Damaged Tail

Question
QUESTION: Hi, i have a siamese fighting fish which seems to be losing the colour on its tail. the tail seems to be intact, although some of the 'straggly' bits may be gone, but its as though the colour has simply rubbed off, and its now clear. i had a plastic plant in the bowl, which i have now removed, though the colour loss still seems to be increasing. apart from that he seems perfectly OK.
any suggestions?

ANSWER: Hi Tamsyn,
Sorry to hear about your betta.
Just make sure his water is clean with an increase in water changes and make sure his water is warm (at least 78-80) which will help him heal. A good varied diet will also help him regrow his tail as well. A good flake staple food supplemented with frozen foods like bloodworms and brine shrimp is really good as well as other foods.

Best wishes and I hope this helps!
Karen~

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks, any idea what may have caused the problem? as i said, i have removed the plant, and the colour loss is still increasing.

Answer
Hi Tamsyn,
If he doesn't appear sick and the edges don't look discolored it shouldn't be fin rot. But just in case look here-

http://www.fishjunkies.com/Diseases/finrot.php

Sometimes bettas loose their fins from over-exercising and simply stretching them too much. Some bettas also will nip their own fins. It can be a boredom problem. We don't really know why they do this but ideas that it can be caused by stress, pent up aggression or even hereditary.

Often you can help the problem by changing around the decor of the betta's home. Sometimes adding a silk plant helps. Plastic plants can also damage a betta's fins. So stick with silk plants.

What would really make your betta happy is a move into a small aquarium with a gentle filter and ideally a heater.  A 3-5 gallon or better yet a 10 gallon would be excellent and give him a more interesting environment to interact with and he may not bite his tail as much if that is the case with his damaged fins.

I really hope this helps!
Karen~