My siamese fighting fish female is attacking my male!!?

Question

I have a tank with 5 females and 1 male in that has plenty of hiding places and plants in. Last night I saw one of my females attacking my male (she was unprovoked) and wouldn't let go of his tail fin for ages. He got very stressed and hid and she chased after him and did it again!

I have since removed my male so he can recover but I have no idea why she did this. The fish shop said the 5:1 ratio would be fine but now i'm not so sure! Is this happening because I have too many females or should I have left him on his own in the first place! Ah!

Please help if you can! The options I can see are taking all/some of the the girls back to the shop, re-homing some/all of them with friends or risking putting the male back in. Keeping an extra tank isn't really an option for me as I already have enough!

Thanks in advance for your time and help!

Em*

Oh, I have 4 females that look the same- so I'm unsure exactly which one it was!

I don't like the idea of taking my male back as i've had him for ages and is a lovely full half moon. I'm really annoyed at the fish shop now!

Thanks for all your advice guys, its greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

How about taking the male back?
It's a big no no to keep female/male together, unless you want to breed them
they are aggressive against each other
you can keep females together, yes, but NOT
male/male or female/male
I would bring back the male and tell them what happened, or buy at least a 2.5 gallon tank for him

Hope that helps
Good luck


EB


Edit*
I'm very sorry that you received such wrong info, unfortunately that happens a lot

Answer 2

You should never ever put male bettas with other bettas, regardless of gender, on a long-term basis. It's irrelevant how well-planted your tank is or what the female to male ratio is. I don't know why pet stores keep propagating the myth that this will work. It will not.

Males and females should only ever be placed together for breeding purposes, and before this, both bettas must be conditioned for at least 2 weeks before being placed together. Even after conditioning, the sharing of the same tank should be for a minimal amount of time and the two should be separated the instant spawning has taken place.

What I see to be your best option now is:

1. Leave the 5 females together. Females can be kept with one another peacefully, but only in groups of 3 and above, so that they can whack out a pecking order with each other before settling down as a community. However, for 5 females to live together comfortably, you should have a tank of at least 10 gallons, with plenty of plants. (This does not go for males.)

2. Keep the male by himself. I can understand if you're reluctant to return him. He won't take up much space; just a 2.5 gallon tank, with partial water changes every week. You can set up tankmates for him if you want, but he will require at least 5 gallons, or at least 10 gallons for optimal size.

Answer 3

The only time you can put a female in with a male is when he has built a bubble nest and is ready to breed. After he has had his wicked way with her she has to be removed or he will kill her. Male Siamese Fighters lead a solitary life and they are called fighters for a reason. You can return the female or buy another tank. While you are in the pet shop ask the muppet that sold you them why they didn't tell you what fish can share a tank with a male instead of selling you one that definitely can't.

Answer 4

The pet store told you WHAT?!! That's just about the dumbest thing I've heard. DO NOT keep males and females together, no matter the ratio. Even while breeding the male and female are together a very short time and have to be watched constantly. Your male needs his own tank or needs a new home.

Answer 5

You might try separating them with a sheet of glass in one tank for a bit.
Normally at spawning time the male becomes more aggressive toward the females and thats why they recommend the 4-1 ratio.

Answer 6

Just so you know, a friend of mine was showing the manager of a pet store that a great deal of the bettas they had in stock were suffering from terrible fin rot.

The employee proceeded to try and tell him that it was perfectly normal, and that bettas shed their fins and grow them back every few months!!!

That's craziness! (and very completely untrue; you can ask any betta breeder or serious enthusiast) And that is why I do all my research online, so I can find good sources by betta breeders who have been working with them for years, and I can be sure i'm making an informed purchase.

If you want to, I would reccomend checking out the Ultimate Bettas forum, and some of the member sites links on the International Betta Congress website. They have been a great help to me. Good luck with your bettas :-)

Answer 7

I've got 3 tanks with 3:1 ratio that i've had for some time now. Its a common occurance for the females to "attack" the male for no reason. However there may be hidden reasons. Remove the male from the tank and or the specific female thats attacking him. My guess is that the female attacking is pregnant. her male babies would instinctively be killed by the male upon hatching. its a mothers instinct to protect her offspring. i generally isolate the one thats being aggresive.

Answer 8

You know, it's always been my understanding that males and females should NEVER be kept together unless for breeding and then separated.

You know, not everyone at pet stores knows what they're talking about...do your own research online or something.

The pet store I worked at didn't even sell females.

Answer 9

Did putting them in separate tanks stop them from fighting?? Problem Solved

Answer 10

you should never keep a male and female beta together. The only exception is when they are breeding