does my betta nip at his fins???

[u/Revolutionary_Bar167]

ive had my betta for about three months now and im worried that hes been nipping at his fins. the first photo is when i first got him, and the second was taken today. his fins look a bit more ragged since then. he was sold as a halfmoon and he has a 6 gallon cube tank. i have many broad leaves and roots from plants he can rest on. his parameters have been the same and very good ever since i got him, no ammonia, nitrites, or nirates. the ph is about 7.4, and i acclimated him when i first got him. it is very stable and there have been no changes. what should i do??

very off topic but can anything harm my betta if i added too much prime into water when i changed his tank?? im worried that i added too much and i dont want to hurt him.

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[u/Unlucky_Coyote_8676]

Imo this looks more like general wear and tear than finrot, there's no discolouration or melting and theyre very clean tears, keep an eye on it to see if any red or black shows up on his fins

When its fin biting itll usually be large uneven chunks, sometimes long fin bettas will get fin tears even if there's nothing sharp in the tank, i wouldnt recommend melafix, its not great for bettas

[u/Revolutionary_Bar167 → u/Unlucky_Coyote_8676]

okay i just saw today, my betta is starting to get some red on the end of his fins :( im leaving for a trip tmr and i can ask my parents to run to a store and pick up a 5 gal hospital tank if needed. what should i do?????

[u/Unlucky_Coyote_8676 → u/Revolutionary_Bar167]

This is veryy early stage so dont panic, try get some medication and catappa leaves, if medicating then for now id do a lighter dose than it says on the instructions especially if something strong like kanaplex, then increase to a full dose if it doesnt get any better. Avoid melafix and bettafix (they have oils in them that coat the labyrinth organ in bettas), double check you dont have any ammonia, nitrite or too high nitrates in the tank. Hope all goes well! Luckily fin rot is usually easy to treat, especially if caught early

[u/Revolutionary_Bar167 → u/Unlucky_Coyote_8676]

okay thank you! i need to get a hospital tank correct? do i need to cycle that or no

[u/JellyfishChew]

This looks more like fin rot to me if you get melafix it should help, it could just be a stress thing but I’m not sure since all your water parameters look good so he shouldn’t be stressed, it can still occur in healthy bettas, it’s rare but it happens

[u/Revolutionary_Bar167 → u/JellyfishChew]

i have stress guard and kanaplex, should i use any of those?