Grrr, black neon tetra biting my male betta's tail!

veggiegirl · 05-17-2005, 09:10 PM

I only have one tetra because the other two died right after I got them

, and I've never had any problems with this one until today. I caught him attacking my beautiful male betta's tail.

It didn't look like he was hurting him, but he just kept doing it over and over and my betta was getting stressed. I ended up taking the tetra out and putting him in with my female betta, who has a short tail. I was really shocked because neon tetras are so teeny and meek!

redrose · 05-18-2005, 12:55 AM

Hi,

Tetras in general are fin nipers....but i have never seen a neon nip the fins of a betta...although I do have a couple of tetras with my neons and cardinals and i have not seen it...i'm sure its possible. Oh, your male betta might try and kill your female betta if he wants to breed.

Red

mm_simb · 05-18-2005, 01:00 AM

Neon tetras should definately not be housed with bettas or any other fish with long fins. They are fin nippers even if you don't see it right away. They usually do better with female bettas but that also depends on the tetra. Please don't house neons with male bettas again as this is prone to happen.

Lixx · 05-18-2005, 09:49 AM

My neon has been fine in with my betta, as have the other tetras. Hmm, I'll have to watch more closely, but I have not seen any fin nipping

I am sorry yours decided to start

veggiegirl · 05-18-2005, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redrose

Hi,

Tetras in general are fin nipers....but i have never seen a neon nip the fins of a betta...although I do have a couple of tetras with my neons and cardinals and i have not seen it...i'm sure its possible. Oh, your male betta might try and kill your female betta if he wants to breed.

Red

Thanks but I didn't put my bettas together. I put my tetra with the female betta.

Amethystbelle · 05-18-2005, 06:16 PM

I have always found tetras to be peaceful fish and ideal for a community tank especially around Betta's they normally aren't known to be fin nippers thats usually left to guppies etc..... I think your problem might be because he is alone and they like to be kept in groups of 6 or more as there is safety in numbers and they like to swim in shoals. I'm sure if you got him a few buddies he would be fine around the betta as he would be occupied and feel safer if not it would be best to house him with the female betta or fish without long fins etc....

veggiegirl · 05-18-2005, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethystbelle

I have always found tetras to be peaceful fish and ideal for a community tank especially around Betta's they normally aren't known to be fin nippers thats usually left to guppies etc..... I think your problem might be because he is alone and they like to be kept in groups of 6 or more as there is safety in numbers and they like to swim in shoals. I'm sure if you got him a few buddies he would be fine around the betta as he would be occupied and feel safer if not it would be best to house him with the female betta or fish without long fins etc....

I bet your right. Thanks.

I'm probably not going to be getting anymore tetras since I lost two so quickly, but I'll keep him with Scarlette instead.

najiwench · 05-18-2005, 08:07 PM

i was told that tetras are carp and as such can be prone to fin nipping. *shrugs* i always kept my bettas with guppies, the guppies didn't bother the bettas since there were plenty of guppies around for them to bug, and the bettas helped population control with the guppies, eating many of the fry before they could become overpopulated

mm_simb · 05-19-2005, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by najiwench

i was told that tetras are carp and as such can be prone to fin nipping. *shrugs* i always kept my bettas with guppies, the guppies didn't bother the bettas since there were plenty of guppies around for them to bug, and the bettas helped population control with the guppies, eating many of the fry before they could become overpopulated

That is also what I've heard. I've seen many bettas with neons at the petstores and the fins on the bettas are never pretty.

Amethystbelle · 05-19-2005, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by najiwench

i was told that tetras are carp and as such can be prone to fin nipping. *shrugs* i always kept my bettas with guppies, the guppies didn't bother the bettas since there were plenty of guppies around for them to bug, and the bettas helped population control with the guppies, eating many of the fry before they could become overpopulated

I'm on the different end of the scale

I've always been advised not to keep Bettas with guppies as they are supposed to be notorious fin nippers so i never have and I have never had any problems with tetras although i do prefer to keep the black widow variety which are a little larger than the neons etc.... But at the end of the day any small fish can be prone to fin nipping though when you consider the size of a betta to something such as a tetra

But everyone has success with different fish combinations and what works for one doesn't always work for another, its the same as some Bettas can live in a community tank and some prefer life alone its all about what works for you