i'm afraid that my betta's gonna kill my new fish.

[Shortie55505]

i went to petsmart and bought a new fish to go in my 10gal freshwater tank. i have live plants, heater, sponge filter, gravel and a cave, oh and one betta named blue. The fish i got was supost to be a good tank buddie for my betta, but she shoots around alot and blue seems to stalk her. i don't want blue to hurt the other fish. is that normal for blue to follow the other fish around or is her trying to hurt her?

[Meatpuppet]

ok it would be great if we know what kind of fish it is. bettas dont like fish with big wavy fins

do you have plants, decorations, hidingplaces, etc. in the tank for some protection for your fish?

[okiemavis]

What sort of fish is this new tank mate? Bettas personalities vary quite a bit, some of them are fine with other fish, whereas others will attack everything. If you think this fish is in danger then you are probably correct. Plus, I've found most Petsmart employees know absolutely nothing. It's best to research fish on your own, rather than take their advice.

[JMeenen]

That's my question too...what kind of fish is the new one?

[Shortie55505]

i'm not sure of the name it's a sucker fish. it's 2in silver and it has very small fins, but it's really fast. it's been a couple days since i put them in the tank together and they seem to be ok with eachother.

[okiemavis]

Uh oh, sounds like a Chinese algae eater, is this it?

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile47.html

[Shortie55505]

yea it is! is that bad?

[Shortie55505]

can some one answer that last question?

[1077]

It is doubtful that blue will be able to catch the algae eater. The particular algae eater they sold you does a fair job of eating algae while they are small. The problem is that many of them grow up to eight inches and become territorial as they mature. This may not be such a good tankmate for one or the other will always be tussling for control of the area he is at. Chinese algae eater could damage your betta. There are always exceptions to the rule but why risk it ?

[okiemavis]

I'd say 100% get rid of it. I have one and he has been a major problem. If I didn't have a tank that he could live all by himself in he would have killed many fish by now. Unfortunately, 1077 is right. They can be useful algae eaters when they are young, and are commonly sold. However, as soon as they start to grow up, they pretty much stop eating algae and start attacking other fish.

I had mine in a 6 foot tank when he was under 4 inches and he started to shred my full grown Bolivian Ram's fins. He was promptly moved out. But up until then he had been a model citizen and had just recently moved to the very large, heavily planted, understocked tank, which was just about the best community situation he could have been in. He was very cute, and had a lot of personality when he was younger, but he seems to have grown out of that :(

Even if the personality wasn't a problem, the size will be. I've seen them get past 10 inches.