Naughty fish....

[SA]

In my tank (160 litre) I have the following:

1 x Speckled Balloon Mollie (Male)
2 x Black Mollie (Female)
2 x Silver Mollie (Fenales)
5 x Neon Tetra (Mixed)
6 x Ruby Tetra (Mixed)
1 x Marigold Swordtail (Female, Pregnant)
2 x Long Fin Gold Zebra Danio (Pair)
2 x Blue Rainbow (Pair)

Levels are 7.4pH, 0ppm Nitrite and 0ppm Amonia. I have recently added some
"Proper PH7" to lower the pH levels..

Last night we found the male swordtail dead ... it was fine the day before.

Also, I noticed last night that the fins on my Siamese Figing Fish had been
nibbled away. I moved him into my floating nursery tank, but was too late as
he was dead this morning.

What I would like to know is if anyone has experienced a swordtail that died
for seemingly no reason whatsoever and if there are any ideas why this would
happen.

Who (amongst my fish) is likely to be the candidate(s) for nipping my
figther. The aquatic centres where I have bought fish from have said that
all of my fish are community friendly. I always tell them what I have in
stock and ask which fish are appropriate for my tank.

Someone said to me that a Siamese Fighter will be a little timid in the tank
and an easy target for other fish and to get over this I should add a couple
of mirrors (the sort that people use in bird cages) which fool the fish into
thinking there are other bettas in the tank and make them more active around
the tank.

Any ideas appreciated.

Sean

[IDzine01]

> 1 x Speckled Balloon Mollie (Male)
> 2 x Black Mollie (Female)
> 2 x Silver Mollie (Fenales)
> 5 x Neon Tetra (Mixed)
> 6 x Ruby Tetra (Mixed)
> 1 x Marigold Swordtail (Female, Pregnant)
> 2 x Long Fin Gold Zebra Danio (Pair)
> 2 x Blue Rainbow (Pair)


> Someone said to me that a Siamese Fighter will be a little timid in the tank
> and an easy target for other fish

I don't even know where to start. Whoever told you that you should put
a Betta (fighter) in that tank must have gotten a serious bump on the
head that day. First of all was your betta male or female? I'll guess
male since they're the easiest to find in stores.

Bettas are sold solitary for a reason. They are territorial and
putting them with other fish (with some exceptions) is a very bad
idea. The only tankmates I'd personally recommend with Bettas are
otos, snails or ghost shrimp. Compatibility depends on the Betta's
personality.

and to get over this I should add a couple
> of mirrors (the sort that people use in bird cages) which fool the fish into
> thinking there are other bettas in the tank and make them more active around
> the tank.

The last thing you'll ever want to do is put mirrors in your Betta's
tank. The reason they become "more active" is because they think
they're being threatened. I don't even put my bettas in tanks next to
each other. Constantly seeing other Bettas stresses them out which
leads to illness or death. "The mirror game" is fun once in a while to
see your fish react, but never more then a minute or so. (I always use
this analogy) It's like having a burglar outside your window all day
and night. You'd be so stressed it would eventually kill you.

My advice would be get a tank no smaller then 1 gallon for your Betta
and let him live there alone. Bettas live, on average, 2-4 years.
He'll be happier and you won't have to worry about his well being. I'd
guess he died not just from fin nipping but from stress.

[blove]

first, you have hard water fish mixed with soft water fish. mollies, and
swordtails and bettas like hard water higher ph, whereas your tetras do
better at softer acidic water. thats probably why your swordtail died.
livebearers (mollies, swordtails, and guppies) also like salt in their
water. mollies and most tetras are fin nippers and also depending on the
bettas personality, some do well in a community setup whereas others get
stressed and die and others go on a killing spree. i find that females do
better in a community tank then male bettas. and you should have atleast 3
females so they can establish a pecking order. you messing with the ph is
what probably did in your swordtail and stressed your betta out further.
most fish will adapt just fine to the local water parameters. up here in
upstate ny i work at a local fish store and with the town water it has a ph
of 7.6 and our neon tetras come from a wholesaler in new jersey wich they
probably get there fish from fish farms down in florida or the wild i dont
know but our tetras do fine in our high ph water and we rarely have losses
so fish will adapt most of the time.

