Help... added a female betta

[GazWhyte]

So iv added a female betta to my 170lt planted tank and I have notice my male betta and gourami have fin damage from nipping I think, could this be from the female betta? I haven't seen any obvious fighting ?
Thanks in advance

 

[Byron]

Fin nipping is more likely from the male Betta and/or the gourami, possibly the male Betta now that he has a female present? There also could be another reason for damaged fins.

Male betta are not community fish, and this will only be aggravated with other anabantids (gourami) present. The fact that things masy have appeared "OK" for some time does not mean they actually were OK. But assuming the bettas and gourami will be normal, you should separate them. Some gourami are worse than others, and you haven't mentioned which species, but gourami and betta should not be together.

If there are other small fish, like tetras or similar, they can frequently decide to fin nip sedate fish. Fin nipping can occur when we are not present; it is not surprising that if fish know you are there, their behaviours may alter. This is not some sort of "cleverness" to deceive you, but just normal response of most fish to a person who is seen as the source of food, or a distraction.

 

[Essjay]

Edit - Byron posted while I was typing.




You need to separate the bettas and gourami.

Male and female bettas should not be in the same tank except for breeding - just long enough to spawn after conditioning both of them separately. And they both usually get beaten up in the process. It is possible to keep them together permanently if the tank is HUGE so that they can get away from each other.170 litres is not big enough.

Gouramis and bettas should not be kept together either as they will fight.

I would take the female betta back to the shop and while you are there get a tank ~25 litres for the male betta. Or get two 25 litre tanks, one for the male and one for the female.

 

[Demeter32]

Adding male/female pair of bettas and a gourami to the same tank is just asking for trouble. The aggression from the male betta to the female (or vise versa) will not stop and they need to be separated. Same for the gourami, as others stated they cannot get along as it is is their nature to attack fish that are similar to them.

Bettas are called Siamese fighting fish for a reason. Get the male his own tank, return or get yet another tank for the female. Things will just get worse if left alone.