Hey everyone,
A few weeks ago I went out and purchased a 5g starter aquarium kit. I set it up with some live plants, sand and a few decorations and added in a betta fish. I was told by my local fish store that I could add in a bottom feeder after a few days so I purchased a small cori catfish. The betta paid no attention to him and they seemed to be perfectly happy healthy and eating. About a week later I went back to the fish store and came across a really nice rosy barb, the salesperson told me that it would be a risk buying it since it may nip at the betta's tail. I ended up buying the fish and added him to the aquarium and heres where my problems start. My betta has been bullying the barb a lot, constantly chasing it and trying to nip at it. Luckily the barbs a lot faster than my betta is. Im worried that the stress from constantly being chased would kill the barb so i removed my betta and placed it back into its fishbowl for now. Upon removing the betta i noticed that up in the corner of the tank is a large pile of bubbles. I'm assuming this is a bubble nest made by my male betta correct?
What should I do? Is my male betta ready to mate and could this be causing him to be aggressive towards the barb? If so, will they always be like this or will the betta settle down eventually?
Advice would be much appreciated, i'm not sure if i should return the rosy barb and put the betta back into his tank...
Thanks in advance!
Edit: Oh, forgot to add that recently the bettas food was changed from pellets to flakes. Not sure if this could be a factor in the fact that his belly is very swollen and bloated. I'm very confused! lol
A few weeks ago I went out and purchased a 5g starter aquarium kit. I set it up with some live plants, sand and a few decorations and added in a betta fish. I was told by my local fish store that I could add in a bottom feeder after a few days so I purchased a small cori catfish. The betta paid no attention to him and they seemed to be perfectly happy healthy and eating. About a week later I went back to the fish store and came across a really nice rosy barb, the salesperson told me that it would be a risk buying it since it may nip at the betta's tail. I ended up buying the fish and added him to the aquarium and heres where my problems start. My betta has been bullying the barb a lot, constantly chasing it and trying to nip at it. Luckily the barbs a lot faster than my betta is. Im worried that the stress from constantly being chased would kill the barb so i removed my betta and placed it back into its fishbowl for now. Upon removing the betta i noticed that up in the corner of the tank is a large pile of bubbles. I'm assuming this is a bubble nest made by my male betta correct?
What should I do? Is my male betta ready to mate and could this be causing him to be aggressive towards the barb? If so, will they always be like this or will the betta settle down eventually?
Advice would be much appreciated, i'm not sure if i should return the rosy barb and put the betta back into his tank...
Thanks in advance!
Edit: Oh, forgot to add that recently the bettas food was changed from pellets to flakes. Not sure if this could be a factor in the fact that his belly is very swollen and bloated. I'm very confused! lol