Siamese Fighter Attacking Other Fish & Charging At Tank

[eaglesaquarium]

Bettas like to chill in cover - so, its likely it just felt vulnerable.  And the old "fight or flight" mentality kicked in.  Nowhere to run to, so it felt it had to fight.  Also, some bettas are more aggressive than others when it comes to other fish in the tank.

 

[kimbo182]

Hi all

Just a quick update - thought all was going well with the new plants and decorations, but have now noticed the tails of the guppies have a lot of damage so have decided to take Mr Fighter out of the tank and set him up on his own with the loach. All in all, I'm a little upset that the guppies now have damaged tails - I wish I had come here first rather than going on the recommendation of the store, I feel they have sold me this fish without being honest about the risks of mixing them with other fish.

To quote the shopkeeper "they will be fine with as many other fish as you want - just not other male bettas"

Shame

 

[eaglesaquarium]

A more correct statement is "They can be fine with many other fish, but not fish with flowing fins that they can mistake for another betta."  (Some bettas are more relaxed than others.)

 

[kimbo182]

I think the one I've got is descendant from jaws!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Well, bettas in the wild do coexist together - but there is a very specific pecking order, with an alpha fish, etc. like wolves.  They fight in an effort to determine who the alpha fish is.  Generally, they don't always kill each other in nature, but just retreat (although, undoubtedly some do get killed) but in a small tank, they can't retreat far enough away.
 
 
So, your betta may be a bit of a "alpha" male.

 

[This Old Spouse]

An alpha betta.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

  Didn't notice that.