I have a 55 gal. tank stocked with several community fish. Everyone gets along just fine. Today my wife told me that I could have one of her male bettas for my tank. So I figured I would give it a try. I chose the least aggressive of the two because I didn't want to start any trouble in my tank. This betta doesn't flare at the sight of other fish or anything. The most aggressive thing I have ever seen him do is jump for his food.
Anyway I acclimated him to the big tank and then we let him out. We closely watched for about 5 minutes. Now, the black molly is the queen of the tank. She will chase others around sometimes and rush for food and stuff. She has never nipped but she knows she is boss. She came over to see the new arrival and bumped him. The betta turned and instantly flared. I thought, ok, get ready to break this up. But I watched to see if it was just posing. The molly swam away and then came back and passed very close. Again the betta flared and turned to watch what molly was going to do next. The molly also turned and the two of them swam in circles watching eachother and the betta flared the whole time. I watched this for about a minute to see if one would back down. Neither did. I didn't want to see them fight so I removed the betta and put him back in his desk tank. Molly is feeling darn good about herself right now.
Moral of the story is..... They say bettas get along in community tanks. Be careful if you try this because if provoked I believe they will fight with any kind of fish.
Anyway I acclimated him to the big tank and then we let him out. We closely watched for about 5 minutes. Now, the black molly is the queen of the tank. She will chase others around sometimes and rush for food and stuff. She has never nipped but she knows she is boss. She came over to see the new arrival and bumped him. The betta turned and instantly flared. I thought, ok, get ready to break this up. But I watched to see if it was just posing. The molly swam away and then came back and passed very close. Again the betta flared and turned to watch what molly was going to do next. The molly also turned and the two of them swam in circles watching eachother and the betta flared the whole time. I watched this for about a minute to see if one would back down. Neither did. I didn't want to see them fight so I removed the betta and put him back in his desk tank. Molly is feeling darn good about herself right now.
Moral of the story is..... They say bettas get along in community tanks. Be careful if you try this because if provoked I believe they will fight with any kind of fish.
