Sharp plastic plants or rocks can cause a tear. Bad water quality can cause finrot. It can grow back as long as the base wasn't severly damaged. Any tankmate ,if you have them

If sharp bits of plants and fin rot are not the problem, your fish is most likely biting his own tail. Is he bored? Is he too excited? Those are the two primary reasons for a betta to tailbite.

Keep the water clean, add a bit of aquarium salt, and dose with Melafix. Watch him over the next few days and monitor his behavior. If his tail looks ragged and nothing else has changed, it's probably tailbiting.

One of my fish used to bite his tail very aggressively until I got two new fish and put them on each side of his tank. Now's he's very busy swimming laps.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:377908}}

Hi Woeisme,I have avoided adding a tankmate to any of my small aquariums(five gallons)for fear that there may trouble between the betta and the mate.
Minaku,that seems to be it. Buddy looks just as the photo does,only the middle fin(what's it called...dorsal?)looks a bit shorter at the top than anywhere else.
Even with the tears in his tail,he is swimming as normal,eating like a pig,and building another bubble nest.
Thanks to you both.
Grice

Thats a new one on me. Have never seen or heard of that. I have been thinking of keeping another betta. I guess when I have a chance I'll do it.

Sorry ,Woeisme but I am a bit confused as to what you mean. Did I miss something?

Nope, I have never heard of tail bitting (self inflictted) before. I also added that I will probably get a betta soon because I havent kept one in quite some time. Ooops, just noticed , I must have deleted part of my message b accident. Sorry for the confussion.

You're welcome, Grice. There are a couple of things you can do to stop a tailbiter:

1. If he's too bored, move his tank to a more trafficked section of the house, or give him a next-door-neighbor.

2. If he's too excited, take away his neighbors and move him to a quiet area. Let him flare at a mirror for 5-10 minutes a day.

3. If he's picky about his water conditions, you'll notice that he stops biting his tail for the first few days after a water change. Should he continue this pattern continuously, you'll know that you have to be extra-vigilant regarding the cleanliness of his water, and do more water changes just for him.

Minaku,I posted a follow up quetion on the wrong thread.
I'll implement your suggestions. Right now,Buddy is in one of my plant rooms and it is rather quiet in there. Not much foot traffic except for me(I won't allow the rest of the family in there as this is one of my 'reteats'. So I'll move him to a more lively room and see if this helps.

Will his fins grow back? I'm not sure if someone has already asked that or not.
Grice

Should grow back OK. Unless the base was damaged badly.

Grice -

Yep, his fins will grow back just fine. Add a bit of aquarium salt to stave off potential finrot (you'll need to keep an eye out on him for this, because even if your water is very clean it can creep up) and use Melafix daily. Don't follow the instructions regarding water changes on the label - do your regular water change schedule.

Because Neptune, my own tailbiter, is so adamant about having clean water, I do a 50% water change every 3 days in his 2 gallon, and just add Melafix each day. People say that doing so many water changes will really stress him out, and I guess it does to an extent, but it's better than him destroying his tail and inviting the bacteria to come party. :)

Thanks

He will flare at his reflection in the mirrow. That must be something to see. Heehee!

My big boy Joaquin has taken to snacking on his tail, I've read all the post, but I'm still curious as to how long it takes for the tails to grow back. Any estimate would be fine, and I know each fish is different, just to ease my nerves I'd appreciate any replies!

Thanks!