Our new fish are nipping at our Betta!

C

Clover9990

Small Fish
#1
Oct 3, 2006
11
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#1
Hi everyone!

We've had our male betta for just over one month now- he was a gift to my daughter for her birthday, from one of her friends. We got attached to this fish quickly and went out and bought a 10 gallon tank & some plants for him and he seemed to really be loving it! He would sometimes flare at his reflection but seemed to have a lot of personality for a fish.

Well, today we went to the pet store and picked out some fish. We were told that any of the community fish would be fine to put with our Betta, so we chose 2 black mollies, a silver molly, and a gourami. We were also going to get one of those "sucker" algae-eating fish, but the store was completely out of them.

Silly me was so worried that our betta would pick on the other fish, but quite the opposite is happening. Each of the other fish have taken nips at our betta's back fin...not in a continuous attack, but it still bothers me. I've seen them nip at each other, too (the mollies, that is), but the betta seems to be trying to hide/swim away from the other fish when they come near him. The mollies actually seem to be more aggressive than the gourami.

What should I do? This is the only tank we have, and getting another tank is not an option. Is this just initial territorial-ness, or will I have ongoing problems with this? I mean, if anything, I will get rid of the other fish and have my betta in there solo once again.
 

YahooFishKeeper

YahooFishKeeper

Superstar Fish
#2
Jan 14, 2006
2,177
11
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A little town outside Kansas City, Kansas
www.youtube.com
#2
gouramis and bettas shouldnt be kept together because they will fight, and anything that nips at a betta isnt good. and THEY ARENT SUCKER FISH! i highly reccomenf you dont get one for a 10 gallon. bettas arent usually good community fish. try ro find something less nippy to go with them. personally i like neon terras, and cardinals. what are your levels in your tank? did you already cycle it?
 

C

Clover9990

Small Fish
#3
Oct 3, 2006
11
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0
#3
Sorry, I'm a fish noob so I don't know the proper terminology...:eek:

Anyhoots, should we take the gourami back to the store? And what about the mollies? They are all nipping at the betta, and each other, but the silver one seems to be the most aggressive. What do you mean by cycling? We already treated the water and let it sit when before we transferred the betta to his new tank a couple of weeks ago. As far as levels, we took our water to the pet store to be tested and they said the nitrates were high and to do a water change, but DH saw the test strip and said it was barely out of range.
 

homebunnyj

homebunnyj

Superstar Fish
#4
Jul 13, 2005
1,299
4
0
Western NC
#4
Take the fish back to the store. They told you wrong, they should take them back. Most places will accept fish back within a certain time period.
Just my opinion, but I would wait at least a couple more weeks before adding any more fish. What is your tank maintenance schedule like? Are you doing water changes?
Actually, bettas are quite happy alone. I have one in a big tank by himself, and I also have one in a ten gallon with some harlequin rasboras. They're calm and peaceful fish, not nippy at all. Some bettas tolerate tankmates and some don't, so you'll have to see how that goes.
 

homebunnyj

homebunnyj

Superstar Fish
#5
Jul 13, 2005
1,299
4
0
Western NC
#5
Take 'em all back. Mollies aren't good tankmates for bettas either, IME.
Read this stuff http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/fre...eshwater-beginner-stickies-read-me-first.html
to understand about cycling your tank and also a little about water testing and tank maintenance. Reading this info will really help you alot.
Then come back here and ask questions about anything that didn't seem clear to you or about specific issues that you didn't find an answer to.
You could use store credit from returning the fish to get a freshwater master test kit, or individual kits for testing ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Don't bother with those 5-in-1 strips; they don't test for ammonia, which is very important when you are first starting up a tank, or when something is wrong. And for goodness' sake, don't let them sell you anything to adjust your ph, chances are you don't need it.
Oh, yeah... you do need to do a partial water change on a weekly basis or thereabouts as part of your regular tank maintenance.
 

C

Clover9990

Small Fish
#6
Oct 3, 2006
11
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0
#6
Thank you, Judy! Unfortunately my kids are very upset- my 7 year old in particular- he is crying his eyes out that we have to bring the new fish back! The 2 black mollies seem to be pretty low-key though- we've seen them nip a couple of times at the betta but nothing like the other fish, who seem to charge at the betta every so often to get a bite. Should we keep the black mollies or take them back, too?

Thanks for the info about tanks and cycling- I bookmarked that thread. Do you have any personal recommendations for tank mates for bettas? He did seem to be happy on his own, but my kids would really love a couple more fish. Also, do you have any recommendations for algae eaters that are compatible with bettas and the size tank we have?
 

C

Clover9990

Small Fish
#7
Oct 3, 2006
11
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0
#7
Oh- and can I keep the silver molly and gourami in the small 1/2 gallon unfiltered tank overnight (until we can get to the pet store in the morning), or is it bad for them to be in a small, unfiltered tank for more than a couple of hours? I am just worried about them hurting our betta overnight.
 

Lotus

Lotus

Ultimate Fish
Moderator
#8
Aug 26, 2003
15,115
13
38
Southern California
home.earthlink.net
#8
They would probably be OK overnight, but if possible put them each in a 1/2 gallon container. If you have a bucket you use for fish stuff, that would probably be better.

Another temporary measure is to float a clean colander in the tank with the "prisoner" fish in the colander. The colander allows water flow, so they would be safer than in an unfiltered container.
 

C

Clover9990

Small Fish
#9
Oct 3, 2006
11
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0
#9
Thanks Lotus- the colander idea is great!

We wound up just separating the silver molly overnight, and good thing we did, because we woke up this morning to find her with about 15-20 babies swimming all around! My DH took her and the babies back to the pet store- the other fish & our betta seem to be getting along for now so we'll just keep an eye out on that situation.
 

Osiris

Osiris

Small Fish
#10
Feb 19, 2006
36
1
0
Honolulu, Hawaii
#10
Bettas seem to be happiest if they are alone in a tank. I have on occasion had mine share his tank with guppies and neons, and they get along fine together. Those are 2 fish you might consider. Rasboras would probably be fine also. Currently, my betta is sharing his tank with a large apple snail and a bunch of feeder shrimp - your kids might find that just as interesting as fish. This way your betta can still feel like he is King Of The Tank.
 

C

Clover9990

Small Fish
#11
Oct 3, 2006
11
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0
#11
Just thought I'd update everyone and let you know that the betta is now living happily with the gourami and 2 black mollies! One of the mollies is a little bit of a spazz and nips every now and again, but otherwise, all is well in our fishtank! *thumbsups The betta and gourami actually seem to have an affinity for one another!
 

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