# My betta is the world's biggest bully



## ItGetsBetta (Apr 15, 2013)

I am new to this thread so hopefully this has not been posted already and sorry if it has!

I have an orange veiltale betta and I recently upgraded his tank from a 1 gal with an 8 watt heater to a 3 gal with heater, filtration, air stone (complete with tacky led lights but w/e) after finding out that a 1 gal is too small for my betta and that I could treat him way better. 

Well after excitedly setting up my new tank I got the bright idea in a little local petshop to buy him some friends spur of the moment. I asked the petshop owners what would suit me and they said 2 neon tetra's (I later read 2 is not a good number).

My betta (Pho his name is) has since turned into quite the psychopath. At first he was relentlessly chasing the poor neon tetras so much and attacking his bubbles that I almost took the tetras back straight away. He cannot catch the tetra's tho and is eating normally and to be honest looks like he's having the time of his life chasing these poor fish. No flaring just pursuing them and again I should have known this was probably a bad idea because of my fish's attitude. No matter how much I interact with him he always would flare his bloody gills at me and chase my finger and even learned to jump and eat from my finger :S 

It has only been a few hours but has anyone else tried housing betta's and tetra's together? Everything I read online is about tetra's bullying betta's! 

Will it get betta? :-(


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Neon tetras are fairly good tankmates with (docile) bettas, but since your betta is obviously not docile, well, you get it. I would return the tetras. In a 3 gal there is no room for other fish, and you need more then two anyways.


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## ItGetsBetta (Apr 15, 2013)

Arghhhhh I thought someone would say this. Is there anything I could house with the basketcase in this tank? Or too small? He seems calmer now...mind you he might just be catching his breath before he goes off again...


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

In a three gallon tank with a aggressive betta, there isn't really a suitable tankmate. A single ramshorn snail perhaps?


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## BeautifulBetta123 (Aug 27, 2012)

You could get a small species of snail, but that is about it.


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## DefStatic (Mar 17, 2013)

Not enough room.

I applaud you for upgrading your tank, big kudos there.

But just about any Betta will see anything added as a threat, especially a male. If you had a 10gal, you could maybe get away with this. But even in a 10gal, a Betta may be too aggressive. There has to be clear boundaries as well IMHO even in a 10 gal. Now, I have no direct experience in this, but everything I have ever read suggest you need a MIN 10gal to keep a male with other fish in. 

And Tetras are a schooling fish, and thrive best in schools of 6 or more.

I will never understand why people obsess about having companions for their male bettas. Unless you have the experience and thank size to do it, do not worry. 

Concentrate on keeping a proper bachelor pad 

Although I will say, I have though about getting a snail to clean my rock.


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## JadeAngel (Jul 31, 2012)

ItGetsBetta said:


> Arghhhhh I thought someone would say this. Is there anything I could house with the basketcase in this tank? Or too small? He seems calmer now...mind you he might just be catching his breath before he goes off again...


Some Bettas just don't do well with others. Our newest guy is like that. Meeeeean little guy. He spends the entire day attacking his own reflection. He's in a 5 gallon but the size doesn't matter if he is a bully.

Tetras need to be in a group of at least 4, preferably 6. Also, they sometimes like see betta's long pretty flowing fins as an invitations to nip at them. I wouldn't put tetras with a betta in less than a 10 gallon tank.

I 2nd matt's suggestion of a snail, though I'd avoid the ramshorn snail as they can reproduce without mating, and then they become a pest.

If not, an aggressive betta doesn't need a tank mate, and I'm sure you don't want the heart break of your lovely pet eating your other pet :|


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## ItGetsBetta (Apr 15, 2013)

Thank you for the polite replies- I see so many arguments/attacks online about people and their betta tanks...and to be honest it just makes people afraid to ask for help and does not help betta's in the long run.

I am much happier with my new tank and filter etc, it is WAY more interesting than what I had before. It's so much more interesting that I have decided to purchase a bigger tank at the end of the week (I will be leaving grumpy in his 3 gallon for now ALONE). His bubble stone is keeping him more than happy/busy, and I think why people try to house betta's with other fish (like myself) is that it's hard to believe that a living creature would want to spend it's whole life alone. Also I think why a lot of people get betta's and keep them in bowls (no I don't for anyone that has not been following!) is that they see a beautiful creature in wal-mart sitting in it's own filth in a tiny cup and they think that any home would be better than that home. And then there are also the people that are told by nearly every petstore that betta's do not require much care/expense...I actually had a pet store owner tell me not to buy a bigger tank in his store because betta's don't like them which just totally baffled me because he was the one losing the sale :S 

I am just giving die hard aquarium/betta enthusiasts another opinion and also because somebody asked why I would want to house my betta with another fish.

