Lethargic Female

[krista522]

My female betta, Ellie, has been chased by another female today (first time I have seen any fight) and I removed the female who was causing it and put her in a bag and she's on the side of the tank so Ellie can rest. She's laying on the bottom underneath the bridge in the tank. I only saw her eat scraps from the other females this morning but this is the first time I have seen her lying down for any long period of time. What could be wrong? She has vertical stripes that often appear and I was wondering if that could be stress? The temp is fine.

 

[BethK]

Sounds like stress stripes, possibly from the bullying. Is she with other fish and are they pestering her?

Do you have a breeding net/trap you could put her in?

 

[krista522]

Sounds like stress stripes, possibly from the bullying. Is she with other fish and are they pestering her?

Do you have a breeding net/trap you could put her in?

She is housed with three other female betta's who have been together for about 2 weeks now and this is the first time I have seen any of them pick on her.
I have put the one going after her in a bag floating on the side of the tank. Should I put the one being bullied in the bag instead?

 

[silverrabbit]

I think you should invest in a breeding net/trap instead of a bag as it will let the water circulate instead of a bag, where the small volume of water will become high in ammonia quite quickly, which won't be good for the fishy.

I think you'd be better of having the stressed/bullied betta in the net/trap, as it will be easier for her to reach the surface and she'll be safe, as the others might pick on her.

Hope she gets better!

 

[krista522]

I think you should invest in a breeding net/trap instead of a bag as it will let the water circulate instead of a bag, where the small volume of water will become high in ammonia quite quickly, which won't be good for the fishy.

I think you'd be better of having the stressed/bullied betta in the net/trap, as it will be easier for her to reach the surface and she'll be safe, as the others might pick on her.

Hope she gets better!

The bully female is now out and the lethargic one seems fine for now but of course the light is off so they are all resting now. I will see how tomorrow's interactions are and go from there. I was so happy that they were getting along so well. I hope this is just a speed bump! Thanks for all the advice and I will post back with an update if theres anything new.

 

[silverrabbit]

Hope it settles down soon

 

[Assaye]

Vertical stripes are breeding stipes. Stripes along the length of the body are stress stripes.

If it is breeding stripes, it could be that one of your 'females' is actually a plakat or juvenile male.

If everything is calm again, that's great. I second what the others said - you should invest in a large breeding trap and ideally a small 5 gallon back-up tank and a small filter and heater. You don't need to break the bank - ebay is your friend - and it will give you somewhere to put a bullied or bullying fish if it gets bad again. Breeding traps are useful but only temporary homes. Breeding traps are much safer and better for the fish than a bag can be.

Good luck!

 

[krista522]

Vertical stripes are breeding stipes. Stripes along the length of the body are stress stripes.

If it is breeding stripes, it could be that one of your 'females' is actually a plakat or juvenile male.

If everything is calm again, that's great. I second what the others said - you should invest in a large breeding trap and ideally a small 5 gallon back-up tank and a small filter and heater. You don't need to break the bank - ebay is your friend - and it will give you somewhere to put a bullied or bullying fish if it gets bad again. Breeding traps are useful but only temporary homes. Breeding traps are much safer and better for the fish than a bag can be.

Good luck!

I spent the night at my boyfriends last night, I come back this morning, and Ellie had passed away I have two 7 gal. tanks, one has my male, the other had the four females. I will be dividing both tanks in half for the fish.

 

[BethK]

Awww I'm sorry xx

 

[krista522]

Awww I'm sorry xx

I let them beat my fish up to death, and now they all have to live in half of a tank. I should have never gotten the new three females, I should have divided my tank for the one male and one female. I feel terrible

 

[BethK]

Don't feel bad hun xxxxxhugsxxxxxx you were unaware that one of them was female, not our thought.

 

[Assaye]

Vertical stripes are breeding stipes. Stripes along the length of the body are stress stripes.

If it is breeding stripes, it could be that one of your 'females' is actually a plakat or juvenile male.

If everything is calm again, that's great. I second what the others said - you should invest in a large breeding trap and ideally a small 5 gallon back-up tank and a small filter and heater. You don't need to break the bank - ebay is your friend - and it will give you somewhere to put a bullied or bullying fish if it gets bad again. Breeding traps are useful but only temporary homes. Breeding traps are much safer and better for the fish than a bag can be.

Good luck!

I spent the night at my boyfriends last night, I come back this morning, and Ellie had passed away I have two 7 gal. tanks, one has my male, the other had the four females. I will be dividing both tanks in half for the fish.

I'm really sorry to hear that =(

Keeping females together is risky and I would advise keeping them alone unless you can get a 10 gallon + tank with 5 + females. Sorry that you've had a bad experience with them, hopefully you'll have better luck in the future!

 

[krista522]

Vertical stripes are breeding stipes. Stripes along the length of the body are stress stripes.

If it is breeding stripes, it could be that one of your 'females' is actually a plakat or juvenile male.

If everything is calm again, that's great. I second what the others said - you should invest in a large breeding trap and ideally a small 5 gallon back-up tank and a small filter and heater. You don't need to break the bank - ebay is your friend - and it will give you somewhere to put a bullied or bullying fish if it gets bad again. Breeding traps are useful but only temporary homes. Breeding traps are much safer and better for the fish than a bag can be.

Good luck!

I spent the night at my boyfriends last night, I come back this morning, and Ellie had passed away I have two 7 gal. tanks, one has my male, the other had the four females. I will be dividing both tanks in half for the fish.

I'm really sorry to hear that =(

Keeping females together is risky and I would advise keeping them alone unless you can get a 10 gallon + tank with 5 + females. Sorry that you've had a bad experience with them, hopefully you'll have better luck in the future!

That night i made dividers of my 7 gallon and 5 gallon for my one betta and three females. They are all happy in their own little spaces. If anyone wants pictures of my homemade dividers id be happy to post some.

 

[Assaye]

Vertical stripes are breeding stipes. Stripes along the length of the body are stress stripes.

If it is breeding stripes, it could be that one of your 'females' is actually a plakat or juvenile male.

If everything is calm again, that's great. I second what the others said - you should invest in a large breeding trap and ideally a small 5 gallon back-up tank and a small filter and heater. You don't need to break the bank - ebay is your friend - and it will give you somewhere to put a bullied or bullying fish if it gets bad again. Breeding traps are useful but only temporary homes. Breeding traps are much safer and better for the fish than a bag can be.

Good luck!

I spent the night at my boyfriends last night, I come back this morning, and Ellie had passed away I have two 7 gal. tanks, one has my male, the other had the four females. I will be dividing both tanks in half for the fish.

I'm really sorry to hear that =(

Keeping females together is risky and I would advise keeping them alone unless you can get a 10 gallon + tank with 5 + females. Sorry that you've had a bad experience with them, hopefully you'll have better luck in the future!

That night i made dividers of my 7 gallon and 5 gallon for my one betta and three females. They are all happy in their own little spaces. If anyone wants pictures of my homemade dividers id be happy to post some.

I'd be interested in seeing them =) I've made all my own dividers and I'm always looking for ways to improve them

 

[krista522]

the rim is wood, the screen is a hard cloth material, and the staples are aluminum so no rust will occur, and their held in by the pressure.