Betta fish playing or harrasing?

[kdhiggins24]

Hi everyone, Myra here. Please help me figure this out. I'm new to Aquarium Advice.

I have a question about my female betta's interactions with my golden panda mollies.

She is occasionally chasing them around the tank. I'm inclined to believe she is being playful because she hasn't been aggresive to anything I've put in the tank so far. She is curious and fearless, but not aggresive. However, I want the experts' opinions on this because I don't want to have mollies that are stressed, and subsequently sick. I haven't seen Chloe (my betta) nip or bite, just chase. It may just be the mollies she doesn't like for one reason or another. Thank you for helping me in advance.
FYI:
Tank is 20 gallons, 24 inches long
Heater and filter are supplied and working
Water temp hovers right around 78 Farenheight.
Live plants and hiding places provided.
Water treated with SeaChem Prime, beneficial bacteria, and plant fertilizer.
I have 4 golden panda mollies, 7 neon tetras, 4 ghost shrimp, 2 bristenose plecos, and 1 female betta.
Food includes pellets, flakes, blood worms, algae wafers, and the occasional pea.
Thank you!

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[Autumnsky]

Hi, nice to have you here.

Thank you for a detailed list of your tank info. I did notice one part which is missing is the info about when you set up the tank, and how long it has been running, and how long the fish have been in there?

My experiences with a female Betta (they have unique personalities so not all behave the same) in a community setting was that she would try and dominate a territory. Which changed depending on where she was...top of the tank in the right corner - her space - center mid tank...her space - right top of the tank...her space!

She (Ruby Pearl) would charge at the offending fish, in my case the "intruder" in that tank most often was a Guppy who didn't even notice her aggressive "threats" and then sometimes she would shoal right along with the Guppies like she was part of the family, lol.

Then on the other side of the coin, was another extreme - killer Betta nick named Mean Green, meanest fish ever and killed many of her tank mates. I was told they would be fine together (over 12 years ago) and didn't know other than the "expertise" from the lfs. As mentioned above they have different personalities.

 

[sinibotia]

My friend is a bit of a betta nut and has several community tanks featuring bettas (namely, all of them except for his sorority tank). In every single one of them the betta chases the other fish at least some of the time. The line is a little fuzzy but it comes down to how much the betta pursues the molly and if it's anything more than chasing. If there are any physical indicators of being attacked (nipped fins, etc) or the betta seems to be actively seeking out and chasing down the molly (as opposed to short outbursts), then it's time to move the betta (that advice courtesy of my betta-keeping buddy)

 

[kdhiggins24]

Thank you for the info! I have a video of my betta interacting with my mollies. Please let me know what you think.
https://youtu.be/d7K0AwsulTs

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[kdhiggins24]

At around 1:49 she appears to nip

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[kdhiggins24]

More action at 3:30

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[emeraldking]

Hi and welcome overhere...
About the female betta → it's a territorial thing! Once those fish are set in this tank, it should be okay...