Is My Betta Killing My Neons?

xostrawberryox

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My new neons have been dropping like flies and ive not been able to work it out, went to the LFS and their PH is only .2 different to mine so it cant be PH shock, the rest of the tests turned out fine and tonight ive been studying one of the sick neons and notice that half of his rear fine has been munched off! Think my mollies are a bit too gentle and small to be able to do that so the finger is pointing at Mr. Betta.. anyone had this before? Perhaps they got into a bit of a fight? The lfs didnt mention that they would be incompatible with either the mollies or betta :S
 
Fast moving bright fish are a no no for betta tanks, so even guppys would be a target for them.

Yep it looks as though your betta is munching your neons.
 
Yea flunter your betta is probably one of the rare nicetootherfish betta. In most cases bettas that are housed in tanks with other vibrant colorful fish the result isnt good. If I were you I'd stay away from neons being housed with your betta but also another thing to think about is neons arent hardy at all, some die from the slightest things like high nitrates because they have been way overbred but in your case I'm thinking the betta may be to blame.
 
your neons could possibly have ntd ( neon tetra disease ). are ther corpses messed up - fins shredded? if not - ntd is my guess :good: ,
 
Usually tetras + bettas are not a good mix. Either the betta will attack them, or they will attack your betta. Good luck though.
 
yeah. Neons can fin nip... And i tried to put a cardinal with my beta to get it out of the main tank cause he was lossing colour... and there went half his tail and an eyeball.... :X

So i'd say your betta could possibly have something to do with this.

And guppies can also be targeted by bettas thanks to the similar tails and vibrant color.
 
Bettas are best kept solitary; they are a territorial, agressive, non-social species that is perfectly content and generally healthier and safer in their own space. I would suggest getting a 2.5-5g tank and letting the betta live alone, if not for his benefit then for that of the fish being hassled and killed in the community tank. If you really want a betta in with other fish, I'd suggest a well planted 10g with a group of small algae eaters and plenty of hiding spaces.

Bettas are best kept solitary; they are a territorial, agressive, non-social species that is perfectly content and generally healthier and safer in their own space. I would suggest getting a 2.5-5g tank and letting the betta live alone, if not for his benefit then for that of the fish being hassled and killed in the community tank. If you really want a betta in with other fish, I'd suggest a well planted 10g with a group of small, dull-colored algae eaters and plenty of hiding spaces.
 
I too thought initially, "Hey, how about 3 neons with Blue (my betta)!" I was so obsessed that I actually did half hour checks.. Everything was alright. Then I checked less frequently. Then I thought, "Ok they'll be fine". At night before bed, Blue's tank is in my bedroom, I went in and found that one of the neons was swimming on a slant. His coloring was fine. The other two neons were swimming happily, and Blue was doing what Blue does. Then, much to my horror, the slanted neon turned around and it seems that Blue mistook this poor lil dude's eyeball for a pellet. The eye was clear out.

By far, the creepiest thing I had ever seen.

I took the other two neons out to my 10 gallon, but the third didn't make it. So sad. (needless to say they didn't fair any better in my 10g, and passed shortly after within a week)

I have heard that Bettas can SOMETIMES go well with a snail or two. But I'm not taking any chances, Blue is a solitary type of guy.
 
I have never had a betta that was aggressive in any way other than in the spawning tank. Thats about 5 males. They are always in a community and they are always peacful. Bettas attack fish with more of their finnage rather than their colors. I had a betta with neons about 3 weeks ago until he died choking on a molly fry a bit too large.

As much as I think its not the betta, never rule it out completely. I find that this "rule" helps in everything. I'd would say that the corpses rot quickly like I have seen with my neons when they die(dreaded ntd :angry: ).
 
First of all, in the future, I wouldn't suggest keeping neons or most other tetras with bettas. ^_^ This is for two possible reasons, depending on your betta, your tank size (Sometimes) and your other fish: 1. Bettas have flowing fins, except plakats, and they can easily be torn by sharp objects such as stiff plants or fin nippers. 2. Tetras are notorious for their fin nipping - generally neons too, because that's a commonly kept tetra, and it doesn't help that they need to be in shoals of 5+, so damage can be taken to your betta. :good: But if you have an agressive betta he might have gotten irritated and decided to prey on your little fishies. Anyway, if you haven't already, take the betta out, put in in a 1g tank minimun with some gravel and a limp plant, and your set to go. :good:
 
I have never had a betta that was aggressive in any way other than in the spawning tank. Thats about 5 males. They are always in a community and they are always peacful. Bettas attack fish with more of their finnage rather than their colors. I had a betta with neons about 3 weeks ago until he died choking on a molly fry a bit too large.

As much as I think its not the betta, never rule it out completely. I find that this "rule" helps in everything. I'd would say that the corpses rot quickly like I have seen with my neons when they die(dreaded ntd :angry: ).



Er... you keep 5 males in a community tank?
 
How wierd. Since I bought my Betta for my community tank I've read loads of stuff saying don't put him in with Tetras (didn't see anything before and my IFS said it would be fine).

I've had my Betta in my tank for over a year now. No fin nipping of the betta by the tetras and no loss of life or injury to my other fish. Maybe Asbo isn't living up to his name and he's actually a very good natured Betta!

My tank is well planted though and Asbo has his own plant and castle in his little territotry so maybe that helps. He seems happy to share his castle though. ;)
 
I'm angry with my LFS for telling me that neons would be fine, i initially fancied some coloured widow tetras but didnt cos of the fin-nipping. I'm not a horrible person honestly, i was just wrongly informed!! Asbo is a cool name for a betta btw Vicky :lol:
 

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