Betta more aggressive than I thought?

[whitelightsea]

Hi, everyone.

So, this is Cornelius. After months of planning, research, and generally agonizing on whether I could actually take care of a betta (I've had terrible luck with these beautiful, and deceptively difficult fish), I finally set up a 10 gallon condo up in my room. I have him in a fully cycled dirted tank with gravel, live plants, and a Aquaclear 20 filter for him with the flow baffled with a simple plastic bottle.

I rescued this beautiful boy from Petco, and he's seeming to enjoy the upgrade from the cup, and swims around like a little king among the dwarf sag, amazon swords and anubias.

He's been with me about two weeks now, and seems quite happy.

Before settling him into his new home, I did place four amano shrimp into the tank, mostly to be sure the little guy would be able to survive. I lost two within the first day or so. I'm not sure if it was shock, transport, or what have you, but I wasn't wholly concerned. The remaining two were male and female, and I had only bought them because my tank is close proximity to a window, and I wanted a clean up crew.

After a water change, and parameters settling down within another week, Cornelius was introduced.

In Petco, he had seemed fairly shy, darting away from my face or hand in the cup, and refusing to flare at any other fish I put him near... And while that wasn't a big factor for me, the fact that he's got the most striking coloration I've seen in a betta was what sealed the deal. I brought him home, acclimated him, and let him explore his new home.

Now it seems I might have been dead wrong about his personality. Since settling into his tank, I've seen him chase around the amano shrimp from time to time, but they always seemed too quick to catch, and after a few seconds of chasing, he'll get bored and head over to his little hammock to rest (IAL, of course.)

Tonight, I was on my way over to the tank to feed him, and I noticed his tummy was full... Not just full, but almost bloated... Now, I'm familiar with symptoms of bloat, and dropsy in my fish. I had a platy with it, once upon a time, so I hesitate to call this true bloat.

He's swimming happily, and I just saw him chase my big female amano.... but I can't find my male.

Is it possible that Cornelius actually caught the male and ate him? That's a HUGE meal for such a little fish. I suppose after tomorrow, if his tummy shrinks and the male's still missing, I'll know for sure....

In the meantime, I'm skipping his frozen dinner and instead fed the little guy a pea, just in case... but do you guys think it's possible that he went crazy and had himself a meal?

And if that's the case, should I move the remaining female to my 38 gallon? She might live happily there alongside the cherry shrimp, but I've got 2 GBR, 10 rummy nose tetras, and 5 black neons in that one... Would it be best to just leave her in there, and let nature take it's course?

What do you guys think? Have you ever had a seemingly placid betta suddenly go Jack the Ripper on tank mates?

And while you're here, post your fishies! I'd love to see some other set ups and bettas while I'm on tonight; they were my first love, and what got me into fish in the first place.

Thanks for any pics and input!

 

[dcutl002]

Cornelius probably had a good snack.

 

[TeenyFish]

Third time now I've tried to post and it's just shut down on me [emoji34]

I don't have time to type it all out again, sorry, so, in short form -

Yes. He probably got eaten.
You can do whichever with the other shrimp, sounds like it'll be risky either way so it's your call.
Yes, even the most placid betta can suddenly snap.

Can you get a better pic of him? He looks like he might just be the most beautiful betta I've ever seen.

Here's one of my puffers (Tinker) lookin cheeky.

 

[TeenyFish]

Not sure why last pic posted twice...

This is Dakota (who's getting new, better lighting soon).

 

[whitelightsea]

Third time now I've tried to post and it's just shut down on me [emoji34]

I don't have time to type it all out again, sorry, so, in short form -

Yes. He probably got eaten.
You can do whichever with the other shrimp, sounds like it'll be risky either way so it's your call.
Yes, even the most placid betta can suddenly snap.

Can you get a better pic of him? He looks like he might just be the most beautiful betta I've ever seen.

Here's one of my puffers (Tinker) lookin cheeky.
View attachment 299141

Tinker is absolutely adorable. I was actually debating making this 10 gallon a pea puffer tank, but I went the betta route. No complaints, of course...

And no, I don't mind posting more pictures. Just keep in mind that Cornelius doesn't really listen too well when I tell the little bugger to hold still. Nor does he cooperate and stay in the light so I can get that pretty green sheen on him, but here are my best shots.

 

[Polycomb71]

Bettas don't tolerate shrimps much, IME. Additionally, the shrimps must moult at some point and repeat moulting periodically. That would make them even more vulnerable, and the Betta will have a rather easy meal. You can try nerite snails, which are attractive, and won't breed in freshwater. They would tirelessly eat algae, but not all kinds of algae can be handled by them. But small shrimps will generally be mercilessly killed by Bettas.

 

[whitelightsea]

Bettas don't tolerate shrimps much, IME. Additionally, the shrimps must moult at some point and repeat moulting periodically. That would make them even more vulnerable, and the Betta will have a rather easy meal. You can try nerite snails, which are attractive, and won't breed in freshwater. They would tirelessly eat algae, but not all kinds of algae can be handled by them. But small shrimps will generally be mercilessly killed by Bettas.

I thought of a nerite, especially a zebra one, but I'm paranoid about getting a female who might lay eggs with extreme prejudice.[emoji14]
Is there a way to tell a nerite male from female in the zebra variation, or does the eye fold trick only work in the olive version?

 

[Polycomb71]

Yes, the nerites will lay eggs. Can be somewhat unsightly. Honestly, I could never sex my nerites. But good thing is, even my dwarf chain loaches leave them alone.

 

[McClapyourhands]

I have a tracked nerite snail who has survived 2 betas now. He is pretty hardy. I have also had ghost shrimp in the tank with my beta and they leave them only...HOWEVER I lost 5 neon tetras in that same tank in 2 days to one of the bettas. I also thought was "not aggressive". He now is riding solo in his own tank.
Your beta might have left the female alone due to the size. I noticed that once in a while I would lose a smaller sized shrimp and the betta would have a nice big tummy the following day.

Here is a website i found about determining the sex of snails. Hope this helps! http://applesnail.net/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=18327&start=45

 

[Leila]

I have a tracked nerite snail who has survived 2 betas now. He is pretty hardy. I have also had ghost shrimp in the tank with my beta and they leave them only...HOWEVER I lost 5 neon tetras in that same tank in 2 days to one of the bettas. I also thought was "not aggressive". He now is riding solo in his own tank.
Your beta might have left the female alone due to the size. I noticed that once in a while I would lose a smaller sized shrimp and the betta would have a nice big tummy the following day.

Here is a website i found about determining the sex of snails. Hope this helps! http://applesnail.net/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=18327&start=45

I have a male beta who got segregated as he suddenly killed the (large) female he was living with in our communal tank. Gave him a mystery snail and a rock shrimp for company and they've been happy buds for the last 6 months.