Grrrrrrr Bettas Killed Again!

[Ryefish]

Ahhh! I have bought both red cherry shrimp and golden apple snails for my male Betta tank! Though I intend to wait some time before introducing the Betta Oh dears. Well theres plenty of hiding places. I might be lucky if I see one of the shrimp at all in a day. The snails are pretty fast an enlusive too!

my shrimp and apple snails do fine with my Betta and i always see my shrimp, and they are in a tank with 15 fish

 

[BethK]

IMO, male bettas aren't as aggressive as females, esp when the females are in a sorority.

My male would just flare, occasionally peck but nothing more. My sorority do well together, with each other but when they hunt/bully/scavenge, they are like a pack of crazed wolves.

 

[VaegaVic]

IMO, male bettas aren't as aggressive as females, esp when the females are in a sorority.

My male would just flare, occasionally peck but nothing more. My sorority do well together, with each other but when they hunt/bully/scavenge, they are like a pack of crazed wolves.

Problem is here, how do we know that isn't just natural behaviour?
You say males are less aggressive, but, the males can't be kept together so we'll never know if they are just as bad when it comes to "hunt/bully/scavenge" or not.

And again, I feel myself saying, "every betta is different", so again, it may be natural behaviour, but is it natural for that fish?

 

[BethK]

They are hybrids, breed for fighting, so of course given the chance, betta splendens will be like that at some stage IMO

 

[loraxchick]

the problem is that bettas generally are only aggressive to other bettas. ive kept snails with every betta and never a problem. same with shrimp (and a multitude of other species. and with all different tail types and each sex. and never had a problem-not once). i agree that perhaps the snail was weakened in some way-as were the shrimp. do you have live plants? any decorations? both snails and shrimp (shrimp even moreso) are so sensitive to copper! even can leech from your pipes in some instances. also tiny amounts of ammonia can off the shrimp in no time. also you mention the girls are pigs and even eat the cory/loach's food (been there!). are you certain the shrimp and snail were getting their fair share of food? if they were weak, i could see the bettas taking advantage, but healthy shrimp can eaily out maneuver a betta and a snail has the best defense of all!!
too often we blame the bettas. im not convinced.
all the best
cheers

 

[BethK]

I watched them chase the cherry shrimp, even corner them down in the stones. My amanos are absolutely fine, no copper about, I am have live plants, the only decorations I have is the 2 coconut huts and a ceramic pot.


I spoke to the LFS I brought the snail from, they said they weren't feeding them properly, due to the vendor telling them they didn't need algae wafers, that they fed off plants. Convinced the snail was weak.