thinking it's stress.

It's not necessarily your filter unless it is very strong, but more than likely it's decorations you have in the tank. Any plastic plants or decorations with sharp edges can easily tear their fins. So if that's the problem you should get some silk plants to replace the plastic ones.

How many are in your tank? Bettas don't get on with each other and you are better off with one. The other betta may be attacking your fish.

If there is only one betta, then it could be the filter. If it is too strong and your fish is being pushed along, instead of him swimming himself, then it is your filter and he could have been caught in the filter.

I had that right after a water change. It was most likely because I didnt put enough of or the wrong kind of water conditioner in. The chlorine and chemicals just ate him up. Unfortunately my long lived betta Nemo died immediately :(

Hope this helps!

if they share a tank there fighting bettas fight until death,its how they work

or it could be fin rot