Swordtails Nipping Betta Fins

Hey guys & gals, total noob to the forums here =)

ive been using this site as a reference these past few weeks

I recently set up my old fish tank after 4 years of not keeping fish, and,
remarkably, after 2 weeks, my tank appeared to be fully cycled, so I went out
with a view to buy a few mollies and swordtails to see how it went.

I got to the shop, and they didn't have any female swordtails left, won't have
any till thursday, so I said ok, just give me the male just now, and went off with
3 mollies and 1 male swordtail.

Now, yesterday my girlfriend bought me a betta splendis, which I didn't really
want, but couldnt do anything except put it in my tank...

Problem is, my swordtail has started *trying* to nip its fins (I say trying because
my betta seems to be faster and smarter than it). I am wondering if this will stop
once I put a few females in the tank with him? Thanks in advance.

 

It really depends on the nature of the swordtail some will just go straight for the females while others will annoy both fish. The Betta should be ok I mean swordtails can't really do much

 

Well, in my opinion, having seen a few very unhappy bettas being munched in tanks, I think they should be kept on their own. Does anyone else have/or had bettas with other fish?

 

I only have one male sword tail and he seems to chase around my two female dwarf gouramis. I don't think he's trying to nip fins. It looks like he's trying to mate with them. I'll let you know if females change the situation next week. Does he nudge the side of the betas or go straight for their sides?

 

no, he's definitely after the fins, they are starting to show signs of wear from the nipping... hmm...

After I add the females in, I'll see if that makes a difference and post the results here

PS, To Miss Mouse: I've had bettas in community tanks before, and they've never been bothered by other fish, but this is the first time i've ever kept swordtails, and had never heard that they were fin-nippers (he may just be bored for all I know!!)

 

I believe he is bored. The fish store that I buy my fish from recommend you keep them in a ratio of 2 females to 1 male. This way the male will have 2 gals to bother instead of one which will make the females not die of exhaustion. Also you will know when the male is trying to mate because he starts to swim backwards, kinda like showing off how big his sword is lol.

 

PS, To Miss Mouse: I've had bettas in community tanks before, and they've never been bothered by other fish, but this is the first time i've ever kept swordtails, and had never heard that they were fin-nippers (he may just be bored for all I know!!)

SO there is truth in bettas being community tank fish!
Thanks for clearing that up. Can I ask.. what other fish were they with for future reference?

 

I had one in with 2 angels, cory catfish, cloan loaches, neon tetras and a few more & he seemed to be happy being with them, they never bothered him and he never bothered them, that, in fact, is the same attitude i'm seeing with my new betta, he is happy just to be in the tank, he's not bothering any of my other fish, it's just my darn swordtail bothering him!!!
Hopefully that'll change when I get a couple of females tomorrow (thursday) because my LFS doesn't have any left :'(

 

Some fish see a Betta's long, colorful fins as something to munch on. However, I've never really heard of swordtails being agressive, and I bet it'll stop when you get some females. However, if the Betta's fins get too torn up, you might need to keep him on his own so he doesn't get stressed.

 

lol, ok so the female thing didn't work...

I got females today and it did indeed distract the swordtail... unfortunatly, the Betta became REALLY aggressive towards the female swordtails, so much so that I had to separate them. The only problem is, he is now in a tank with a fully grown RTB shark >
although, according to the RTB shark's profile the shark SHOULDN'T attack him (cause the tank he's in now is 95 gallons and has TONS of hiding places)... need to keep a close eye on him now... :'(

 

How about a tank divider?