Docile To Aggressive

[jcabs100]

i literally saw my betta just chomp off my neon tetras eyeball off it was the most docile betta not territorial at all let fish just roam his "territory"no problem im guessing he just felt threatened well this happen again ?!
'

 

[Fishy friend2]

You should probably remove him from the tank, it might happen again

 

[jcabs100]

dang i mean im actually watching him now and doesnt seem bothered by the other neon tetra he just looks at them and swims away very weird betta...still think i should remove it or monitor it ?

 

[LadyDragon]

They are kinda bipolar that way...
Fine until the moment some gear switches, or hormone spikes, or they just have a cranky moment! No one knows why they throw fits, but they do.

I had a white butterfly koi who was like that... All was good til the moment she would randomly decide to kill someone or rip off one of their fins, or eyes... I put up with her because she was SO very pretty... And then the day came she swallowed one of the long fin panda Corys... And the Cory raised it's spikes... And she choked to death on it. She killed her last fish, and it killed her right back. (I wanted to feel bad, but she deserved it... That koi killed so many other fish, she definitely had it coming!

I'd remove him... It happens once, it'll happen again. And the poor neon tetra only has 2 eyes, and seeing how it's already lost one... Well... See where that's going?

 

[jcabs100]

Your right ill remove him unfortunately the betta made my tank look very nice

 

[Caprichoso]

They are often very nice in the beginning, then once they settle in, there can be issues. How big is your tank? The smaller the tank, the more chance there is of aggressiveness towards other fish. Did your neon happen to be weaker than the rest? The weaker fish usually get predated upon and bullied which in turn exacerbates the issue. Also, if your Betta has just reached maturity, there can be more aggressive tendencies as well. Chances are it will happen again as these are not usually just isolated acts.

 

[jcabs100]

Well my neon was pretty small and my betta I got it when it was little but it doesn't pick on the other fish just that particular one it leaves the others alone is maybe because it sort of looks like my betta as the color on the neon is similar to my betta except it has some purple (my betta)

My tank is a 20 gallon long tho

 

[Caprichoso]

Betta's normally have a thing for fish with flowing fins or fish with similar body shapes but maybe the small size of the neon triggered an attack. This is what we call survival of the fittest. The small wimpy guy gets eaten. Hopefully your neons recovers and your betta leaves him and the rest alone. You may want to make a plan of what you will do if this becomes a chronic problem, such as re-homing someone. Out of curiosity, how many neons do you have?

 

[Fishy friend2]

i agree with caprichoso it could have been because of the neons small size

 

[Fatknee]

Aww poor neon hope he's ok

 

[Fishy friend2]

oh yeah i forgot to say something... hope he gets better

 

[jcabs100]

lol thanks guys but my neon had died unfortunately tried everything and i had 8 neon as i have 7 now

 

[Fishy friend2]

Oh,i am sorry for your loss he will be dearly missed

 

[Caprichoso]

Sorry to hear that. Fortunately, you still have a sufficient school of them so hopefully the rest will thrive.

 

[LadyDragon]

That's unfortunate, I am sorry for your loss.

Did you move the Betta?
The "why" of what makes a fish suddenly turn on a tank mate is less important than the fact that they have DONE it. It is possible that the neon may have been weaker, or falling Ill or something... But there is also the very real
Possibility that the Betta just felt cranky one moment and happened to tag the neon!

My evil "great white" butterfly koi used to take eyes or fins off anything in the tank with her if she suddenly felt moody... No rhyme or reason, just a total diva having a hissy fit and needing to ruin something. Anyway, if you haven't moved the Betta, I'd consider it while you still have neons!