Siamese Fighting Fish

1st posting on forum.

Hello

I started my tank with 6 lovely male guppies, beautiful little boys who were cute and whose tails I used to gaze at and admire. I loved the way they snuggled in the bottom of the tank at night in between rocks etc. I then decided to purchase a few more fish after several weeks - 3 golden barbs. Unbeknown to me, my husband was also purchasing some new fish at the same time - 1 male and 2 female siamese fighter fish (personally not a fish I would chose).

Since then my beautiful boys' tails are now in shreds and the male fighter's tail seems to be shorter! One of the female fighters who was particularily aggressive and jumped out of the tank a couple of times has been disposed of! I thought that might be the end of the problem but it isn't, and I actually saw the male fighter attack a guppy when he was sleeping last night.

My husband has offered to stab it - anyone else got a kinder solution?

Pisceslady

to the forums.

As the name implies, fighting fish aka betta splendens are highly territorial. The male of this species will fight any other fish who has long flowing fins, such as your guppies. The best solution for this is to simply get a 1 or 2g tank and put him in there.

by the way, what do you mean by "One of the female fighters who was particularily aggressive and jumped out of the tank a couple of times has been disposed of!" ? Did you kill it for no reason?

P.T.

fighting fish will attack any fish with fancy fins as they think they are another male fighter hence your problem...

your options are buy a 1 gallon fish bowl for the fighter, they prefer being on their own and can breath air as they are labrynth fish (have a special organ that allows them to gulp air from the surface, hence can survive in low oxygen water. they are really pretty when mature so thats your best option. i'm sure you have a spare foot or so of table space somewhere, you wont need heaters and air pump if your room temp is warm enough. ie if your happy sitting there in a t-shirt the temp should be fine.

if thats not an option take him back to the fish shop, it's not his fault he's been put in the wrong tank so killing him/flushing him seems a little cruel wouldn't you say..

they breed by making bubble nests on the surface, if you take the bowl option i'm sure he'll grow on you, theyre cool fish when happily settled.

good luck

Hi piceslady i would echo jimbooo and take it back to the shop you got it from i once had to do this with to angels that attacked and killed my male fighter?

Also keep a close eye on your barbs as they also like to nip at fancy tails.
Good luck

Hi pisceslady


Welcome to the forum.

Sometimes, the obvious solution isn't always the best. It sounds to me like you have make a common mistake among new fishkeepers, which is to assume that all kinds of fish can get along together, in any size tank. Many times the help at the lfs (local fish store) will do little to correct this assumption, either because they don't know better, or because they just want to sell their fish.

It also sounds to me like you have more than one problem going on. By this I mean that while the Betta might be aggressive toward the guppies that he sees as competition, if his tail is shredded too, that is a different matter. It might be due to fin nipping barbs, or you might have a common disease known as finrot in progress.

Whatever it is, our members can help you resolve the matter. I am going to move your thread to the Emergency forum where the members can help you determine just what is wrong with your setup, and hopefully help you correct it.

Fishkeeping is a little science and a little bit art, so it will help if you could provide us with some additional information about your tank and fish. For example, what is the capacity of your tank? How long has it been set up and what temperature is the water kept at? Have you tested for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, and if so, what are the readings?

Did you put the male and female fighting fish (bettas) together in the same tank? Male's should be housed separately and only introduced to one female when spawning which should be tanken out again immediately afterwards. The Male will be agressive as he's trying to court the females and they in turn will be agressive with eachother and everyone else as they fight for the chance to spawn with the male.

I also agree with PT as bettas will mistake guppies with fancy tails for other males and attack them. Also the barbs can be nippy and attack the tails of other fish including your guppies.

Females can be housed together in a community tank but some are more agressive than others and I've had problems with mine and had to re-jig it a few times.

Maybe you could pop over to the Betta section and read the pinned topics which will help you understand these beautiful fish a little better. Where are you located? perhaps you could find someone who is willing to take your bettas rather than you having to "dispose" of them

as others have suggested i also do strongly recomend a 1-3 gallon bowl.

a 10gal is knowen to be too big for a betta and might tire it out because of its heavey fins.im not sure if thats true but thats what i read here and heard.

it wont be to expensive either

maybe you could go to your local walmart of some store similar(where ever you might live) and get a 1-3gal container. and putsome gravel fromyour big tank into the container and put the betta in and all will be happy. the same could be done with the female bettas if theyre also aggresive.and if you dont want to do that simpily give them back to your fish shop

and dont worry,in a couple weeks the fins will grow back on your guupys
HTH
DD

all fair and well but as we are advising a newbie do you really expect them to go out and spend 10Gallon money that soon after buying their first tank.....


hence the bowl suggestion, better than a stab to the head which was the original plan of the thread starter.


stop bickering people

I agree with everything said; the fish absolutely need to be separated. I've found that even the females can be very agressive to brightly colored/decorative fish, though it sounds like you "got rid" of her.... not very responsible pet ownership.

