I've seen many a post on why they kill each other, but I have a beta and it looks like a floppy, soft, squishy thing. No teeth, spines, weapons, etc. How do they kill?
2007-07-02 12:25:11 · 7 answers · asked by jfrabell 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
Very good point...I guess I don't know if he has teeth!!
2007-07-02 12:35:31 · update #1
They have strong jaws that allow them to bite other fish. How do you know Bettas don't have teeth? Were you forcing its mouth open? I am pretty sure Bettas do have teeth also...
Nosoop4u
2007-07-02 12:29:31 · answer #1 · answered by nosoop4u246 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Actually, bettas only kill each other in aquariums. It's the reason why they're called Siamese Fighting Fish and not Siamese Killing Fish. Bettas are not really made for killing. In the wild, they will ram at and nip at the fins and body of anyone who swims into their territory. Following this, the "trespasser" will either fight back, and try to win over the territory, or retreat and swim away. This takes place in large rice paddies where there is plenty of room to swim and for several males to establish their respective territories even without "dividers".
In aquariums, the reason why bettas kill is because their victims have nowhere to run. When a male betta is occupying another one's territory, one will start chasing the other or basically telling it to "get out". However, since the other male can't actually get out, this will result in one (the stronger) male chasing the other around and nipping at it until it dies of exhaustion. It is not usually because of the betta's actual "weapons" that the other one dies; it is just because of fatigue and weakness from the chasing and open wounds.
2007-07-02 20:47:30 · answer #2 · answered by ninjaaa! 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The males get pretty vicious, females can be kept together in groups of 5+. From my experience the females can't seem to establish a good enough hierarchy with any less, and males can NEVER be put together, they will bite at each other's fins & scales until one dies from the stress or an infection.
2007-07-02 13:28:40 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is all approximately tank length. you could no longer save them in a small tank at the same time, the male will bully the female and he or she might have not anyplace to flee. If on the different hand you had a shallow a hundred+ gallon tank heavily planted with lots of room to flee and conceal then it might artwork. The male might set up his territory and persist with it, and the ladies might stay clean except they're waiting to mate. men are territorial. interior the wild they stay in massive shallow paddy lakes. They set up a small territory and don't wander from it except a greater male expels them. Fights seldom bring about death because of the fact the loser will flee, oftentimes basically the probability exhibit is sufficient and no violence happens.
2016-12-08 22:51:36 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they rip fins mostly -- ripped fins invite bacteria -- kind of like if someone pealed your skin off you wouldn't die directly from having your skin pealed off but from the consequences of not having any skin. they aren't murderous as they are defending their territory. its just in a small space they don't have much place to have territorial bouts so they end up shredded and dead usually.
2007-07-02 13:43:19 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
i have seen them fight, buy two of them and leave them in a reduced area. They dont really bite each other they kind start ramming each other until one finally gives up and the other beta fish keeps ramming it until it dies.
2007-07-02 12:34:58 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
They just pick and pick and pick on eachother until they cause wounds and eventually the stress of it all kills them.
2007-07-02 13:01:21 · answer #7 · answered by wenchgirl04 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