"SA" > wrote in message
...
> In my tank (160 litre) I have the following:
>
> 1 x Speckled Balloon Mollie (Male)
> 2 x Black Mollie (Female)
> 2 x Silver Mollie (Fenales)
> 5 x Neon Tetra (Mixed)
> 6 x Ruby Tetra (Mixed)
> 1 x Marigold Swordtail (Female, Pregnant)
> 2 x Long Fin Gold Zebra Danio (Pair)
> 2 x Blue Rainbow (Pair)
>
> Levels are 7.4pH, 0ppm Nitrite and 0ppm Amonia. I have recently added some
> "Proper PH7" to lower the pH levels..
>
> Last night we found the male swordtail dead ... it was fine the day
before.
>
> Also, I noticed last night that the fins on my Siamese Figing Fish had
been
> nibbled away. I moved him into my floating nursery tank, but was too late
as
> he was dead this morning.
>
> What I would like to know is if anyone has experienced a swordtail that
died
> for seemingly no reason whatsoever and if there are any ideas why this
would
> happen.
>
> Who (amongst my fish) is likely to be the candidate(s) for nipping my
> figther. The aquatic centres where I have bought fish from have said that
> all of my fish are community friendly. I always tell them what I have in
> stock and ask which fish are appropriate for my tank.
>
> Someone said to me that a Siamese Fighter will be a little timid in the
tank
> and an easy target for other fish and to get over this I should add a
couple
> of mirrors (the sort that people use in bird cages) which fool the fish
into
> thinking there are other bettas in the tank and make them more active
around
> the tank.
>
> Any ideas appreciated.
>
> Sean
>
>

[Harry Muscle]

"IDzine01" > wrote in message
om...
> > 1 x Speckled Balloon Mollie (Male)
> > 2 x Black Mollie (Female)
> > 2 x Silver Mollie (Fenales)
> > 5 x Neon Tetra (Mixed)
> > 6 x Ruby Tetra (Mixed)
> > 1 x Marigold Swordtail (Female, Pregnant)
> > 2 x Long Fin Gold Zebra Danio (Pair)
> > 2 x Blue Rainbow (Pair)
>
>
> > Someone said to me that a Siamese Fighter will be a little timid in the
tank
> > and an easy target for other fish
>
> I don't even know where to start. Whoever told you that you should put
> a Betta (fighter) in that tank must have gotten a serious bump on the
> head that day. First of all was your betta male or female? I'll guess
> male since they're the easiest to find in stores.
>
> Bettas are sold solitary for a reason. They are territorial and
> putting them with other fish (with some exceptions) is a very bad
> idea. The only tankmates I'd personally recommend with Bettas are
> otos, snails or ghost shrimp. Compatibility depends on the Betta's
> personality.
>

There are many people that keep Betas in community tanks, however, it all
depends on the individual fish's personality.

Harry





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[IDzine01]

Great advice BLOVE,
Glad to see LFS employees who really know their stuff. I've gotten
some pretty rotten Betta advice from folks who sell fish for a living.
Now I'm afraid to ask. I do all my research myself. :/



