[grim]

Hello everyone

I've been keeping my Ghoul alone in a 2.5g fishtank for the past week (I just got him).
Today, I decided to take a trip to the tropical fish store and get a bunch of Pomacea Diffusa snails.
I put two of them in my comunity tank and two others in Ghoul's tank.
As soon as I dropped them in, he started harassing them. He goes for a long walk around the tank, then he nipps at the first one he sees, then the cycle repeats. I'm not sure if he actually hurts them, they seem to be alright, but is this normal? Does he just need to accomodate with his new buddies, or is this proof that he's the lone wolf type?
I feel bad for the snails. I wouldn't want them to get hurt, or keep Ghoul stressed.

I'll appreciate any advice I can get
Thanks in advance!

 

[grim]

A wee bit of update: he seems to have stopped. Atleast, this morning he didn't hunt them like he did last night.
The waters may have cleared, so to speak

 

[Aus]

Hi grim - love the name 'Ghoul'.

Male bettas aren't worried by being solitary- all their inbuilt aggression is designed to keep them that way. They don't really have a concept of 'buddies', as it were, if you don't count being friendly to the ones who provide the food, lol.

I have read several threads about bettas snacking on small snails, so don't be surprised if he gets around to nomming on those. He might not, of course, but if you're really worried about the snails, perhaps keep an eye on them or move them to another tank.

 

[Sakura8]

It's also not uncommon for a betta to nip off an antennae every now and then. The hunting behavior seems pretty normal since it was probably the first time he'd seen something live and moving and smaller than him. Musta triggered his wild instincts.

 

[grim]

Hi grim - love the name 'Ghoul'.

Male bettas aren't worried by being solitary- all their inbuilt aggression is designed to keep them that way. They don't really have a concept of 'buddies', as it were, if you don't count being friendly to the ones who provide the food, lol.

I have read several threads about bettas snacking on small snails, so don't be surprised if he gets around to nomming on those. He might not, of course, but if you're really worried about the snails, perhaps keep an eye on them or move them to another tank.

Cheers. I think he loves it too!. Love the name Sid Fishus, punk fan over here

Also, I do believe he's starting to feel confortable with me, he doesn't even get scared when I touch (or even tap on) the glass, he follows me around. I'm starting to discover his personality, which is great. He does seem to be a tad violent, he's able to see the fish in my community tank (they're aligned side by side) and he keeps trying to get to them from time to time. I think it's about time that I build a lid for his tank (I know I should have done that before, but I couldn't get around to doing it).

It's also not uncommon for a betta to nip off an antennae every now and then. The hunting behavior seems pretty normal since it was probably the first time he'd seen something live and moving and smaller than him. Musta triggered his wild instincts.

Dang, that's bad news. I'll move the snails to the comunity tank once I get home. I don't want to take the risk, I care for a snail as much as I care for any of the fish in my tanks. And these yellow buggesr, I actually love them, antenae included
Any ideas as to what I could add to this small tank? I'd like to have something that stimulates him, but nat as much as to make him commit murder.

Thanks to both of you for your responses!
That's Ghoul in my avatar by the way. Too bad the picture doesn't really show it, but he's not just white, he has blue-ish reflexes (kind of like the inside of a shell), with red fins.

 

[Silverfang]

My girls have no trouble with apple snails. I just don't have enough space in any other tank to keep them, otherwise I'd have them with everyone! Too bad they are such poopers.

 

[grim]

My girls have no trouble with apple snails. I just don't have enough space in any other tank to keep them, otherwise I'd have them with everyone! Too bad they are such poopers.

Yes but I have a boy
I was under the impression that female Bettas are peaceful towards other creatures anyway?!

I was thinking of getting one today and keep her in the comunity tank (plenty of room in there as I only have a few Guppies and 2 small Ancistrus). I plan on attempting a breeding when the time comes.
What do you guys think, is this a good approach, keeping her in the community tank? At first I though about keeping her with Ghoul, but I'm assuming that's a no-no, especially in a plantless 2.5g tank.

