# my betta BIT me



## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

well this was a shock. all of my other fish are really nice, except for this one named nadja. she's a basic veil tail walmart rescue, kinda pretty, but nothing special. i was feeding the other day and she made this incredible leap like 4" into the air to try and nab some food (she has done less high leaps before and once ended up in the shotglass full of bloodworms). so i put some food close to the waterline and she came up and nipped at my finger. well it didn't hurt, just startled the hell out of me... so i grabbed the camera and waited for her to do it again

and she started thinking about it...









and then she did it again!









and what was weird was there was a little peice of skin sorta sliced partially off. she actually was trying to eat my finger, the little bitch!


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## psychofish (Jun 5, 2004)

Send it my way, I need some piranha food.


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

she just wanted your dirty ass finger nail out of the water


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

:rasp: serves you right


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## lemmywinks (Jan 25, 2004)

all my fish bite me


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## syd (Nov 6, 2004)

yea im sure it was so serious you had to get stitches, right


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## Gordeez (Sep 21, 2003)

You Got Bit


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

syd said:


> yea im sure it was so serious you had to get stitches, right


 dude, the fact she's a betta and managed to do ANYTHING is kinda impressive.


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## WolfFish (Jun 30, 2004)

thats a badass betta, mine would jump for food, but never at me.


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## LunaSick (Nov 18, 2003)

maybe they thought ur fingers were hotdogs


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

tinker u are just so sweet and the betta just wanted some sugar


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## syd (Nov 6, 2004)

Tinkerbelle said:


> dude, the fact she's a betta and managed to do ANYTHING is kinda impressive.


ah yea i see your point i didnt see it in tha perspective


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## Serygo (May 17, 2004)




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## JAC (Jan 19, 2004)

betta as in those purple fish that people keep in tiny bowls or is it something diferent?


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

JAC said:


> betta as in those purple fish that people keep in tiny bowls or is it something diferent?


 yes lots of idiots keep them in tiny bowls and they tend to die really fast.

just because they can survive in them doesn't mean they like it. a human could live in a 6'x6' box, but they'd be miserable.

they come in TONS of colors, blue, red, purple, green, white, opalescent, you name it. patterns too.


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## Gordeez (Sep 21, 2003)

Tinkerbelle said:


> just because they can survive in them doesn't mean they like it. a human could live in a 6'x6' box, but they'd be miserable.


 It Called Jail Sweet Heart!

BTW, Nice Avatar


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

Gordeez said:


> Tinkerbelle said:
> 
> 
> > just because they can survive in them doesn't mean they like it. a human could live in a 6'x6' box, but they'd be miserable.
> ...


last time i checked not a lot of people enjoy jail









BTW thanks.


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## syd (Nov 6, 2004)

i had a few betta fights in my day. you can actually fight them without having them die they just need time for resting and healing.


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

syd said:


> i had a few betta fights in my day. you can actually fight them without having them die they just need time for resting and healing.










dam u just opened a can of whoop ass


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## syd (Nov 6, 2004)

lol what do you mean.


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

syd said:


> lol what do you mean.










just wait for tinker to get back online


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

syd said:


> i had a few betta fights in my day. you can actually fight them without having them die they just need time for resting and healing.


question, would you ever put two p's (serras, not pygos) together just for the joy of seeing who wins? you can prolly do it with them not to the death too, but no one is cruel enough (usually) to do it on purpose.

bettas were not MADE to fight, like some dogs were selectively bred to. they are inherintly this way and it is a survival trait in nature. it is EXTREMELY WRONG to take advantage of a survival skill for personal pleasure.

dumbass.


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

what did i tell you


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## syd (Nov 6, 2004)

so what your saying is its ok to fight dogs, which are the only real pet humans have? they are intelligent beings that definitely have complex nervous systems and are loyal pets. what difference does it make whether i fight bettas or feed them to other fish. whats the difference b/w a betta and feeder goldfish. they are both domesticated.


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

do they fight so vicious cause of a territorial trait??

or would it be more for mating, like there can be only one dominate male around sort of thing??

edit let me put a little better

selective breeding, the stronger genes get to breed only thing


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## syd (Nov 6, 2004)

for some reason male bettas even kill the females. bettas suck you cant keep them with fish that are 2 peacful b/c they bite them or fish that are semi-agressive b/c they shred their fins. platys will kill the sh*t out of bettas rofl. they are better off ina 5 gallon set up with like 6 white clouds or by themselves maybe corys


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

syd said:


> so what your saying is its ok to fight dogs, which are the only real pet humans have? they are intelligent beings that definitely have complex nervous systems and are loyal pets. what difference does it make whether i fight bettas or feed them to other fish. whats the difference b/w a betta and feeder goldfish. they are both domesticated.


