# Betta and Plecos



## manhtu (Jan 16, 2012)

Hi Guys,

I had 4 plecos (about an inch each) with my Betta and just noticed this morning that two of them were dead. When i took a closer look at them, one had a missing tail and the other had bites all over it. 

Do you know why my betta would've done such thing?


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## animallover (Dec 10, 2011)

What type of Plecos were are they? How long have they been together? I am not sure on keeping Plecos with Bettas, someone else here will need to chime in. If it was indeed your Betta, he may not like having tank mates or they could have spooked him. Also, another reason maybe they were chasing him for some reason,so he defended himself. How is he acting with your other two? Sorry to hear you lost two.


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## manhtu (Jan 16, 2012)

They've been together for about a week and then i came to check them monday morning and found 2 at the bottom of the tank.

they were bushy nose plecos. one was an albino pleco. 

I'm thinking of putting the Betta in a breeder to seperate him to the others


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I don't want to rule out that you betta killed them, they are 1 inch as you said so they are small. The pleco may have gotten sick with something, however, or if it's a smaller tank maybe you overcrowded them and they got into fights, I don't know if pleco are territorial. In that case your betta may have just been following his instincts and eating them after they died.

I however would separate the betta and the plecos either way..


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## animallover (Dec 10, 2011)

Olympia said:


> I don't want to rule out that you betta killed them, they are 1 inch as you said so they are small. The pleco may have gotten sick with something, however, or if it's a smaller tank maybe you overcrowded them and they got into fights, I don't know if pleco are territorial. In that case your betta may have just been following his instincts and eating them after they died.
> 
> I however would separate the betta and the plecos either way..


Olympia is right of what could of happened, I didn't think about those possibilities. Good luck.


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## manhtu (Jan 16, 2012)

Sounds good i will definetely go and get a divider tonight


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Bristlenose plecos get to around 5 inches and like all plecos are rather excessive waste producers for their size. It's generally recommended that two of them be housed in a 15-20 gallon tank. 

Is your tank cycled? Poor water quality could cause your betta to become more aggressive or he might have attacked the plecos once they were dead. Either way, I would monitor my water parameters and separate out my betta to cover all bases.


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## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

It could be your tank was too small, or you have an aggressive betta. What size tank were they in?


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## manhtu (Jan 16, 2012)

6 gal but my plecos are less then an inch each. 

The betta I have had been living with many different fish even with fish that people said shouldn't be together like the angelfish.


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## styggian (Dec 13, 2011)

Even at only an inch, five fish in a 6g is a bit too much. I'd hazard it was overstocking that killed them, and the bodies were just a food opportunity for the betta.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Even filtered, plecos are pretty poopy if I remember correctly and they probably had an ammonia spike. Lucky your other two are fine..


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I have to agree - I suspect that your plecos probably died from the amount of ammonia in the tank, and you betta decided the bodies looked good. I've had fish die that look as if they have been brutally murdered, but it has been natural causes that killed them and other fish that mutilated the corpses. 6 plecos, even babies, in a 6 gallon tank, is way too much and could terrible effects (as you have seen), including permanent stunting of their growth.


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