Davei

I have had 5 Zebra Danios and one male betta in a 30 gal tank for about 3 months. Last week there was one Danio missing......no sign of him at all, he just seemed to vanish and we did not know what happened. Well this morning we found another Zebra half eaten in the tank.

Is it possible that the Betta ate the first one and began to eat the second? I have never seen any aggression between the fish so it must be happening at night.

Any suggestions or feedback would be appreciated.

Allie

Oh it is definitely possible. I had some white cloud minnows in with one of my betta a few went missing. I caught him swimming around with one in his mouth. The betta died the next day.

Tazmiche

Fish can vanish! I have had guppies go and there are no bettas with them. i guess fish like to recycle!! The first time i realised they had eaten their buddy i was gutted but i now know that it is just nature

chickadee

The thing you want to watch is the fact that the other fish may possibly be dying of disease or causes unnatural or bacterial and then it is not only horrid but totally unsafe to have it eaten by the others. (betta or not) It is possible and even maybe probable that you have a betta who is not going to allow the other fish to survive with him, but find out if the fish that you have are sick and dying first before being eaten. Do any of them have any symptoms of problems? Are they eating normally? Is there any sign of any other problems in the tank?

Rose

Davei

Thanks for the reply.....There was and is no sign of sickness with the zebras...all 5 (now 3) look good, are acting normal and eat every day. No changes in the tank and the water conditions are ok (0 amonia, 0 nitrite and low nitrate levels).

Every once in a while the Betta will chase a zebra for a second or the largest zebra will chase the betta, but I have never seen them even nip a fin and they have been together for a couple months without a problem. I suspect this may be happening at night.

I will keep close watch and look for signs of sickness in the Zebras.

Thanks for the advice.

COBettaCouple

It's possible that they died and then were eaten as natural instincts or killed, but it could be either and I think it's more likely they didn't die from aggression. They may show more nipping behavior in groups under 6 though.