100bubbles

It has been a while since I have had a fish tank. I am starting off small (2.5 gal) I established the tank with a Betta. Today I added a male and female guppy. The Betta is very aggressive toward them both. I have never heard of this, is it normal for the Betta to act this way? Will he calm down after a while or should I go ahead and put him in a bowl?
Thanks for any help.

EmpPleco

Back to the torture bowl!!! NOO!!!

Actually it's really not that farfetched that your betta would not like his tankmates.. They are definately animals that like to stay solo

I'm guessing getting another 2.5 gallon is out of the question? (actually the bigger the better)

Jon

bettas will become very agressive in smaller containers... also you must try to outnumber male livebearers 1:2 with females at least... your male guppy will become agressive now and since he is so close to a betta bad things are bound to happen... i recomend removing the guppies or getting a larger tank

Marc

You have the tank a little overstocked

If the guppy is fancy and has a large, flowing fin, then the Betta may confuse it with another Betta and attack it.
Otherwise it could just be that the Betta feels cramped and is acting so aggresively as a result.

Guppies don't need to be in a 1:2 ratio Jon, it just reduces the stress. As long as the female can get away from the male for more than a few seconds then it should be fine.

But either way, your tank is overstocked if you follow the rule of 'one inch of fish per gallon' and you have about 4 gallons worth of fish, at least.

100bubbles

My hubby had a cow when I wanted an aquarium so a bigger one or another one will be out of the question (for now *). *I hate to put the Betta in a bowl but what else can I do. *He will have a nice big bowl, I promise. *Thanx for the help

Jon

Marc it is not just so the female can get away from the male, when there are not 2-3 females per male then the males tend to be more agressive not just towards the females but towards all other fish... my point being that when you have a fish with a large tail in a small tank with a betta and on top of that you increase his agression its a recipe for disaster.

newbie101

guppies shouldn't reallybe kept with bettas. And is there a heater in that tank? Bettas and guppies are tropical fish.
If you have any friends with tanks, you could see if they want the guppies

100bubbles

I have very very happy guppies this afternoon. I came home with a floating breeding tank and put the betta in it and now the guppies are happy happy happy!!!!

0morrokh

I assume you mean that it floats in the main tank but separates the fish? Wow, that was a great idea! Just make sure there is enough room for the Betta to swim around comfortably, and be sure there are hiding places in it.

EmpPleco

IMO, it's a very good idea for temporary home. But your betta will not be happy staying in a bredding net. I would definately consider a new living arrangement

vin

Marc - the female livebearers should always outnumber the males. It will reduce the stress on both fish dramatically.......Males love to impress. When there are more males to females, they compete for the female's attention causing stress on both male and female. Especially the female. With more females, the males become more distracted and the females have time to rest.

I have my Swordtails at 2:1......No stress, 2 spawns.....

Miss Mouse

Yeah the breeder tank is a very good idea for temporary accomodation - thats what i did when I rescued Taro from the nasty pet shop but I didn't have his tank cycled so I put him in with the dwarf puffers in the breeder tank but he kept jumping out of it!

beckers4oranges

first of all bettas set up territories no matter now big the tank is it will attack anything that goes into it if the betta is in there first...i had mine in a ten gallon tank to help establish it... right when i added a couple of fish...the betta when awall and started beating up the other ones....luckly i had got him his own tank when this happened...

100bubbles

I got the Betta a new home and he is very happy (Big Red)
I was given another Betta from my sister-in-law and added it in the tank with the guppies(Fred and Ginger) and they get along great (Big Blue)
Thank you for all your help.
By the way this small tank is also great entertainment for my 4 cats (Lucy, Storm, Pikachu and Shadow)
Thanks again

chickadee

Bettas are usually solitary fish. They are not kept with other fish from the time they are hatched and even in the LFS they are kept seperate from the other fish. When they are added to other fish in the tank or have other fish added in with them, even if there are no territory issues, they are bound to be curious about the other creatures in there with them. Noel chased the 3 otos unmercifully for all of about 2 weeks then gave up and accepted them. Since there were 3 of them, they handled it by scattering and making it impossible to be followed. Marty is learning to leave the 2 otos in his tank alone at night and is not as bad during the day. I is really a horrible thing though to put only one fish in with a betta because that poor fish gets the chasing ALL the time and no let up. Another way to make sure that it is kept at a halt is to make sure they are fed on time and enough to keep them from being hungry. I increased the 7 or 8 bloodworms to 9 or 10.

Rose

100bubbles

Big Blue does get a little aggressive at feeding time but that is the only time. Fred and Ginger pick on
him most of the time. I gave you all some wrong info
I have a 4.5 gal tank instead of 2.5. Must of been having one of those so called blonde moments, huh?