Just a quickie about Male bettas?

Question

Ive heard male bettas are very territoral, but Ive also heard they can be paired with guppies? The thing is Ive already taken him out of my tank once as soon as I seen my tuxedo fish was missing a piece of back fin and I noticed the betta chasing him round a bit. My boyfriend put him back in last night againest my arguments and this morning I noticed a piece of the guppie's fin and a piece of the goldfish's fin missing...That leaves only like 3 fish that havent gotten bitten by him yet. My question is...will he eventually kill these fish...IF I were to leave him in the tank or if my boyfriedn AGAIN puts him back in the tank

Answer 1

That really depends on the individual fish. In some cases a betta can be rather territorial to fish other than just other bettas and it appears you have one of those pushy bettas. Odds are good he would continue harrassing the other fish until he did major damage or even killed them. It would be best to remove him to his own quarters just to be sure.

MM

Answer 2

First, you need a new boyfriend - if he doesn't respect your wishes about your fish, how can you expect him to respect you on other issues?

Second, the advice here so far has been good - your betta sounds like the pushy type and needs his own quarters. One thing you can try if you'd like to have a community tank that includes a betta, is to establish the tank first and add the betta once the other fish are resident in the tank. If the betta is the first resident, he will establish the tank as his and might not want to share! Also, pick fish to pair with the betta that do not have long, colorful fins. Sometimes bettas will be suspicious that those long fins might mean it's another betta and be more aggressive.

While a large, cycled community tank really is ideal, a nice 2 1/2 gal tank (like a mini-bow) is great for a betta and a couple of snails. I took the filter out of mine - you really can't cycle a small tank anyway. I just do a complete water change once a week and my betta, Claude, does just fine.

Answer 3

It is important to remember that while most of these recommended tankmates may work fine with most bettas, some bettas do not tolerate any moving creatures in their tanks, and therefore caution should be exercised when adding any new creature into a betta tank.

The following are considered possible tankmates for a betta (male or female):
White Cloud Mountain Minnows
African Dwarf Frogs (NOT Clawed Frogs)
Large Snails (large enough so betta can not eat them)

The following are NOT recommended as possible tankmates for a betta:
Guppies, Mollies, Tetras, Gouramis, Platies, Neon Tetras, African Clawed Frogs, Barbs, or any other brightly colored fish that a betta might mistake as another betta.

AT NO POINT SHOULD TWO MALE BETTAS BE IN THE SAME TANK.
AT NO POINT SHOULD A MALE AND FEMALE BETTA BE PLACED IN THE SAME TANK – except when spawning.

It is acceptable for two males to share a DIVIDED tank, so long as the males are not constantly flaring at each other, causing stress. Giving a betta its own tank is generally the best idea.

Answer 4

We had a guppy and a betta in the tank together. The beta wouldn't leave the guppy alone. We finally put a divider in the tank. The beta will always fight with a fish that has big beautiful fins. They like to think they are the most beautiful fish. Put him in a tank with an ordinary looking fish and you'll have no problems with him.

Answer 5

Yes he will kill your fish if he is that territorial. Some bettas are different and won't attack them but I guess yours is suped up on major testosterone or something heh. I would keep him isolated in a tank of his own. If you want him to have a tank mate I'd suggest the corycat as well, they can get away easier and you could also keep enough foreground plants in the tank for the cory to hide in if you wish. I also think the mirror is a good idea, he will be more interested in the "other" male betta and likely leave your guppies alone unless they get too close to him.

Answer 6

From my experience, he will terrorize the other fish to the point of exhasting them. I put my male betta in the tank that I hold my feeder guppies for my lionfish and he started to chase the guppies around and i saw that he had bit the side fin off of one of them, then ate him. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. I heard that bettas can be in community tanks if the other fish are gentle and have no showy fins, but I don't quite believe that for my betta. If your betta has already attacked other fish, the I would just keep him by himself.

Answer 7

I have a betta with a school of neon tetras and they get along like peas in a pod. Dont listen to people that say bettas are killers and kill everything in sight - this just isnt true. They may get stressed if a tank is over crowded (1' per gallon) also if a guppy has large colorful gil's it may mistake it for another betta and thus attack. If kept with peaceful fish though a betta will get along just fine!

Answer 8

I've often seen bettas on display in their own little goblets or tanks. I suppose there is a reason for that. In a way, it's good that the fish is aggravated by other fish, because it may get him to display his colors. You may be able to keep him in the tank if you can float a large (1/2 gallon) jar in there with the fish inside.

Answer 9

My beta did the same with my pleco, and I think once they know they can bite them, they continue to do so. My beta has been in kept the isolation/breeding pen so he could see my pleco, but not swim with it, for a week and a half, but it didn't work. I am going to try my second beta next. The best tankmate I've seen are Albino cory's. They are fast bottomfeeders that have very small fins. As for your beta, I'd keep him by himself.

Answer 10

Yes. He will eventually kill those fish. Beta's literally have a "fight to the death" mentality and will relentlessly attack other fish in their tank as long as they're still alive. Since I'm assuming these other, less aggressive, fish are probably not attacking the beta back, he's probably got lots of strength to keep on attacking them. I suggest keeping him isolated.