I would reccomend that in the future, you do more research on the species of your choice before purchasing a fish. Many people seem to think that because they are inexpensive and many are short lived, they don't matter as much as "normal" pets. However, just like a dog or a cat, a fish can suffer when being kept in poor conditions, and in order to have healthy, happy fish, plenty of research on the species' needs should be done prior to purchase to ensure that things of this nature won't happen again.

Not to start the tank/bowl debate back up again, but my take on bettas is this: while they will initially fear a larger tank, more space provides more room for plants and acessories that will make your fish feel secure and provide an enriching environment. Larger tanks tend to have a more stable temperature, and the water does not foul as quickly. It is easier to medicate in 10 gallon tanks, or even 5's if you don't have much space. Furthermore, tanks of these size are more likely to come with essentials for a healthy environment like mild filters, lights, and even heaters. (Many bettas can't handle strong filters, however. I always let mine get used to the bigger space and grow stronger without a filter, then add it keeping the water level high. They've all done just fine.)

Regardless of what you put your bettas in now, make sure that you have control of the water temperature in your new bowl or tanks. Temperature's of 70-80 (edited: sorry for the error on my part)with the 70's being ideal is the best temperature for these guys, though they can survive in lower. Small bowls, especially without hoods or lights, can lose temperature very rapidly. Cold bettas have lower immunity, are more prone to skin problems, and will not eat as much. My mom's betta in a bowl lived only a few months, but those I've had in tanks have lived several years.

Now, I'm not clear on if you have two males, or a male and a female, or what right now, but remember: Two males MUST NOT be housed together, especially in a small tank, and a female and male should not be housed together either as they will stress one another out. So, be sure the number of tanks or bowls you get is appropriate for the number of bettas you now have. And you might want to give your guppies some stress coat and even an antibiotic to help those tattered fins heal.

Finally, I feel the need to scold and remind you that fish are living things, capable of fear and pain, and while they may not be as clever as a cat or dog, it is completely unacceptable to kill or discard of them because of a problem caused by your own ignorance. Fish are not a decoration or a toy; they are animals, and should be treated appropriately. As a pet owner, it is your responsibility to care for the for the entire duration of their life, even if they don't work out as you planned.

I hope everyone's comments have helped you and all of the fish are doing well. Good luck with your bettas and guppies, and feel free to ask people here for advice with any other problems ^^

Hahaha.. hey welcome to the forum rw I'm so glad you can explain things better than me.. specially on the betta subject.

maybe you should take a visit to the Betta forum and see what they say.....

DD

Hi everyone

Gosh I didn't realise that I had so many replies as I only saw the 2 dashes against my post so thought no-one had replied. First time I've used a Forum like this so am still learning.

Lots of different opinions from everyone (bit of bickering going on too I see!). Please no more - I'm a pacifist.

Apparently we were told by our lfs that it would be fine to include the Fighters in the tank with our existing fish?! It seems from various comments that the've been less than honest.

As far as getting another tank, that's out of the question. We are bursting at the seams here space wise. Also, although I know next to nothing about fish, I don't like the idea of any fish swimming around on it's lonesome.

I live in Chiswick, West London - anyone want a female and male Siamese Fighter?

Apart from that I'll just monitor the little monsters, as I don't think the lfs would take them back.

Saw one of my guppies attack another yesterday - is this learned behaviour or what?!

P.lady

Hehehe, I don't think you realised what your post would start piceslady, entertaining reading though

Hi pisceslady, Have just sent you a PM as I'm just down the road in Twickenham and can house you pair of S/fighters if they are still looking for a home!

Kind Regards
Lawrence

Hi

I have had an offer from someone from the forum to take the fighters - seems like this saga may have a happy ending! I shall endeavour to do my research (and don't believe everything my lfs tells me) and replace them with something more suitable. In the meantime I shall let the guppies tails grow back to their original full glory.

Pisceslady