Some advice please.

[sandrac8388]

Hi guys,

I have an elephant ear delta tail (I think) betta. He was in his 2 gallon critter keeper for a while until I got his new 7.5 gallon tank ready. Ever since i've put him in he has been tail biting :( I'm sure he is stressed or bored. He has two other bettas living next to him on each side which he had when he was in the 2 gallon so I'm sure he is used to that. Water temp is 78F and he does have a low output filter. Everything else is normal to me. Should I maybe add some stress coat in there? Or maybe get him some friends to keep him company, if so which fish can live peacefully with him? He is very tolerant betta and pretty peaceful compared to my others. I want to put at least 3 other fish in there maybe? 2 ghost shrimp and a nerite snail. Let me know what you think/recommend! Thanks!!

[Bombalurina]

It could be that he is not yet used to all the space. :) Try really packing it densely with plants and decorations to take up the space and give him lots of hiding spaces. Knowing that he has lots of place to hide will give him confidence. :)

Unfortunately, most of the fish that are small enough for a small tank need long footprints and/or big schools. The only thing I would suggest would be a trio of male Endler's Livebearers (they are peaceful and not nippy), but it depends on your water parameters (hardness, pH etc). Once we know those we'll know what else you can add. :) If you don't have a testing kit, your local water authority should have the information.