Aggressive betta in community tank???

[miss.lottie]

I have an established, planted 130L community tank with 6 glass cats and a bristlenose pleco. I recently introduced a betta under the assumption that such see-through fish wouldn't be threatening enough to a betta (especially ones that have already established territory in the tank), but it's Day 3 and after initially seeming quite docile and ignoring the other fish, the betta has suddenly started chasing any cat that gets gets too close (no flaring or shaking though). The chasing began shortly after I raised the aquarium temperature by 2 degrees (24 to 26 C) if this means anything at all. Is it just stress or should I rehome him?

[HannahJo]

Bettas are territorial and aggressive fish, period. Sometimes they work in a community and sometimes they don't. I'm guessing now that it's settled into the tank, it's claimed territory and is doing what bettas do.... If he is only shooing off the cats, it might be okay to leave him in there. If he is not actively going after them- he may just be protecting his new territory. Although, this could be stressful for the cats always having to run away. And also stressful for the betta as he is constantly having to protect his space. Bettas can be finniky to have in a community. I would leave everything alone for a few more days and see if the shooing off becomes more aggressive- if it does I would remove him. Or, you could try re-arranging your tank and providing lots of hiding spots for everybody and seeing if that helps out.

[fishingBuds]

Not only bettas are well known for being territorial but he will take comand of the space provided for his life. Doesnt matter the size, however you have a big tank, just like the last answer, try to change the set up of the tank so u give everybody their space since u are trying betta comunity tank, guppy fosh goes well when created together with bettas for a long time