# Betta flaring at new tankmate!



## akamu54 (Apr 22, 2014)

Hello!

This is my first time on the forum, I hope you guys can help!

Here's the story: I bought some hornwort for my 15 G tank to help the tank thrive and to see if I could handle the basics of aquatic plants. I checked it over for snails first, and thought that there were none, so I was pretty happy. Two weeks later (today), I came home from a weekend with my family to discover baby snails everywhere! My betta and platies did not mind them, but I'd rather not have an infestation. 

Anyways, I bought myself a 41 cent comet goldfish after researching tankmates that will eat snails. For the first hour everything was good, goldfih eating snails, betta swimming around, platies doing their thing.

However, my betta started to flare up at the goldfish! He is flaring up and trying to corral him into corners, and he is not attacking. This is the first time I've seen Shinji flare up, ever! I've introduced fish before, too, and made sure that the goldfish couldn't be a potential rival (I bought a dull coloured one). 

Could this just be Shinji trying to establish dominance in the tank? He doesn't even flare up during mirror play time, and leaves the other fish to their own devices (albeit giving a little chase once in a blue moon)

Please help, I don't want any dead fish, or a stressed out betta.


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## Elvette Emmett (Aug 16, 2013)

Bettas and goldfish shouldn't be housed together, they have quite different living conditions


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## akamu54 (Apr 22, 2014)

Well, I did my research on the subject, and from first-hand experience I've had goldfish live in water at 75-76 degrees, which is in the betta range

Are there any other conditions, though?

Also, I'm upgrading to a 55 gallon soon, the 15 is temporary (as the goldfish would grow much too large for it)


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

You don't have fancies, which are fine in this range, you have a common or comet (one has long fins, one has short) and they need cooler water. High 60* to low 70* for long term housing. He also needs a goldfish friend, they are highly social. And I cannot stress this enough- THE FISH WILL GET TOO BIG FOR THAT TANK. Even a 55 will be pushing it. He will get too big and have too much bio load. Not to mention, he WILL kill your betta. This is a happy, healthy, common goldfish. Hand has a 7 inch spread to give you a size comparison.









Platies are also highly social and should be in a minimum group of 3. This is a setup for disaster. Take the platy back and find a good home for the goldfish. Go to Koko's Goldfish for help with him. Please.


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## Asteig86 (Dec 20, 2013)

Rehome/return the goldfish, get a couple assassin snails and your problem will be solved without any unhappy fish.


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## sprinkleddonuts (Jul 26, 2013)

I agree with asteig86. Assassin snails would have easily solved the problem without issues. Rehome the goldfish because they prefer water around 70 degrees and they can grow up to 1-1.5 feet long. They are solely pond fish in my opinion.


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

Only get one assasin snail, they will breed and then you are out of luck, they won't hunt each other if they have food.


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## akamu54 (Apr 22, 2014)

Well, from previous experience, I've had goldfish in warmer waters, but Shinji keeps flaring, and has nipped Ryuko's fin (only once, though) so I'll be putting Ryuko in my soar 10 gallon for a tiny bit until the 55 comes in

And yes, I'm aware of the size stuff, hehe, I've had some pretty big goldfish before. I only chose this one to help get rid of snails, but it's too stressed out to do so right now

As for assassin snails, none of the LFSs in my city carry them, and I'm wary of buying them online (we've had a really rough winter, and the snow keeps coming, so I wouldn't want them to freeze to death in shipping), so what other remedies do you suggest for getting the snails out of the 15 gallon? Clown loaches are a no (too big, and none in town) so what else would work?

Thanks for the help, though, I guess I just wanted to see if the goldfish/betta mixing would work (I've seen it before, but I guess shinji is a platies only guy)

Oh, and about my platies, yes I'm aware of the minimum 3, one of mine unfortunately got dropsy a couple of week ago, and then the snails, so I put off buying another two or three until I'm absolutely sure it is safe (tank was under watch, and was tested for everything)


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

You can leave the snails. They won't hurt anything. They'll only eat dying plant leaves and leftover food and as long as you don't feed too much, the population will stay down. 

The goldie needs to go. A 55 will NOT be big enough to happily house a goldfish. You need to get him at least 1 more buddy and that tank will get insanely crowded. Rehome him.

How long did you previous goldfish live and were they fancies or commons?


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## Asteig86 (Dec 20, 2013)

If you don't want to keep the snails, there are methods of trapping them and...well, disposing of them. I've heard of some people putting in a piece of blanched zucchini, turning the lights off, and then removing the snail covered veggie in the morning.


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## Plakattyphoon1234 (Apr 6, 2014)

An idea would be to use a chemical along with manual snail traps to get rid of them. A clown loach would do temporarliy if you dont want to use chemicals. Next time, wash plants as i saw a 1 cenimeter snail on one of the fish tanks that contained plants in petsmart


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