Betta Question (non-emergency but important)

[musicalbetta]

I have a male betta fish that seems to be unusually aggressive. He likes to try to nibble my finger a lot when I feed him (he jumps). Also recently I cleaned his tank and removed all algae growing on the glass which probably lets him see his reflection better, so he flares his gills a lot more. His pH is around 7.5, and everything else is at a healthy/normal measurement. I don’t know whether he’s just a naturally angry fish or if it’s just his reflection bothering him. He lives in a five gallon tank and it’s shaped like a hexagon, which may affect how he sees his reflection. I’m also planning to move him into a bigger tank in a couple months.

Also, he used to live with a snail that was a little less than an inch long and wide, and he displayed little to no aggression towards him. He just kinda would monitor him then leave him be.

And if he isn’t naturally aggressive (I don’t know how to describe a fish that’s just..you know, aggressive most of the time), I was wondering if it was okay to add any more small peaceful fish or critters since it may just be his reflection making him aggressive, which i can probably fix.

I’m sorry if this is confusing, i’m bad at explaining this kind of stuff. It’s okay if you ask for clarification.

Thank you!

 

[NLindsey921]

Betta are natural aggressive towards their own kind. He believes his reflection is another fish.

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[Essjay]

Bettas should not be kept without tank mates. The risk is both ways - he could attack the other fish or they could nip his fins. I have never kept any other fish with any of my bettas.

My current betta used to have a small nerite snail in his tank but I had to relocate the snail to my main tank after the betta became quite agitated when the snail was on the glass - to the betta's mind, the snail was swimming in his territory. I can't put a background in the tank or he flares at his refection. He also flares at me and my husband if we get within two feet of the tank - though when he sees his food tub at meal times, he stops flaring at me.

I would say your betta is just a normal betta.

 

[FroFro]

My betta took a few weeks to stop trying to fight his reflection. Adding a dark background and plants to diffuse the light helped with this.

 

[Jeffy Pop]

I had a similar problem with a betta in the past. I added 2 male fancy guppies which had colorful tails. The betta tested them by flaring his gills at them. Once he decided they weren't going to take him on, he left them alone, AND, he became less aggressive. I now have 2 bettas in separate community tanks that are doing well.

 

[King puff]

If you end up moving him to the bigger tank, you could try a planted aquarium. Plants help out in the aquarium by soaking up ammonia which is toxic to fish. Plants also break down fish waste and food. This makes the maintenance for the aquarium much easier. Instead of using the gravel vacuum to clean up debris under the gravel, you use it to hover over the gravel and and wait for the desired amount of water to drain out of the tank and clean up any debris that the plants have not absorbed yet. Planted aquariums also give the fish a more comfortable and natural environment.

Now back to the question. I agree with everyone else about adding other fish to your tank. Bettas have no care whatsoever about companions. Other fish can also nip their long fins. Once you move him to a bigger tank, you could try cherry shrimp or ghost shrimp. Cherry shrimp are livebearers. They will populate you tank from 3 to a whole colony. Ghost shrimp, on the other hand, hatch out as plankton and will either get sucked up the filter or eaten. These are also clear and are not as easy to see for you Betta. Shrimp are algae eaters. they will clean you tank and eat leftover food.

 

[NickAu]

I have a male betta fish that seems to be unusually aggressive. He likes to try to nibble my finger a lot when I feed him (he jumps)

That all seems perfectly normal to me. It shows hes not afraid of you, and yes Bettas jump at feeding time.

He will get over the glass surfing.

Some bettas are fine with tank mates some are not, even Malaysian trumpet snails are not safe.

Bettas are characters and quite smart and can be very friendly with the person who feeds them, you can even teach them tricks.

Feeding time in my sorority tank.

Me playing with a Crown Tail I had.