betta literaly being eaten alive!!

[rek2305]

Help! help! help!!!

My betta was fine this morning when i went to work, swimming around happily he was, yet when i came home he was at the bottom of the tamk with more than a few quite severe nibble marks on him.

I'm really puzzled cos i've had him for about eight weeks now and he's been fine.

The other fish i have in my tank are guppies, tetras and harlequins.

I know i need to get him out into his own tank, but at this very moment in time that is not an option! Ijust want to make sure he survives till i can get him in a tank of his own.

Any info or adice will be most greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance!!

[hacket]

Well obviously you need to get him into his own tank ASAP! Depending on the type of tetra you have they can be nippy. I would never put a betta with any kind of tetra or even a guppy for that matter. Do you still have the container you bought him in? Other than do you have a glass jar? I realize it is small but leaving him the tank is NOT an option.

[rek2305]

Thanks for your advice, will he survie out of the heated tank though?

[hacket]

Just take some water out of the tank and keep an eye on the temp. If you have a thermometer stick that in. They prefer 75-80 but as long as the temp doesn't drop below 70 he should be fine. My beta used to live in water that was like 68 all the time. He was just a little sluggish and I'm sure that kind of temp isn't good long term so try to get him his own tank asap. A nice little 3-5 gallon will do nicely. That is what I'm planning to do. Honestly betas do better when they are alone or have a couple of cory cats to keep them company. That's my experience.

As far as keeping the temp steady, just don't put him near a heater or a keep him by a window. Any sunlight or draft will cause the temp to change too fast.

[rek2305]

Thanks pal, that's the last time i'm gonna listen to advice from some pet shop guy!!! He said he would do fine with the fish i had, oh well!!

[Good Wolf]

My brother, although I don't agree with it, has kept a Beta in a vase for several years now. Yours will be fine.

[trashion]

What kind of fish exactly are with him (types of tetra, please!) and what is the size of the tank?

[rek2305]

Thank you, I hope so! I've really got quite attached to him now!

[hacket]

Haha. Yea it's pretty easy to get attached to a beta

[rek2305]

Hi trashion,

i have X-ray tetras, neon tetras and cardinal tetras. Along with these i hae black diamond harlequins, black neons, several guppies. The tank is 70 litres.

Any advice is really appreciated, this is my first tank and i was told he would be ok!

thanks

[trashion]

Well...You have schooling fish who need schools of at least six in that tank. The x-ray tetras, neon tetras, and cardinal tetras, as well as the black neons and the black harlequins all should be in a school of at least six. Obviously you can't do that because then you'd have 30 fish in what amounts to around a 19 gallon tank. When tetras and other schooling fish aren't kept in proper schools, they can become aggressive and display unnatural behaviors, like nipping and fighting. I would recommend choosing one type of schooling fish, stocking up on them, and returning the rest. For example:

8 neons, maybe 4 or 5 guppies, and the betta. This should work out okay. Substitute any of the tetras or rasboras for the neons, if you'd like. Alternatively, if you got rid of the guppies as well, you could have maybe 2 schools of 6, of 2 different species.

It's a mistake many beginners make (I did it too) so don't feel bad, but at least now you know what to do

[rek2305]

Thanks for that Julie, I think i have made a bit of a a mess of things so far. I will follow your advice and see what happens.

Thanks again!

[waynside]

my guppies were nipping at my betta when they were all in my 29gal. i have since gotten rid of all my guppies and gave my betta his own home...don't want him eating shrimp!

[COM]

Originally Posted by trashion

Well...You have schooling fish who need schools of at least six in that tank. The x-ray tetras, neon tetras, and cardinal tetras, as well as the black neons and the black harlequins all should be in a school of at least six. Obviously you can't do that because then you'd have 30 fish in what amounts to around a 19 gallon tank.

I agree with the first sentence. Those are schooling fish that need 6 or more. I always try to keep tetras in groups of ten, personally.

As for keeping 30 fish in a 19-20 gallon tank, I think that with fish this small you can certainly do it so long as you keep up with water changes. I'm a different type of fishkeeper though.

[rek2305]

Thanks for all the advice guys, sadly he died the next day.... and i've since lost two more fish!!! arrrrrrrgggghhhh

[hacket]

You just lost two more randomly? Did they look sick? Have you tested the water conditions? What did you lose?

[mousey]

quick type of quarantine tank that hangs in the tank can be made from a large juce container.
Cut container in half, discard top part. Make holes near the top in2 places thread wire thru holes to make little hooks. Fill with tank water and place fish inside of tank in the jar. This way the fish will be kept warm.
If you have a small soldering iron you can burn holes into the plastic bottle to allow water circulationfor fish who are NOT ill.
Make sure the holes are very tiny. I once made the holes too big and a betta got his head stuck in the hole and thru his wiggling to get out he severed his spine.
it was a difficult lesson to learn.
I use peanut butter jars as Q tanks suspended in a main tank if a fish is aggressive, being attacked or is very old and it works quite well.

[hacket]

Originally Posted by mousey

I use peanut butter jars as Q tanks suspended in a main tank if a fish is aggressive, being attacked or is very old and it works quite well.

Isn't that a little small? And also when you put them back in, won't the fighting just start up again? You'd be better off just separating them permanently.

[mousey]

The idea is for a quick fix or a couple of days at most.
if you have no other tank to put your fish in this buys time.
the author of the thread was concerned about the fish getting cold and a 2 kg p'butter jar is not a bad size for the betta, and solves the problem of being attacked by the others.
I deal with mostly small fish like guppies and platies and this works well for me. generally a fish that is being beaten up or is ill does not want to swim around too much.
The ill fish go into a container that has no holes. Then they get their medication in the small container as well as twice daily water changes. they seem to like to see the other fish.
An aggressive fish of course has to be rehoused but as they are small fish a few days in the container with holes gives a chance to figure out the options.
it is really no different as I see it to a person being confined to a sick room.
there is certainly much more room in the p' butter jar than the breeding containers that float in a main tank, but if you don't like my idea don't use it. I only offer it as a way to think outside the boxes and to perhaps relieve the fish from some stress.
Also most of us have empty plastic containers in our recycle box that are more easily obtained at odd hours than is an extra tank.