> first, you have hard water fish mixed with soft water fish. mollies, and
> swordtails and bettas like hard water higher ph, whereas your tetras do
> better at softer acidic water. thats probably why your swordtail died.
> livebearers (mollies, swordtails, and guppies) also like salt in their
> water. mollies and most tetras are fin nippers and also depending on the
> bettas personality, some do well in a community setup whereas others get
> stressed and die and others go on a killing spree. i find that females do
> better in a community tank then male bettas. and you should have atleast 3
> females so they can establish a pecking order. you messing with the ph is
> what probably did in your swordtail and stressed your betta out further.
> most fish will adapt just fine to the local water parameters. up here in
> upstate ny i work at a local fish store and with the town water it has a ph
> of 7.6 and our neon tetras come from a wholesaler in new jersey wich they
> probably get there fish from fish farms down in florida or the wild i dont
> know but our tetras do fine in our high ph water and we rarely have losses
> so fish will adapt most of the time.
>
> "SA" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In my tank (160 litre) I have the following:
> >
> > 1 x Speckled Balloon Mollie (Male)
> > 2 x Black Mollie (Female)
> > 2 x Silver Mollie (Fenales)
> > 5 x Neon Tetra (Mixed)
> > 6 x Ruby Tetra (Mixed)
> > 1 x Marigold Swordtail (Female, Pregnant)
> > 2 x Long Fin Gold Zebra Danio (Pair)
> > 2 x Blue Rainbow (Pair)
> >
> > Levels are 7.4pH, 0ppm Nitrite and 0ppm Amonia. I have recently added some
> > "Proper PH7" to lower the pH levels..
> >
> > Last night we found the male swordtail dead ... it was fine the day
> before.
> >
> > Also, I noticed last night that the fins on my Siamese Figing Fish had
> been
> > nibbled away. I moved him into my floating nursery tank, but was too late
> as
> > he was dead this morning.
> >
> > What I would like to know is if anyone has experienced a swordtail that
> died
> > for seemingly no reason whatsoever and if there are any ideas why this
> would
> > happen.
> >
> > Who (amongst my fish) is likely to be the candidate(s) for nipping my
> > figther. The aquatic centres where I have bought fish from have said that
> > all of my fish are community friendly. I always tell them what I have in
> > stock and ask which fish are appropriate for my tank.
> >
> > Someone said to me that a Siamese Fighter will be a little timid in the
> tank
> > and an easy target for other fish and to get over this I should add a
> couple
> > of mirrors (the sort that people use in bird cages) which fool the fish
> into
> > thinking there are other bettas in the tank and make them more active
> around
> > the tank.
> >
> > Any ideas appreciated.
> >
> > Sean
> >
> >

[TYNK 7]

>Subject: Re: Naughty fish....
>From: (IDzine01)
>Date: 1/28/2004 12:17 PM Central Standard Time
>Message-id: >
>
>> 1 x Speckled Balloon Mollie (Male)
>> 2 x Black Mollie (Female)
>> 2 x Silver Mollie (Fenales)
>> 5 x Neon Tetra (Mixed)
>> 6 x Ruby Tetra (Mixed)
>> 1 x Marigold Swordtail (Female, Pregnant)
>> 2 x Long Fin Gold Zebra Danio (Pair)
>> 2 x Blue Rainbow (Pair)
>
>
>> Someone said to me that a Siamese Fighter will be a little timid in the
>tank
>> and an easy target for other fish
>
>I don't even know where to start. Whoever told you that you should put
>a Betta (fighter) in that tank must have gotten a serious bump on the
>head that day. First of all was your betta male or female? I'll guess
>male since they're the easiest to find in stores.
>>Bettas are sold solitary for a reason. They are territorial and
>putting them with other fish (with some exceptions) is a very bad
>idea. The only tankmates I'd personally recommend with Bettas are
>otos, snails or ghost shrimp. Compatibility depends on the Betta's
>personality.
>

I'm sorry to tell you this,. but it is you that are way off.
I've been a Betta breeder for nearly 20 yrs now (in March it'll be 20 yrs) and
a Betta fancier for almost 26 yrs. (for background info)
Bettas ARE community fish.
Yes, they are territorial. However, that is with their own kind.
YOu will, on occasion, find a rare overly aggressive Betta (male or female),
that can't be housed with any othe fish, or even certain types or colors.
Depending on the tank mates, mostly it'sd the Bettas that are the ones getting
nipped
up.
You can usually house Bettas with anything that isn't nippy.
Barbs, most Tetras, and most Cichlids are often too nippy for Bettas.
Angelfish are usually fine, although they too have indivdual personalities that
need to be considered when putting them two species together.
Most folks think you can't house Angels and Bettas together, but ususally, it's
fine.
As long as you aren't trying to introduce a Betta (m or f) to tank that has
fully grown Angels in it that aren't used to such a fish.
in 15 yrs of having a tank that specifically held Angels and Bettas (both a
male and females)..I've only ever had 3 Angelfish that were nippy towards the
resident male Betta. I think I've only had 2 males that were nippy towards the
Angles and one male that couldn't be housed with anything alive. Oh...and
onemale that had a thing against any fish, no matter what the specie, that was
black in color. Yes folks, I had a racial male Betta!

