Betta attacking neon tetras

C

CBTF

;(
Jan 2, 2006
253
0
0
Toronto, Canada
3 days ago i purchased 5 neon tetras and a male betta. they have been co-existing peacefully for the most part in my tank, however today I noticed a neon floating around the top. With a closer examination I realized that his tailfin had been bitten off. He is now floating around, and the betta will take a chomp at him every few minutes- I don't expect the neon to survive.

The betta is well fed.. is this just a one time incident? (perhaps the neon is a runt? survival of the fittest?) or will the betta kill the rest of my neons, who are now a disgruntled "school" of 4 scattered across the tank?

He hasn't been showing agression to the others, just this one.. however, he wasnt attacking ANY of them yesterday so im hoping this is just a one time thing.
 
I've been watching posts about bettas & neon tetras for some time because I was planning to put these two types of fish together in my tank. What I've heard is that betta temperment is an individual thing. Some bettas attack neons, others don't. And even seemingly "peaceful" bettas have been known to attack out of the blue. I've also heard that increasing the size of the school of neons can sometimes help in warding off the aggression of the betta, as he sees the entire "pack" as one giant fish, and is less inclined to take it on.
 
the neon prolly died and the munching happened after. I don't think a Betta would be quick enough to catch a tetra
 
The neon was alive while the munching happened. And the neon just died.. im deciding if im going to run back to the LFS with my neons to get something larger.
 
I wonder if that will really remedy the situation. A larger, more aggressive fish may end up turning on the betta. His fins are targets for nippy fish too.

Neons, white clouds, ottos, snails, shrimp, dwarf frogs--for every thread I've read about harmonious compatibility, there's another one talking about a massacre with the same types of fish!!!

Sorry, not trying to put you off, as I'm in the same boat. Maybe someone else on the forum has the "magical combination" of betta and...
 
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Personally I wouldn't put neons or any other small tetra like that in with betta fish, nor would I advocate it. I'd stick with something non-aggressive, but too big for the betta to push around.

Not guppies either, and not because the betta might go after him. They might go after the betta.

Roan
 
Magical combination?

IMHO it depends on the size of the tank. In a small tank small tetras like neons have no place to run. They can't get away from the betta fish.

I think you'll find that those people who have no compatibility issues are those that have their bettas in 10g+ tanks.

Roan
 
Bettas ar impredictible. They are naturally agressive, so a peaceful one may have their true temperament outin no time.

I've never kep bettas, but if I'd ever do, I'd keep a single one in a 10 gl. planted tank.
 
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