Female Betta Bullied by new females

[emmeyjade]

Hi. I'm new here and have a problem with my female betta "Rain". I've had her for about 4 months now and she's a very beautiful girl. Long fins, rare for females. Well Saturday we were are Wal-Mart and my husband saw another female he liked and said lets get this one to add to my 10 gallon tank. I said ok, but I think I need at least 2 more to add with "Rain" so that they don't fight constantly. Well I picked out 2 females and took them home. I was worried about "Rain" beating them up since the 10 gallon tank was her home. So I released the fish about an hour after floating them in the tank in their little cups, and everything was fine. I watched them about 2 hours and they investigated and hid in the hidding rock and silk plants. "Rain" didn't bother them, so I thought good they're happy. Well I wake up Sunday morning and my poor "Rain" is shredded. Her beautiful long tail and fins shredded. She's also got wounds on her body. I took her out and put her into a 1 gallon jar with Melafix and aquarium salt. She's eating and swimming (slowly), but I'm worried about the wounds on her body and I noticed the rest of her tail is falling off, I can see pieces inside the tank on her silk plant. Other fish forums have told me I might want to try a mild atibiotic, but I don't know what. Please give me your advice and help. I love "Rain" very much and already had to put down my male last week so I don't want to loose another.

here's a pic of "Rain" before she was injured.

 

[Alien Anna]

Possibly the females mistook her for a male?

I personally wouldn't use antibiotics in such a situation - they can cause other side-effects. I think you need to help her heal by providing her with the best conditions. Her jar or tank needs to be cycled as she will not tolerate ammonia or nitrite in this condition. If you haven't got a cycled jar or tank, get some gravel and filter floss from a matured tank and put it in her jar. Get a sponge filter and put it in the jar (the filter floss should help seed the sponge with beneficial bacteria). Make sure she has a plant or cave or somewhere to hide.

Keep doing the Melafix and a little salt but test her water to make sure it is free from ammonia and nitrite.

Bettas can heal up remarkably - I have a male in one tank who's fins are well on the way to growing back and who's colour has gone from brownish blue to brilliant purple, in about 2 weeks.

 

[emmeyjade]

Thank you for your help. I've never done a cycle on a small tank, but I do use a filter in my 10 gallon tank. I will change her water to be sure there's no ammonia and nitrate. I do not have a sponge filter though and do not know how they work. I didn't think it was necessary to cycle a 1 gallon tank.

 

[sandyd]

I have to agree that bettas in good water conditions seem to recooperate very well. I have never used Melafix, but have heard good things about it. I use NovAqua to treat my water for my bettas, it is a water conditioner as well as adds a protective skin coating for them. It also adds electrolites to their water. I have never had a problem with it, and it has helped in my opinion to repair many of my bettas. I now have 5, 4 of which were rescues that looked like they had been in many fights. Very sad.
I would keep a close eye on her ammonia in her tank, as you may need to do more water changes until she starts to heal. If she has open wonds, the ammonia will affect her more. I personally would not cycle the tank with her in it until she starts to recover. I know that bettas are strong fish, but her body may still be in shock from the fight, and she will need lots of tlc to recover. Hope i have helped some. Good luck, I have never seen a female like her before, i would have mistaken her for a boy. LOL
Sandy

 

[emmeyjade]

Thanks. Yah, I began to think she was a male, but she has the white tube sticking out. I think the other females may of thought she was a male, and went into attack mode.

 

[Alien Anna]

Thank you for your help. I've never done a cycle on a small tank, but I do use a filter in my 10 gallon tank. I will change her water to be sure there's no ammonia and nitrate. I do not have a sponge filter though and do not know how they work. I didn't think it was necessary to cycle a 1 gallon tank.

Please read my article on cycling a tank - the link is in my sig. If you don't cycle a tank your fish will have to tolerate ammonia and nitrite. I don't think she's in a fit condition to survive cycling. Even if you do a 100% water change every day, that would still mean by the end of the day she'd be swimming in ammonia. Getting the tank cycled (preferably by seeding it with filter floss and gravel from your main tank) is the only real way to keep her happy.

Personally, I'd take a couple of handfuls of gravel from your main tank and sprinkle it (still wet) all over the gravel of her 1 gal tank. Then I'd extract some filter innards from your filter of your main tank and put that in her tank as well - with an air-stone to keep the bacteria happy, if you haven't got any kind of small tank filter. If you have live plants, rocks or anything else with bacteria growing on it in your main tank, I'd put that in as well. Finally, take the water from the main tank and put that in your 1 gal (it'll be like doing a 10% water change).

Sponge filters are just little filters that run off an air-pump - nothing sophisticated. Or you could use one of those tiny box-filters (filled with stuff from your 10 gal). If you use a sponge filter, remember you need to "seed" it with bacteria first, so leave it in your main tank for a couple of days. Some old floss and an air-stone would keep the bacteria happy until the new filter was ready.

In future, always keep a sponge filter or some filter floss in your main tank for emergencies.