I am really looking forward to the new tank and have no idea what I am going to put in yet but I will have live plants and I am thinking maybe female betta's...


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## JadeAngel (Jul 31, 2012)

ItGetsBetta said:


> Thank you for the polite replies- I see so many arguments/attacks online about people and their betta tanks...and to be honest it just makes people afraid to ask for help and does not help betta's in the long run.
> 
> I am much happier with my new tank and filter etc, it is WAY more interesting than what I had before. It's so much more interesting that I have decided to purchase a bigger tank at the end of the week (I will be leaving grumpy in his 3 gallon for now ALONE). His bubble stone is keeping him more than happy/busy, and I think why people try to house betta's with other fish (like myself) is that it's hard to believe that a living creature would want to spend it's whole life alone. Also I think why a lot of people get betta's and keep them in bowls (no I don't for anyone that has not been following!) is that they see a beautiful creature in wal-mart sitting in it's own filth in a tiny cup and they think that any home would be better than that home. And then there are also the people that are told by nearly every petstore that betta's do not require much care/expense...I actually had a pet store owner tell me not to buy a bigger tank in his store because betta's don't like them which just totally baffled me because he was the one losing the sale :S
> 
> ...



I didn't even notice your username, it's hilariously cute :lol: 

People get agressive online anywhere. Even here, I've seen a few threads get... heated. Generally people here avoid getting too dramatic though. Maybe it's because fish enthusiasts often get into the hobby because of how relaxing they are? No idea, but this is by far my favorite forum... so far. Every forum I've ever used, I've stopped using after a few months because of the rudeness and users with superiority issues.

I find it funny how some people (pet store employees and some enthusiasts themselves) claim that bettas don't like bigger spaces.

Every betta is different. I have 4. My oldest guy, Saki... well... he's a grump. He's kind of anti-social (totally ignores his ADF tank mate unless Delilah accidentally bumps him), and I think being in a 3 gallon vs 5 gallon makes no difference to him. I had his tank divided temporarily to house another male betta, and he got about 3 gallons of the tank (new guy got about 2). He really didn't behave aaaany differently.

However, Soren (his temporary tank mate when it was divided) could not be happier to have his full 5 gallon tank now. Ooooh, he doesn't waste an inch of it. He loves to swim around it and explore every bit. He's getting 2 ADFs today for tank mates.

Shisu is indifferent to his ghost shrimp tank mate, and also seems to enjoy having a 5 gallon tank to swim in. Our newest Betta (hubby hasn't named him yet. I'm calling him Shark Bait until he names him) is the really aggressive one. We put the ghost shrimp in with him for 1 day and he wouldn't leave him alone :shock: I have heard of some more unfriendly Bettas literally eating their ghost shrimp tank mate. We took Will out right away and put him back with Shisu, where he is happily unattacked again :lol:

Shark Bait and Shisu LOOOOVE air bubbles
Saki hates them
Shark Bait and Soren LOVE swimming through the current of the filter
Shisu avoids it
Saki hates it (seeing a pattern? Saki doesn't like much of anything, haha)

Post photos in the pictures section when you have your tank set up. I just redid all 4 of ours. If you want to dive into a planted tank, that's awesome too. I really don't have the patience or know how to bother with a PT


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## Mal72 (Jan 7, 2013)

I agree that every Betta is different. I have a divided ten gallon housing my Delta boy Joker and my CT female Harley Quinn and they HAVE to be in a tank together. Seriously, I tried switching them around and they went crazy. Even during general maintenance, I have to place their cups near one another or they will try to hit the top of the cup and get out. They seem next to one another on either side of the divider. 

In contrast, I have males and females that are always up for a fight and have to have their own tank. The most aggressive betta that I have ever had was actually a veitale. I tried cory cats, otos, plecos, platies, tetras---if he couldn't kill it he would nip it until I took it out. 

Bettas are one species of fish that make up their own rules when they want to make them. I've seen their behavior turn on a dime. I currently keep 18 Bettas, 5 different species of cichlids, and a freshwater pufferfish--all considered aggressive species (to name a few, 22 tanks in all). I have to say that the most inpredictable would be the bettas. Sometimes that can be sweet as a puppy and other times they can be as mean as a pirahna. It seems that Pho is destined to be a loner to protect the innocent.  Love and accept him for who he is and it will get betta! <3


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## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

I don't have anything constructive to add, I just wanted to say that I love your fish's name. Pho, like the Vietnamese noodle soup? I love that stuff! :-D


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