Excessively Territorial Betta

576 Views 2 Replies 2 Participants Last post by FuzzyMuffin, Dec 15, 2016

FuzzyMuffin

Discussion Starter · Dec 14, 2016

I bought a betta from walmart (shame on me, but she was so cute) on the 8th, and since having her, I've discovered that she is extremely territorial.

This wouldn't be a huge issue, because she's alone in the 10gal, except for some nerites, which she ignores for the most part. The only problem is that she is so territorial, she stresses herself out all the time! Every time I come up to the tank, she comes right up to the front to defend it, and the horizontal stress lines become very visible. She tries to attack my fingers on the other side of the glass.

I want to interact with my betta, but for the most part I leave her alone to avoid stressing her. I try to sit near the tank so she gets used to me and realizes I'm not a threat, but so far she's remained just as aggressive.

Has anybody had this issue before? I've had several bettas throughout the years, but I've never met one like her, and the fact that she's a female and this territorial, I find extra surprising. I just worry about her hurting herself or getting sick from all the stress. Any advice or suggestions to reduce her stress/aggression?

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Fissure

· #2 · Dec 14, 2016

Might go both ways but I would personally throw in a couple of more females (if it were a big tank). I have 1 male and 3 females in my betta chillout tank (30G planted) and they all get along nicely. When breeding and alone they change their behaviour. My blue bigger female gets really aggresive when alone as well. But when dropping her in with her tank friends it just switches and they are all happy. Might be some occasional flaring etc but never any fighting. My tank is bigger and I do not think any fish should need to live permanently in a 10G but thats just me, adding more fish to such a small tank would not be the best of ideas. Maybe adding some stemplants/floating plants would help her feel safer.

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FuzzyMuffin

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 15, 2016

Fissure said:
Might go both ways but I would personally throw in a couple of more females (if it were a big tank). I have 1 male and 3 females in my betta chillout tank (30G planted) and they all get along nicely. When breeding and alone they change their behaviour. My blue bigger female gets really aggresive when alone as well. But when dropping her in with her tank friends it just switches and they are all happy. Might be some occasional flaring etc but never any fighting. My tank is bigger and I do not think any fish should need to live permanently in a 10G but thats just me, adding more fish to such a small tank would not be the best of ideas. Maybe adding some stemplants/floating plants would help her feel safer.

Thanks for the ideas. I don't believe adding more fish to my 10 gallon would be a good idea either. The tank is currently planted with lots of Anubias, some crypts, new DHG, and has a moss covered driftwood tree. It is a little open though, some stems or floaters isn't a bad idea. I have another tank I could pull some from, I'll give it a try, I think she might like some frogbit.

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