 i have no problem if you feed them to other fish. they serve a purpose that way. and i am in NO WAY condoning fighting dogs. i consider this barbaric and attrocious too. people who fight ANY animal with the sole purpose of harming their own, or someone elses animal should be shot.

my point is that while some people breed dogs specificially for a fighting ring- WHICH IS WRONG.... their attributes can be singled out by selective breeding for a purpose that defies their primary function. bettas, as well as p's have inherent specie specific traits that should be respected as their evolutionary right to be solitary animals, not paraded and exploited as 'mean fighting fish'


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## syd (Nov 6, 2004)

since you are so "knowlegdable" what if i told you that male bettas (yes betta splendens) can be kept with other males in a decent sized tank after dominance is established they stake out territorys and keep to themselves.


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

syd said:


> for some reason male bettas even kill the females. bettas suck you cant keep them with fish that are 2 peacful b/c they bite them or fish that are semi-agressive b/c they shred their fins. platys will kill the sh*t out of bettas rofl. they are better off ina 5 gallon set up with like 6 white clouds or by themselves maybe corys


 males kill females if they are not mating with them. simply put, females have one purpose in betta culture. produce eggs.

the males fertilize, care for, and hatch the eggs.

of course there are exceptions where people will argue they kept a male with a female for X time, but quite probably at some point the male will turn around and trash the female- OR VICE VERSA. same can be said of p's. eventually, one will snap.


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

syd said:


> since you are so "knowlegdable" what if i told you that male bettas (yes betta splendens) can be kept with other males in a decent sized tank after dominance is established they stake out territorys and keep to themselves.


 what sized tank? and no. not true. well... it can be done but you WILL walk in one day to one dead or trashed the hell out of. and it really can only be done with spawn siblings that have grown up together. you CANNOT PLACE TWO GROWN MALES IN ONE TANK AND EXPECT BOTH TO LIVE.


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

syd said:


> since you are so "knowlegdable" what if i told you that male bettas (yes betta splendens) can be kept with other males in a decent sized tank after dominance is established they stake out territorys and keep to themselves.


 actually they did a test and placd 2 males in a pond (one on each side in the pond)
and without a hesitation they swam right for eachother and fought


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

mr.freez said:


> do they fight so vicious cause of a territorial trait??
> 
> or would it be more for mating, like there can be only one dominate male around sort of thing??
> 
> ...


territorial trait. they will not tolerate other males around even when not breeding.

also, they do not like other fish with big flashy fins. fancy guppies + betta = dead guppies


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## syd (Nov 6, 2004)

are you recyling from what you have heard or what you have personally witnessed. 4 bettas in a 55 community gallon tank with decorations. they wont touch each other after the fighting is done except for minor squabbles (like any fish do even tetras)


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

Tinkerbelle said:


> also, they do not like other fish with big flashy fins. fancy guppies + betta = dead guppies










that pretty odd right there


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

syd said:


> are you recyling from what you have heard or what you have personally witnessed. 4 bettas in a 55 community gallon tank with decorations. they wont touch each other after the fighting is done except for minor squabbles (like any fish do even tetras)


 personally witnessed. i know one of the top IBC breeders on the east coast. he has several tanks that have 4 month old males from the same spawn in them which he explained to me is the ONLY WAY to keep males together without too much eventual conflict... he had two culls from separate tanks that he was planning to feed to his oscar anyhow to demonstrate. put them on opposite ends of his 125gallon planted tank and instantly they were off like rockets for each other.

minor squabbles will eventually escalate.... 55 is probably not enough to deal with their machismo agressiveness. good luck with it is all i can say.


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## syd (Nov 6, 2004)

no it can be done and that little "they put 2 bettas at opposite ends of a pond
' (some people even say lake ROFL) is BS. the only reason they fight liek that in bowls is because after the fight they are confined in little areas and one betta would normally retreat but its forced to stay in close proximity with the winner so the winner is still attacking it so it leaves but it cant leave. cichlids are more viscious then bettas lol.


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

males aren't the only agressive sex in bettas btw, these are FEMALE inflicted hurts while in spawning tanks:


















oh... one more....
before:








after:


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

syd said:


> no it can be done and that little "they put 2 bettas at opposite ends of a pond
> ' (some people even say lake ROFL) is BS. the only reason they fight liek that in bowls is because after the fight they are confined in little areas and one betta would normally retreat but its forced to stay in close proximity with the winner so the winner is still attacking it so it leaves but it cant leave. cichlids are more viscious then bettas lol.


oohhhhhh you're sooooo smart. thats of course why bettas in a divided tank will jump the dividers right? so that they can jump back over when they're ready to retreat?

it was a pond. and yes they made straight for each other. there is a reason they only live one or MAYBE two (rarely) to a rice paddy (which is NOT very small by the way). some betta varieties even live in slow moving streams.

so anyhow... the pond... its this fun little thing called PHEROMONES. i guess yours just don't have any.


