fish can be so cruel

[Pointy_kitty]

my 55gallon tank has been nicely balanced and peaceful
and the water quality is perfect
everyone was alive and well....
except one
i was cleaning my tank when i noticed an extra little head poking out the top with the platies
sure enough it was my crowntail femail betta
my pride and joy, only she had huge bites out of her fins
it wasn't just tears, they were huge bites
i have no idea who did it
the only semi-aggressive fish are my blue gourami, kribensis and flying fox
they are all larger fish but my blue gourami only ever gets testy with my golden gourami, leaving the krib and fox as my remaining suspects

i do have other small fish but they are top dwellers, where as my female betta likes to slink around the bottom, where all the big guys are
there has not been a problem before this
so i will keep a watchful eye out
i have put my tiny little betta into a 1 gallon bowl with some rounded gravel and floating java moss to prevent further damage
she is beside my bed, under a dim lamp
she has extra slime coat, and some aquarium salt in the water
i have also added the correct amout of fizz tablet medications to her bowl
the tablets are for any fungus, popeye, or bacterial related diseases
they work wonders
i figure, if i am mistaken and she has fin rot, these should clear it up
and if she was attacked by a larger fish, the tablet will help protect her from fungus in her weakened state


i hope she puls through
she is eating frozen blood worms
tough littl egirl she is

 

[Puffer_freak]

Good luck and I wish you well!

All the best!

Os, I have no idea, having never kept thes fish, but I think it could be the fox!

 

[jasmine]

I would say that its the flying fox too. These can be quite nasty

 

[Cheese Specialist]

See, I would have said the krib. Especially if it's a female. Mine are nasty so and sos.

Hope the betta is ok.

 

[tear-scar]

I wouldn't take the gourami out of the suspect list . . . generally not a great idea to keep different anabantadid types together . . .

 

[David]

Yes, gouramis and bettas almost never get along well.

 

[Pointy_kitty]

Yes, gouramis and bettas almost never get along well.

the gourami have never ever touched the female betta before
they don't even acknowledge her

 

[MrMashashin]

my 29g tank is all messed up like that but not as bad. I went wrong in almost every direction. I mixed angels with neons, tiger barbs with angels and a betta, a betta with 2 guaramis, BUT my tank functions like a well ballenced community. The barbs stay off in their corner while the guaramis fence eachother and the neons have their own little meeting place by a rock. Back on subject, The kirb or the FF did it. I'm leaning to the krib though.

 

[Yenko]

Kribs or the Gourami. What you could do is put the betta in a 2l pop bottle, secured near the top of your tank, with a bunch of holes poked in it for water circulation, and the top open to provide fresh air and make feeding easy. 2l is a bit cramped, but it's better than nothing. Mabye you'll see the fish that attacked the betta trying to get to it through the bottle.