Male Betta Brutalized

[Zawiha]

I have one Red Veil-tail Male,
And three females.

Untill recently they have been perfectly fine.
The males been that happy hes been trying to nest.
All has been well, untill today.
I came down to find the males caudal fin to be shredded.
He's became terrifed of all 3 females,
Darting when ever they come close.
I've taken a look at the females and
I cant see any males there.

I'm sure i've heard from someone,
That females can be quite bitchy at times
but i never expected this.

Ive recently removed the male into a safe tank,
so he can recover.

Any suggestions

 

[Corleone]

Basically, you've already done what you can. Despite what some books say, it's really not a good idea keeping a male together with females. It might not explode instantly like two males will, but it's a volatile situation.

 

[tangokitty]

I would not put him back with the females after he is recovered. Give him his own tank and leave the girls by them selves.

 

[HODDY]

i have successfuly kept males n females together, but that was when i had no rreal experiece with them. i found out in the end i actualy had 2 males and 1 female! it amazes me how there was never any fighting. especially when they was in a 2ft tank! lol

But now i would never think about putting males and females together. Ive had females kill males in the breeding tanks before now.

Thanks,Ben.

 

[Frollickyfish]

You should never keep males with females. Females are best kept in groups of at least 5 depending on the size of the tank as it spreads the aggression out and they are less likely to fight each other.

 

[Kudoo]

female fighters can definitely be bitchy - I have a male in a tank with 4 females but it is a fairly large tank but it's still a risk. This is not just limited to fighters though - any fish to some extent will tend to pick out on the weaker or injured fish and bully them - it's natures way unfortunately. Male fighters particularly prone to this as a result of their finnage.

You've done the right thing though by isolating him. Sounds like you have an ill fish or old fish though I suspect.