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## Chouin (Jun 8, 2003)

It's special when I fish bite you, the other day one of my convict bite my finger because he was guarding a piece of cocomber.
By the way, nice betta 
Chouin


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## syd (Nov 6, 2004)

why do you have to insult me is it because you have low self esteem and cant bring up any valid points or is it because im "invading your territory"

try being a little more mature "stupid". and like i said a community tank with decorations and its a good size tank (55 gallon). lets try to actually read what i type next time. thanx in advance


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Play nice.

And don't make me spout opinions, I could argue both sides on this one.

Getting down to information (the purpose of this site) and just plain arguing are VERY different things...


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

All right, held out for about two seconds. Here are my thoughts...

Selection for fighting; only applicable if fighting doesn't hurt survival (excessive fighting is not good for a species). Think about the "shows" that these guys and cichlids put on. It's done to prevent a fight.... that's right PREVENT a fight. Ever pick a fight with a big guy and he stands up and you're like "oh snap" and leave? Well, me neither, but that happens ALL of the time with fish.... Think evolution and spend some time in the scientific discussion.

I don't buy the pheromone aspects with males, sure there's senses of smell but fights, again, are limited to situations where a DEFENDABLE resource is threatened by a CONSPECIFIC. If a large enough area is involved the resource will be large enough for multiple parcels. Also note how few WILD (natural acting) bettas we're talking about. Artificial selection affects brains too. Wild bettas may not recognize guppies as other bettas, not to mention that guppies naturally occur in the opposite hemisphere of the planet.

What'd I leave out?.... I dunno, but hopefully I'm helping...


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

b. imbellis - the most commonly considered 'wild' betta (also known as peaceful betta because it can sometimes be housed together) has been known to attack guppies too...

self esteem problem? no. thanks. i am quite aware how big a 55 is. and yes, heavily planted with lots of places for them to hide is a good idea. i have a community tank of females (lots of minor scraps with minimal fin rips and nips).

try reading what *I* type next time. i've seen agression in a 125... I have also seen siblings as old as 4-5 months living somewhat happily in the 30 they were spawned in... but not for life. mind you these were NOT show fish. those get yanked at 8 weeks or earlier to keep their finnage intact.

the reason i bring up pheromones is because it is a very strong belief within the betta breeders that they play up a big part. you can put a male and female side by side and yes, she will 'egg up' to an extent. put her in the same tank with slots that allow water to pass between the divider and you will get much stronger mating behavior and heavier egging.

everyone has exceptions. some people have been able to keep certain serras together despite the fact the are solitary fish. they just have to accept the fact that at some point one may kill the other. same with communal male bettas.... hell, i have a female low in the pecking order i'm bracing myself incase she gets killed.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

No doubt on the male/female pheromones, probably male/male ones too (in a pond, mostly visual cues I'd think). Poor guppies get picked on by everyone, I even have a hapless goldfish that attacks them.







I guess that's why they're guppies!


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

acestro said:


> No doubt on the male/female pheromones, probably male/male ones too (in a pond, mostly visual cues I'd think). Poor guppies get picked on by everyone, I even have a hapless goldfish that attacks them.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 awww. i wish i could get some fancy guppies- i've seen some gorgeous varieties... but where would i put them?! my males would kill them instantly, my girls would kick their butts! i bet the 4 g. compartment behind my male barracks would be too strong of a current for them (currently houses 3 juvi c. paleatus anyhow). and i've been forbidden any more tanks by my mom and the RA's in my dorm.


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## Gordeez (Sep 21, 2003)

acestro said:


> I even have a hapless goldfish that attacks them.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

It's an oranda or whatever goldfish, can't even swim well!

I've had guppies with bettas lots of times, usually with large aquaria and too many guppies for the betta to pick out any one fish.


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

acestro said:


> It's an oranda or whatever goldfish, can't even swim well!
> 
> I've had guppies with bettas lots of times, usually with large aquaria and too many guppies for the betta to pick out any one fish.


 an oranda?! aren't those the ones with the giant growths off th front of their head??? thats just sad.

i currently have one female in solitary within the tank for the night so my other 3 can sleep peacefully for once. the one is all beat to hell, scars and stuff on her body. i'm pissed. definately gonna upgrade for christmas.


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## psychofish (Jun 5, 2004)

Oh yeah well,


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## mr.bearhasyourlady (Jun 1, 2004)

i just wanted to say HOOOWW YOOOUUU DOOINNNGGG Tinkerbelle?haha ok hello....cool betta's.that fish that gave you a lil bite is a keeper...thats freaking cool!


