fin nipper

[wides]

I bought my first male betta about a week ago, and bought 2 peppered cory's at the same time.

The betta has a habit of sneakig up on one of the cories and it looks like he has nipped its tail at least 3 times as the corners of his tail fin are missing.

Will the betta continue doing this or his he stamping his authority? It's strange because he doesnt bother the other cory at all.

They are only small cories (1 1/2") and dont appear to pose a threat to the betta.

Can anyone exlain why he is doing this and if he is likely to continue nipping away at the cory??

 

[bittersweet]

hi just want to say welcome to the forum
I cant tell you exactly why your betta is doing that, because I have 2 cories as well and my betta doesnt even acknowledge them, but all bettas are different. He could possibly be threatened by him (maybe he is larger then the other by a bit?). I would just keep a close watch on him and if he continues to go after the cory and hurts him worse I would suggest possibly taking that cory out and getting a smaller one to put in, or even moving the betta into a different tank. Unfortunatly bettas are very territorial and you never know what there personality will be to other fish. I'm sure someone else can suggest something better as well.

also how large is the tank that you keep them in? if its too small then this could be the reason why hes attacking him. I would suggest no smaller than a 10 gallon with 2 corys

 

[wides]

the tank is 20 gallons

i have another small tank (only 2.5 gallons). Could I use this for the betta? I dont want to move it but am not sure of my options.

btw I think the betta nips the cory when it hides under a piece of driftwood, If i put more hidey places in, would the betta occupy one and not keep sneaking up on the cory?

 

[HeatherSweetness]

Possibly. Or it will give the corys more places to hide from the betta. Either way,you can't go wrong. I'd try that.

 

[jams.alaskan]

Yeah, I'd try that too.
I'm surprized he even notices them.

ALASKA