 

[Aus]

Rather than using other livestock as a stimulant, you could enrich Ghoul's environment so he doesn't get bored.

My tank (3.5 g) is filled with plants and a mangrove root sculpture that is like a cave with several openings, so he has plenty to 'explore'. He ninjas around the tank, poking through the 'jungle' and the cave, and this keeps him busy. When I change his water, I'll sometimes move things around so it's 'new' to him. I also have him in the living-room, so he sees a lot of activity. He gets live brine shrimp now and then, which he loves to chase. This all seems to keeps him pretty happy and there's no fatalities!

From what I've read, some female bettas are just as aggressive as males and will bully other species, so it's probably a matter of try it and see. It's a really, really bad idea to try to house males and females together, as there's a good risk one or both could get severely injured.

And if you want to breed bettas, be sure to have the right conditioning materials for the parents, a 20 gallon grow-out tank and a pile of baby foods for the potential hundreds of fry, enough jars to seperate the young out when big enough, enough room to keep all those jars, a means to keep them all warm, enough time to change the water in all those containers and the means to find homes for them all. Good luck.

I'm a punk fan from way back. :-D

 

[grim]

Thank you for your answer.

The tank where I keep him is not empty, it's just plantless. I have an awesome (that is to say, creepy looking) piece of wood in there for him to circle, it has holes in it and stuff like that. The mangrove is actually a great idea, I should combine what I have with some nice roots and go for the full creepy scenery. A cave is in the making too. Also, great idea about moving stuff around, I'll be sure to do that.
While on the subject (I realize this is a bit offtopic already and I promise I'll go no further than this) but is normal fishtank gravel ok for a Betta tank? I know their fins can get shredded quite easily, but is it enough to put gravel in there for this to happen, or is that only a problem when I have sharp corners in my decorations and whatnot? I have different color rock gravel, they don't exceed 5mm in diameter, but they're not smooth. Reason I'm asking this is that I see most of you guys have huge polished rocks in your tanks, or fine sand. That can't be a coincidence

As far as breeding goes, it was just a plan, he's still too young for that anyway. I'll put it on hold until I move to a bigger place where I can actually keep a large breeding tank. I'll be sure to be fully documented when I do attempt it!

 

[Aus]

I have regular black aquarium gravel. I think it's that gravel's a pain the arse to keep clean in smaller (uncycled) tanks rather than it presenting any danger. No way Sid could swallow a bit of his, and its pretty smooth anyhow. Unless the stuff you have is betta-pellet sized or really jagged, I think it should be okay.

Got pics? I'd like to see your creepy tank. :-D

The mangrove root I have is artificial, but it's cool anyhow.

 

[grim]

Got pics? I'd like to see your creepy tank. :-D

Not yet, I plan to have it in a more "final" stage before releasing anything to the public :lol:
Coming soon though, will be sure to keep you posted.
Thank you kindly for all your answers!

 

[Silverfang]

I believe they need to have as much room as a betta, 2.5 gal. Simply because they poo so much. They are really messy, the biggest drawback. So really I wouldn't want one of those and a betta in less than 5gal.

 

[grim]

Got home and found the two snails missing their antenae .
They are still alive, so I moved them into the community tank. Should I keep them like this, or should I just end their misery?

 

[Silverfang]

apple snails can live a normal life without their antennae. There is no need to do anything, but they may be happier with less aggressive fish.

http://www.applesnail.net/

So much information about them.

 

[Aus]

Snails can regrow them, too? I think?

 

[grim]

apple snails can live a normal life without their antennae. There is no need to do anything, but they may be happier with less aggressive fish.

The Apple Snail (Ampullariidae) Website

So much information about them.

Oh, thanks for that. Indeed, lots of info on there.

Snails can regrow them, too? I think?

I hope so. I 'll keep them in my other tank. Guess Ghoul will have to live alone for now. I may try some Ghost shrimp at some point though

Thanks everyone