Normal or not? Help!

[Aleicarg]

I'm new to this, so I'm not sure what to expect. I have 1 male Betta with 4 female Bettas in a 10g tank. At first I was worried that my male (Nemo) would be overly aggressive towards my females, but after separating him for a day he's being a good boy. My issue is my girls ~ they are fin-nipping really bad. I was told that they will do this to establish their pecking order but how do I know if it's going too far or if I need to separate them?

 

[roark fishies]

What size tank do you have them in?

 

[ishar]

roark:

I have 1 male Betta with 4 female Bettas in a 10g tank.

Aleicarg: Myself, I wouldn't consider it a problem until the fin nipping goes to fin eating. If the fins start to disappear or if the nibbling gets all the way to the body of our beta, then I would seperate then immediately (or before it gets to that point) and then go from there.

 

[Aleicarg]

I've been monitoring them closely and I've noticed that it's the 2 least dominant girls that are getting picked on. As of this morning their back and under fins are missing sections. I'm kinda freaked out. Do I remove the aggressors or the timid ones??? HELP

 

[roark fishies]

roark:

oooh weee. I totally missed that one. *DRUMMER*Blonde moment?*BOUNCINGS

Maybe remove the fin nipped ones to another tank and treat with Melafix so it don't turn into fin rot.

 

[Aleicarg]

Thanks for the info. Will the Melafix make their fins grow back?

 

[roark fishies]

It should unless it's turned into a bacterial type infection.