Possible Silly Questions

Hi all, I'm Darren, from northants in UK.

I'm new to the tropical fish keeping scene and wanted bit of advice


1. My tanks is about 3 weeks old and I put 3 mollies in the tank. They were nice and happy, yesterday my nephews tank sprung a leak and had 3 fish in there so he asked me to take them in till he gets a new tank and gets it set up.

3 fighting fish, 1 male and 2 female.
I didn't think this was an issue as the mollies I bought from the shop were tanked with a male fighter.

I put them in and all seems really well, but have noticed on top of the head of the male fighter he has discoloration, rest of his body's is a lovely blue and red colour but his head is like grey.

What's this ?

Is it serious or is he growing. As he is small and is smaller then lot of others I've seen.


Thanks in advance

Hi there, welcome to the forum
 
I wouldn't like to try an diagnose anything from your description. If you can get a picture, that would help.
 
First things first; do you have any test kits? Readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate would be really useful; your tank is very new and might not be properly cycled, so water quality is the first thing that needs to be looked at.
 
How big is your tank, and how big is the one the fighters came from?

thanks for the reply.
 
my tanks isnt large its a 22l tank, i did ask my locl fish shop and they sid im now fully stocked with 6, as i have real plants and good filters.
 
the tank that the fighters came from was maybe like 40 ish ltr tank. 
 
 
the bloke in the shop, said oh no when i said mollies and fighters.
pic of my fish.
 
 
 
 
tank size is 22ltr, which the people in the shop said the most i can have is 6, ive spoke to them today and said about the fish i have they said oh no to the fighters and the mollies, but said with the filters, and pump i should be ok with this amount of fish, they have tested the water and said it was ok. ( didnt get the levels) but am getting a kit

You *should* be able to keep mollies with 1 fighter - either male or female - depending on the fighter's temperament. However, it's pretty much almost never advisable to keep a male and female together. Most male fighters will fight each other to the death. If you want multiple fighters, they either need to be house separately or else you need at least 4 females together with males. They will almost certainly injure/kill each other housed together.
 
I would suggest either
A) return the male fighter and get at least 1 more female, preferably 2.
B) get another small tank (at least 2.5 gallons, preferably 5) for the male fighter and get at least 1 more female, preferably 2.
C) return the female fighters and keep your male.
D) return the mollies and the female fighters and keep the male.
 
The option I would choose personally is D. The reasons are, your tank is overstocked and really too small for mollies. It's a PERFECT size for 1 fighter - either male or female.

eduller said:

You *should* be able to keep mollies with 1 fighter - either male or female - depending on the fighter's temperament. However, it's pretty much almost never advisable to keep a male and female together. Most male fighters will fight each other to the death. If you want multiple fighters, they either need to be house separately or else you need at least 4 females together with males. They will almost certainly injure/kill each other housed together.
 
I would suggest either
A) return the male fighter and get at least 1 more female, preferably 2.
B) get another small tank (at least 2.5 gallons, preferably 5) for the male fighter and get at least 1 more female, preferably 2.
C) return the female fighters and keep your male.
D) return the mollies and the female fighters and keep the male.
 
The option I would choose personally is D. The reasons are, your tank is overstocked and really too small for mollies. It's a PERFECT size for 1 fighter - either male or female.

Click to expand...

so you think my tank is overstocked.
was advised of 6 fish around this size.
 
i thought 2 male fighters were an issue, not 1 male and 2 females.

Yes, unfortunately it is overstocked. 22 litres is just under 6 U.S. gallons, I believe. Mollies really should be kept in at least 10 gallons/37 litres. You *could* divide that tank and keep 2 fighters in it, but I wouldn't add anything else with those except maybe a little nerite snail.
 
Sometimes fish stores don't have the practical experience, are just trying to make a sale, etc. It's not really a matter of adequate filtration, it's more a matter of swimming space. And fighters are very territorial fish.
 
Female fighters are just as aggressive as males - they can even be more so, especially during mating. Any bettas housed together can have the potential for serious injury/death. Very, very rarely, people have been able to house 2 male bettas together in a very large tank, but it's taking a big risk and this one is definitely not large enough.

i dont have 2 males, i have 1 male and 2 females.

I was just giving an example. Either way, I'm not sure anyone would advise keeping those fish together in one tank.

understand.
 
how long will it be before they start attacking each other as they have been together for 24 hrs now and the tank is peaceful.

I don't think there's any way to predict that. I definitely don't know everything, and I'm sure there is always a chance you won't have any problems. But I personally don't think it's very likely they will stay peaceful. They will probably leave the mollies alone. Unfortunately, it's just in the fighters' nature to be territorial and aggressive toward each other or any other fish they see as a threat or as mating competition. It could manifest as them all just constantly attacking/chasing each other, one could get picked on specifically, or it could be fine for a while and then one day someone will get his or her fins shredded. And the tank is still overstocked even if they leave each other alone. I'm not trying to be a negative Nancy, but I would hate to see any of your fish get injured or sick.
 
As a very last resort, if you want to keep them all, you could go get a cheap plastic tank or container for your male betta OR a divided container for your 2 females. I wouldn't go any smaller than 9 liters for a single betta or 18 for 2 with a divider. That's bare minimum though.

dont really have option of another tank or divide due to the tank. i may just just get rid of the females.  

Good luck - can you return them to the store do you think?
 
There is a good section of these forums dedicated specifically to fighters if you want to take a look at it. Look for the "betta splendens" area. A lot of good information there on feeding, etc. If you could post a picture of your male's discoloration, someone could probably help you determine what it is. It could just be normal coloring or something more. Let us know about your filter, heater, feeding, and water change schedule - that could help too.

there is a picture on here, you can just see it on the top of his head over the eyes

20% water change every 3-4 days, heater is a 25watt aqua one heater, filter is a fixed one on the tank and has 2 large filters at the back, one is carbon/.

Welcome, and don't worry there are no silly questions apart from the ones you don't ask!
As you have already been told, your tank is overstocked and very poorly stocked. 24L is an incredibly tiny tank and there really isn't much you can keep in it at all. For the mollies some say 10G and some say 30G is the minimum for them. 1 male fighter OR 1 female fighter would be about it in this size tank, with maybe some shrimp or snails. You must never house 2 males and males and females together as eventually they will fight and fish will get injured/killed. Male and female fish are only put together to breed and the female is immediately removed afterwards. In larger tanks than your you can keep all female groups. Your male's head looks fine in that picture btw, it looks like it is just part of his colouring.
What I suggest you do is return all the fish bar your male OR one of the female fighters, or return them all and use this helpful nano fish list to restock your tank: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/418749-nano-fish/  Research the species found on there and see what you like.
It also sounds like you haven't cycled your tank either. As of right now you may be facing a fish-in cycle. Water in such a small tank that is overstocked can go bad very fast, Give this a read to learn about the cycling process: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/

The 2 females ate going, and will go into my father in laws tank. I will keep the male and mollies.