Is There Anything My Betta Won’t Kill?

[amrkizer]

I have a male koi betta who is extremely aggressive. He’s in his own 29 gallon tank right now (that I desperately need to make use of because I have overcrowding in some of my other tanks!). I’ve tried him with guppies, he killed one within about 30 seconds, so had to quickly remove the others, then some time later I tried again with lemon tetras, but same thing, he went on a killing spree and got two of them before I was able to get them out. I can’t even keep any snails in there because he picks at their antenna and will constantly shove them off the glass. I’ve tried keeping him in other tanks with dividers or in a breeder box, but he just thrashes against the side and will not settle down. Is there ANYTHING that I can keep him with or should I just give up and let him have his own tank? I don’t want him to kill anymore fish. I’ve had other males who I’ve been able to keep in community tanks without problem, so not sure what’s going on with this one!

 

[StarGirl]

Yeah sounds like hes a loner. Probably best to leave it that way.

 

[Aquariumlover1357]

I agree with above. You can get a divider and divide the tank in half and get him on one side.

 

[amrkizer]

Sounds like he’ll probably end up having the entire tank to himself, ugh. I was thinking about trying some Kuhli Loaches, my LFS has some Java ones that are fairly large. I don’t know if it’s worth the risk though! (the tank has a sand bottom and plenty of hides)

 

[BettaBoi23]

I agree with above. You can get a divider and divide the tank in half and get him on one side.

Yeah, I second on the divider. He clearly can't live with the other fish, so it's best that you make sure he can't get to them.

 

[StarGirl]

Yeah, I second on the divider. He clearly can't live with the other fish, so it's best that you make sure he can't get to them.

He said the divider freaked him out and he slammed against it. thats a no go.

 

[amrkizer]

Is there any way to make a divider that isn’t see-through? If he couldn’t see through it I think he’d be fine.

 

[AggressiveAquatics]

Is there any way to make a divider that isn’t see-through? If he couldn’t see through it I think he’d be fine.

You could do black plexiglass although you’d need a filter for both sides because the water can’t flow through

 

[Otocinclus13]

The only way you're going to find any peace here is to give him his own space. Otherwise you'll be bashing your head against the wall the way he bashes his body against dividers. Give him an awesome name that reflects his strong personality and turbulent history and move on.

 

[Bunkerchunk]

Are any of your other tanks smaller? If so I would swap inhabitants. If not I guess it's time for you to get another tank...

 

[amrkizer]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I have a 20 gallon long with only a few tetras in it that I can move to another tank. I’ll let him have the whole thing to himself then!