Betta Fish - Health

Question
I have one Betta Fish is in a small fish bowl with no filtration - I change her water every 3 days with fresh, filtered water with declorination drops.  Recently her tail fell off (literally overnight), presumably due to tail rot.  It was so bad that it was starting to rot her body!  I immediately went to the pet store to get medicated drops - since hten I have been medicating her every day and have used aquarium salt with every 100% water change.  Now she is recovering to the extent that her tail is not raw and ragged, and she is much more lively and perky (where before she was virtually lifeless and weak from the infection).  What I've noticed is that she has started biting her "scabs."  I'm concerned that this will affect the healing process and she could end up causing herself more pain & injury.  Why is she doing this, and if it's bad for her, how to I prevent this behavior?

Answer
Hi Lynn;

If your fish normally has long flowing fins and tail, it is actually a male. Their natural instinct is to fight with another male betta for territory and breeding rights. They see their own tail sometimes and attack it too. That's probably what happened. He bit himself and it got infected.

What might help is providing a mirror for him to see himself. He will pay attention to that instead of his own tail. Or, get a couple more male bettas and place their bowls on either side of him. He can go back and forth between them to keep busy. He is a feisty little fella!

Followups Welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

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