Help it's WWIII in my aquarium!!!

[Rinaldo]

Hi all,
well it isn't that bad. But I bought a 10 gallon breeder tank and to cycle it I filled it with a male betta and a female betta. They began to fight a lot. well I'm not sure they're fighting, but the male will flare his gills and his fins and nudge her, then swim away and she just sits there and doesn't move.
Then about 5 min later she chases him around the tank 4 times or so and then stops and doesn't move again.

The Zebra Danios I bought (6) I thought would act as dither fish, keep them distracted, they haven't worked at all in the last 24 hours.

WHat shoudl I do, are they mating, fighting, do they just not get along let me know what to do. I thought that bettas were really hardy so I figured I'd use them instead of boring sebra Danios.


Please help me.

 

[afishoutofh2o]

I don't know very much about Bettas but this profile may be helpful to you:

Females and males should only be kept together if baby bettas are desired. The male will harass the female before, during and after spawning, and, unless sufficient hiding places are provided, may even kill her.

http://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/Breed_Profiles.aspx?aid=6218&cid=3680&search=

 

[Toirtis]

1. Fishless cycling is far preferable to cycling with fish...and its cheaper as well.

2. Bettas are far from the best fish for cycling a tank.

3. You should never house bettas together....even a male and female, when mature enough and receptive to breeding, need to be introduced slowly and carefully, and not in an uncycled tank.

4. Danios may make dither fish for some other fish species, but not for bettas.

What you need to do is start over...take the fish back to the shop and read up on fishless cycling, and go that route...prepared.

 

[Rinaldo]

why is fishless cycle better? I thought it took longer that way?

 

[Toirtis]

Its better because its cheaper, and you will not damage or kill any fish along the way (cycling with fish usually kills a fish or two). It is about the same speed as cycling with fish, and can actually be a bit quicker.

 

[scarf]

Fishless is easier, cheaper, fish don't have to be tortured/poisoned (unless you keep up with PWC more frequently), more controlled, etc..

Male bettas should not be kept with females unless mating, and introduced slowly. Female bettas can be put together (sometimes), but males cannot with other males or females.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

With fishless cycling you don't have to worry about pwc and the ammonia and nitrite levels being too high for the fish. It is all around a better way to go. If you added a male and female betta and 6 zebra danios at the same time, that's alot of fish to add at once. What are your levels in this tank?

 

[Rinaldo]

i didn't add them all at the same time, spread them out over a week, I think you're all right, just wasn't sure how to get nitrates and ammonia levels started in the tank without some food or excrement. So I assumed cycling was ok with danios.

when i cycled all my saltwater tanks I used fish to cycle with, I am delving into freshwater for the first time.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Adding that many fish in such a small tank should have been done over a two week time period. It's nothing against you, it's a common mistake. Alot of people make that mistake. It's ideal to cycle fishless. Just be prepared for water changes and test the water daily. If I were you, I'd take back one of the Betta's, preferably the male.

 

[Blucat]

You can't keep male bettas and female bettas together at all. Only keep em together for an hour when they spawn.