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

well guess who was in 'solitary' last night... yeah, nadja strikes again. she beat the crap out of her tankmate magda. so maggie spent the night in a small tank with melafix, and nadi is in the betta breeder trap.

and she is NOT happy.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

That solitary setup is perfect, what is that thing?

Very original with the "bettas as food" reference psychofish, btw.

oops, dropped this...


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## syd (Nov 6, 2004)

lmao now thats fuckin funny


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

acestro said:


> That solitary setup is perfect, what is that thing?
> 
> Very original with the "bettas as food" reference psychofish, btw.
> 
> oops, dropped this...


plastic needlepoint mesh secured with plastic zipties. i love that stuff to use as dividers for smaller fish...

anyhow, taking all the bettas and corys home for the week (thanksgiving) so i don't feel so bad about solitary-ing her. everyone lives in gallon mason jars while visiting the folks.

edit: except for the cories, they live in a 5 gallon tank i keep at home just for them


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

syd said:


> lmao now thats fuckin funny


 Thank you, thank you very much

Seemed only fair









Good info Tinkerbelle. Good luck with all of the violent femmes...


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

acestro said:


> Good info Tinkerbelle. Good luck with all of the violent femmes...


 lol great name for them... thanks. i'll need it for when i reintroduce them.... i get to use 3 of those nifty little traps and release them in dominance order.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

oops, what happened to my avatar :laugh:

I'll just keep that for a little while. Power to non-p's !!!

How much effect on aggression does cover have with your fish Tink?


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

you mean like ornamentation and planting?

the minimum for a communal female tank i've heard is 1/3 heavily planted... and i'm finding its a pretty good rule. i'd like even heavier planting if i could do it again- and when i upgrade to a 20 or so over christmas i'll be buying LOTS more plants and caves and swimthroughs. the more cover I put in there the easier it is for the 3 lesser dominants to get away from nadja (the queen bee as it is). i think if i had them in a bare tank i'd have one or more dead fish by now.

with the males i have relatively opaque dividers (2 layers of black needlepoint mesh with a thin layer of semi-opaque superfine plastic mesh sandwitched in the middle) so I really don't have to worry about them. sometimes you can get away with 1 or 2 layers as long as there is super-heavy planting infront of it that obstructs their view.

by the way, this is my females tank right now (now meaning a week or two ago):


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Yeah that's what I wondered, how much does planting affect the number of fish you can put together.


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

ohhhh. okay. well, i like to stick to the 1" per gallon. ESPECIALLY with female bettas. 4-5 MAX in a 10 gallon.

i'm getting tempted to trade in nadja this week while i'm home... it'd be SO easy to take her to magda/eva/zsazsa's breeder and toss her in the oscar tank without a second thought.


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

Tinkerbelle said:


> ohhhh. okay. well, i like to stick to the 1" per gallon. ESPECIALLY with female bettas. 4-5 MAX in a 10 gallon.
> 
> i'm getting tempted to trade in nadja this week while i'm home... it'd be SO easy to take her to magda/eva/zsazsa's breeder and toss her in the oscar tank without a second thought.


 if you get rid of the queen, would the others fight to establish a new queen and youd have

another mean queen on your hands


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Not a bad point Freez, I've seen that with african cichlids before...


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## syd (Nov 6, 2004)

i was on this site a few years ago and this guy was attempting to breed betta(splendens) with the paradise gouarmy. i don't know if it ever worked though


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

mr.freez said:


> Tinkerbelle said:
> 
> 
> > ohhhh. okay. well, i like to stick to the 1" per gallon. ESPECIALLY with female bettas. 4-5 MAX in a 10 gallon.
> ...


 the other three are siblings and have an established heirarchy. they've never been out of sight of one another..... while nadja is a walmart reject :laugh:

problem is the other three are very VERY well bred and rather delicate (as is their brother/potential mate)... look at the lovely scar magda is sporting (to the front edge of her dorsal):


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

syd said:


> i was on this site a few years ago and this guy was attempting to breed betta(splendens) with the paradise gouarmy. i don't know if it ever worked though


hmm would that even work??? sounds a bit fishy to me (no pun intended). only thing i've heard able to cross breed with b. splendens is b. imbellis, b. malachai, b. bellica, b. smaragdina, and not sure of this one but b. pugnax


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## psychofish (Jun 5, 2004)

acestro said:


> That solitary setup is perfect, what is that thing?
> 
> Very original with the "bettas as food" reference psychofish, btw.
> 
> oops, dropped this...










You win this round

















Nice pic, now I gotta find something better.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

psychofish21 said:


> acestro said:
> 
> 
> > That solitary setup is perfect, what is that thing?
> ...





















I doubt paradise fish and bettas would cross, but you never know...


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