Betta Fighting With African Dwarf Frog- Help!

[FrankFish26]

Hi everyone,

I recently got a new addition to my fish bowl. I had Phil (betta) and I recently got an African Dwarf Frog and a tiny snail. The snail is obviously not a problem, but I'm not sure how Phil is doing with his new froggy roommate. About 2 minutes after i added the frog to the bowl (2 US gal), Phil swam by and the frog nipped at his tail. I'm assuming that was just a mistake, as he was rightfully stressed out and Phil happened to swim by and he probably thought his tail was food. Then for about the next hour Phil kept flaring at the frog but wasn't trying to bite him, just getting right in his face and flaring. The frog finally lunged at Phil and might have nipped his face, I couldn't tell if he actually did or if Phil swam away. I was ready with my net in case things got really out of hand I could scoop one of them out real quick. Phil never tried to bite back at the frog, which makes me think that maybe the frog was just stressed and felt threatened. After that, Phil steered clear for about half an hour and it the frog didn't bite at him again. I fed the frog some freeze dried blood worms and he ate them very quickly and ravenously so I guess he could have just been really hungry and thought Phil's tail was food. Or could they have possibly been figuring out a pecking order? Do you think they are both too aggressive to be together? If one of them has to go back to the store, it would be the frog seeing as he's brand new and I've had Phil for over 6 months. Phil has been doing a lot of hiding in his cave since the frog was introduced and I don't want for him to be bullied (I know that sounds ridiculous but I care about my pets and I want them to feel safe). The man at the petstore said that they should be fine together and that they would most likely just ignore each other. I've had the frog in the fish bowl now for about 3 hours and things seem to be less tense, but I just hope it will stay this way. Any answers/similar situations/reassuring advice would be greatly appreciated!! THANK YOU!!

 

[Forestpisces]

Some bettas just dont get on with other fish or inverts, if the aggresion continues then i'd take the frog back.

About your bowl i have some very important questions:

How big is it?

Is it filtered?

Is it heated?

I will do the best i can to advise you on keeping a healthy betta and possibly the ADF if he calms down.

 

[FrankFish26]

It's a 2 US gallon drum bowl, I use a heater in the winter, not in the summer (I live in South FL in the summertime, North FL the rest of the year) and there is no filtration. The betta was starting to nip at the frog so I took the frog out and put him in a smaller bowl for the night and I'll decide what to do tomorrow.. If I keep the frog then I'll put the betta in a large vase with a tall plant and I'll get another frog to go in the 2 gal with the frog I have now. If I don't do that I'll just take the frog back to the pet store and be out $3.95 lol.

 

[xweeqtx]

In a two gallon the betta should really be by themselves. 3 gallons is the recommended absolute minimum for a betta.
Get a proper tank for him, he'll be so much happier and healthier. And regardless of what anyone has told you, betta's need a cycled/filtered tank just as any other fish does.

 

[saltynay]

2 US gallons is too small for an ADF aswell so they will both be very stressed

 

[Forestpisces]

I fully agree with both saltynay and xweeqtx. Get the betta a bigger filtered and heated tank on his own.

A heater isn't just to keep the water warm it regulates the temperature to keep it constant rather than having fluctuations that cause the fish stress and in extream cases death.

Without a filter you betta will be exposed to high levels of ammonia which fish produce constantly in their waste and is toxic to them at any detectable level and it can cause numerouse diseases in your fish such as whitespot, ammonia burns, gill infections and sores.

So as xweeqtx said contrary to popular beleif bettas NEED a heated filtered tank of AT THE VERY LEAST 13litres (about 3 gallons) many people including me say larger is better such as 5 gallons being optimal.

Please please please for the health and happiness of your betta give him a heater, filter and a bigger home.