At What Age Do Fry Start To Become Aggressive?

[Mohan85]

I know it's probably different with each spawn. but in general... at how many weeks do they start becoming aggressive? when are they usually taken out to be seperated?

[MrVampire181]

at around 7 to 8 weeks bit these are usually play fights like puppies have. around 12 weeks they get a little more serious. you'll be able to tell the difference.

[indjo]

I agree with Mr V. ..... in general. But mine often get serious at 9 - 10 weeks. The more docile batch could stay together until 4 months or so.

Usually it depends on how often you disturb them or how often do they go through environment changes (adding or reducing plants, pumps etc). The more disturbance after they are 2cm, the sooner they become aggressive.

[MrVampire181]

indjo I have a spawn that's about 9 months old and has never been seperated but has moved tanks and tubs several times and they have been removed for spawning. they are only agressive when paired up to spawn but become peaceful once they're back in a group situation.

[CrowntailTwitchy57]

i think its all up to the fish. i mean, there's no specific age that children grow hair, so why is there a specific age for this? just keep watching therm after 6 weeks or so. If you ever spawn, post pics! Good luck! :D

[GreenTea]

Originally Posted by CrowntailTwitchy57

i think its all up to the fish. i mean, there's no specific age that children grow hair, so why is there a specific age for this? just keep watching therm after 6 weeks or so. If you ever spawn, post pics! Good luck! :D

o_0 there is a pretty specific window kids grow hair in. And there's a general window fry become aggressive in. Just like children don't decide when the grow hair, bettas don't decide to become aggressive as a conscious choice.

[dramaqueen]

Originally Posted by indjo

I agree with Mr V. ..... in general. But mine often get serious at 9 - 10 weeks. The more docile batch could stay together until 4 months or so.

Usually it depends on how often you disturb them or how often do they go through environment changes (adding or reducing plants, pumps etc). The more disturbance after they are 2cm, the sooner they become aggressive.

That is very interesting. I never thought disturbing them could cause aggression.

[cajunamy]

Mine never really got that aggressive - they're 6 months. I pulled them at 4 months though when I started noticing a few fin nips.

[indjo]

Originally Posted by MrVampire181

indjo I have a spawn that's about 9 months old and has never been seperated but has moved tanks and tubs several times and they have been removed for spawning. they are only agressive when paired up to spawn but become peaceful once they're back in a group situation.

Yes I've heard people achieving this but I can never keep mine that peaceful. My average is around 3 - 4 months if I don't disturb them too much. The best I can get is a male together with females in sororities.

One of my current spawns is only about 9 weeks. They began biting - not flaring - at about 5 weeks. So I put in some docile adult females to "referee" them. It worked until they grew as big as the adults. And at less than 9 weeks they're starting to flare again (this time its more of a play flare, but they do bite). So I put in giant females - including mommy (daddy is too aggressive). They're rather calm .... as long as their belly's are stuffed with food. lol - I don't really care about their fins, I'm trying to power grow this batch so I'm reluctant to jar them - until they reach 2".

[Dragonlady]

Some spawns become aggressive earlier than others. I generally start pulling males as early as 8 weeks, but some are slower to develop aggressive tendencies than others. Some lines are certainly more aggressive than others. If the growout tank is large enough and heavily planted, it is not unusual for young fish from a betta spawn that have lived together their entire life to set up a pecking order. Remove the dominant male, and the subordinate males will become more aggressive toward one another to try to replace his dominant position. By 3-4 months old, most males will need to be kept alone if you want their fins to look nice. Occasionally, a very nice slower developing male will become obvious in a group of sorted females at 6 months old.