Picked on Betta!

Hi all!:bawling:I have a Betta that landed on my door step & I can never turn away a fish in need, so I put him in my quarantine tank with 2 gouramis and they were picking on him so I put him in a breeding net to keep him safe for now but he'll have to go into the main 3ft tank sooner or later. My Angels are the bosses of the tank and the Gouramis are their henchmen, I'm scared that when the time comes to put the betta into the main community tank that they will make my bettas life a misery. Will this behavior stop or will it get worse? Help!!!!:worried: Very worried!

 

Why not get the Betta his own small tank....total cost will only be about R100 or so and he'll be happier with no problems with tank mates picking on him???

 

He looks so lonely all by himself when he can see all the other fish he's all full of beans and full of life but when he's by himself he looks all sad and sick, it's breaking my heart!!!

 

What gourami's do you have??? Any other fish in the tank?

 

I have powder Blue gourami's, Dwarf gourami's, 7-8cm size Angels, neons, platy's, clown loaches, mollies, glass fish, silver tip tetra, glow light tetra, 1 pleco, chinese algea eaters, bala sharks and guppies, this is really a community tank full of colour. My betta looks like a real sad sack when he can't see the other fish.

 

If you put your Male Betta with that lot his fins probably won't stand a chance.....I'd seriously suggest moving him into his own tank. Your silvertips and guppies are known fin nippers and that's just taking a quick glance at your list. Your betta will also be tempted to have a taste of the gourami and angel's flowing fins. I've never personally kept a betta with other fish so let's hear what the others say

 

It is sometimes difficult to say exactly what fishies are compatible and which are not. Here are two senarios that I have.
Tank 1 120 liter tank. 4 small algea eaters, 2 red neons, 1 black neon, 1 zebra danio, 4 medium mollies, 2 small angels (moved to another tank on Saturday), 1 male guppy, 1 betta....
Betta went to "happy hunting grounds" 4 days after being added to tank
Tank 2 400 liter tank. 2 medium algea eaters, 1 silver tip tetra, 1 pretty tetra, 1 large angel, 1 glass catfish, 1 bala shark, 1 betta....
Betta still going strong after 8 days in tank

Added some more mates to the 400 liter tank yesterday. 1 bala shark, 2 small angels, 1 black ghost knife fish, 2 pangasius....
Will let you know what the outcome is

 

I'm sorry to hear about your betta it's heart breaking when they pass on because they are like children:bawling:.
I have a 250lt tank, will that be sufficiant?

 

I feel your worries Fish Fantasy. I introduced a Betta into my tank about 6 weeks ago. I had guppies and 1 angel. I seriously thought the Betta hdidn't have a hope at all up against them. But you know what... the Beta and the Angel become very close friends. They were constantly swimming together, and never seen apart. I don't know if it's because they became mates, or if they followed the philosophy of keeping your enemies CLOSE. HeeHee.

Sadly my tank got infected, and the angel and betta were the first hit.

I would suggest you get yourself a 'smallish' (50-100litre tank) and turn that into a Beta tank. Maybe get him a few females? (Get a few... else he picks on only one). Alternatively you could look at getting other suitable companions for him. And I'd definately turn the tank into a planted tank. I'v noticed Beta's are probably the only fish that realy appreciate the plants!!

You could TRY the betta in your community tank...and see how it goes. It really depends on the temperements of your other fish. They might leave him. (I doubt it though.

Get a tank from Fish Fantasy in Muldersdrift. They have amazing prices on their tanks. I could NOT believe the prices when I saw them this weekend!!! (I think it was you who told me about them.. THANKS!)

 

Hi Zoom! Ok i'll try him in the community tank first if it doesn't work out then he'll get his own bacholar pad with a couple of females. I just hope it works out because I'm running out of space in my own pad. Fish fantasy world is brilliant, his pricing is fab and he builds all his own tanks, it's owner run so there is pride in his work. That's what makes his business tick and his fish are of good quality & if anyone is looking for good quality well priced Discus he's the guy to contact. I'll give you an update once i've put the betta into the community tank!

 

Good luck Fish Fantasy - just keep an eye on those tetras.....holding thumbs for you

 

Thanks I need all the luck i can get right now because there's going to be a slow introduction of new fish into the community tank from the quarantine tank over the next month or so, including the betta. So I just hope there's no problems.:fight:Eeeekk!!!!

 

I went through to Fish Fantast on Sunday morning... looked like a VERY dodgy area, and the place looked terribly run down. He was sadly closed, but I remembered seeing on his website that he had a new shop in Garden World. So I popped in there to just have a look.

Basically the size of his shop in Garden World was like the size of a small container, so nothing really 'wow' to rave about... and his staff were still in training, so not much help. But what I will say is that his fish are in EXCELLENT healthy conditions. I personally have NOT seen fish that healthy in any other LPS before. His tanks were in immaculate conditions, and I could not believe his prices. Angels priced from R8.00! He had a stunning tank as you walk in that was about 2m x 600 x 700 (approximate quess) with a nice wooden hood, and cabinet beneath with a huge sump... looked homebuilt, but very well built.. going for only R3200.00! You really could not beat his prices on tanks ANYWHERE!!

 

I had the same experience with him on Sunday. Spoke to him on Friday to find out if he has any Glass Catfish in stock. Told him I would come around on Sunday, only to find that they were closed. Didn't even have the decency to tell me that they would not be open

 

Never judge a book by it's cover it might look run down and he might look run down, all iwanted to do was run like crazy but after meeting him and checking his knowledge on fish etc it was excellent, He gives me the impression that he only lives for fish not for himself. i only go to Fish Fantasy on Sat because he might not be open on Sunday. I give him a call before i leave just to make sure he's open, also note that he keeps his gates locked so you have to phone him when you get there. I also went to see his new place thinking it would be big but to my surprise very small, he's still trying to get it up and running. I give him my support because i haven't lost one of his fish yet and i don't have to quarantine them for long.

 

I'm sorry to say but my doorstep betta didn't make it, in one day my gouramis had ripped it to shreds and by the time i managed to get him out it was to late. My gouramis are real liitle sods.

 

I feel your sorrow FF. My Betta is back in the hospital tank again, the same one the had the mouth fungis. After getting him healed, we put him back in the community tank. My 5 angels that are in that tank ganged up on him and ripped his fins to shreds.... Ever seem a male Betta with fins smaller than a females LOL? Fortunately the angels didn't have enough time to kill him. But it has been a week now and we can already see his fins growing back. Just wonder if they will grow to the same size he had originally?