Something is eating my beta fish

[mrzap]

The other day I added a female beta and two 2" catfish into my tank. THe following morning i noticed all the long fins of my male beta had nicks in them. Tonight I came home and it was even worse.

I see nothing attaching him when I watch the tank and my female beta has swam near him a few times, but I never see them fighting. What the heck is eating him?

 

[Menagerie]

IMHO--the female betta. I had the unfortunate experience of a female betta beating the crud out of a male beta--overnight. She didn't care for an audience.

 

[Endgame319]

What kind of cats are they? Corys? Corys are very peaceful and wouldn't hurt a fly(well, maybe they would hurt bloodworms...). Female bettas on the other hand... They should not be mixed with males at all. Seperate them ASAP. HTH

 

[mrzap]

If the female was doing it would she be showing signs of agression in the day as well? Will be beta's fins grow back?

 

[Endgame319]

She might or she might not, but they should never be kept with males. Seperate them and add bettamax to his tank, they should heal up pretty quick. Dont use Melafix, as it's harmful to him.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

It probably wasn't the cat. In general, they arn't nippers, they are gulpers.

 

[Christmasfish]

She doesn't have to show aggressin. A feisty female will shred a male just for sashaying his tail wrong. No posturing, just a zip&nip. If she was posturing and aggressive you could see a fatality. Same spawn females can make good tankmates with space and planting. Once they are jarred/cupped they are unpredictable tankmates. Mixed sex and multiple males rarely has a happy ending.
his fins will grow back but won't have the same coloring in the healed areas.
He needs a fast QT for infection preventatives. Then business as usual (with them SEPARATE of course )

 

[mrzap]

Can bettamax be added with inverts in the tank?

 

[An t-iasg]

The Bettamax box that I have says it's safe in the community tank and will not affect biological filter beds (good bacteria).

So, it seems as though it's safe for inverts. Bettamax does not contain copper. I don't have any inverts, though.

But I have used Bettamax in my betta's main tank (5.5 gallon with a sponge filter). I did have an ammonia level of .25 for a few days, so it did kill off the good bacteria a little. I would use Bettamax in a QT tank. Use one capsule to one gallon of water. My betta's new QT is a 1 gallon glass bowl. The Bettamax will also stain your tank's silicone bluish-green. The silicone in my tank is stained and it drives me crazy!

 

[mrzap]

Thank you for the heads up!

 

[mrzap]

I put the evil male hating lesbian betta in a little fishbowl now

I hope my betta recovers. He looks ok just less fins

 

[Menagerie]

I put the evil male hating lesbian betta in a little fishbowl now

[center:29470e7c85] that sounds like a friend of mine [/center:29470e7c85]
Male betta should be fine, just needs some TLC (and watch for fin rot).

 

[Enzo]

I noticed that you said "added" were there any other fish in the tank previously? Tetras are notorious fin biters and a betta is a prime target for them.