> and to get over this I should add a couple
>> of mirrors (the sort that people use in bird cages) which fool the fish
>into
>> thinking there are other bettas in the tank and make them more active
>around
>> the tank.
>
>The last thing you'll ever want to do is put mirrors in your Betta's
>tank. The reason they become "more active" is because they think
>they're being threatened. I don't even put my bettas in tanks next to
>each other. Constantly seeing other Bettas stresses them out which
>leads to illness or death. "The mirror game" is fun once in a while to
>see your fish react, but never more then a minute or so.

Wow. You are so way off here.
It's great exercise for Bettas to display to the "other" male for about 20
minutes daily with a mirror, or even to even have tanks near eachother for a
"flare buddy", as many breeders call them.
I have a couple of males that actually become quite depressed, get lethargic
and refuse food when I separate them from a flare buddy.


(I always use
>this analogy) It's like having a burglar outside your window all day
>and night. You'd be so stressed it would eventually kill you.

So wrong. Having a Betta flare at a mirror or flare buddy will NOT kill them.
>

>My advice would be get a tank no smaller then 1 gallon for your Betta
>and let him live there alone. Bettas live, on average, 2-4 years.
>He'll be happier and you won't have to worry about his well being. I'd
>guess he died not just from fin nipping but from stress.

Yes, many can die from the stress of being nipped up. However, it's from having
the wrong tank mates, not that he was in a tank with other fish.
Mollies and Swords can get pretty nippy. Actually, I recommend *not* housing
Mollies with Bettas..male anyway.
As for Ruby Tetras..I amnot familiar with them. I usually say the only safe
tetras are Neon or Cardinal Tetras.
Barbs..most except Cherry barbs, are way to nippy for them.
Danios can go either way.
The Blue Rainbows, again I am not familiar with their personalities.
Please do your Bettas a favor and give them some exercise.

[TYNK 7]

>Subject: Re: Naughty fish....
>From: (IDzine01)
>Date: 1/28/2004 4:58 PM Central Standard Time
>Message-id: >
>
>Great advice BLOVE,
>Glad to see LFS employees who really know their stuff. I've gotten
>some pretty rotten Betta advice from folks who sell fish for a living.
>Now I'm afraid to ask. I do all my research myself. :/
>

May I suggest some mor researching please.
I'm not trying to be snippy, or nasty or "flare" you. I am trying to give you
sound, correct adivce concerning Bettas. You've obviously got some pretty bogus
info.

[TYNK 7]

(snipped)

>Subject: Re: Naughty fish....
>From: (IDzine01)


Here's a great sheet on betta care.


http://hometown.aol.com/hostpetstiggi/bettacare.html

[TYNK 7]

>Subject: Re: Naughty fish....
>From: (TYNK 7)
>Date: 1/28/2004 6:53 PM Central Standard Time
>Message-id: >
>
>(snipped)
>
>>Subject: Re: Naughty fish....
>>From: (IDzine01)
>
>
>Here's a great sheet on betta care.
>
>
>http://hometown.aol.com/hostpetstiggi/bettacare.html
>
>

I just re-read the sheet. They still haven't changed the one error about
housing females with a male.
This was put in there because of the thought that too many newbies to Bettas
would toss in females in a vase/bowl with a male.
I have again requested that the info be updated.
I know the lady who is in charge of it and she recently had a baby and her
hands are *very* busy. So I sent her a gentle reminder. = )
I didn't want you to read it and think I was nuts.

[SA]

Thanks for the advice everyone ... even though some is conflicting, it's
given me a start of where to look for more information before I venture on
the betta route again.

[IDzine01]

TYNK7,

I read your Betta Fact Sheet and I have to be honest, I don't know
what we're disagreeing on. I think we're on the same team here.
For the most part I agree with everything on your fact sheet save some
minor details. Perhaps you read my original post quickly. If you
reread it you'll see that the only fish I "personally" recommend with
Bettas are otos, snails and shrimp. I advised them because these are
probably the most commonly kept betta tank-mates and I "personally"
have had pretty good luck with them. As for the fishies you
recommended, they may be just fine, however I've never tried them and
therefore will NOT recommend them. I DO know that some fish don't work
well with Bettas and it's not my practice to put my betta in a tank
with over 20 fish and wait to see how it all plays out. If you've had
good luck with all these species and your bettas then that's
wonderful. Maybe I'll even try one or two in the future so I can offer
a greater spectrum of advice.

Sadly, I have gotten some bogus information from local LFS but have
since discovered a betta message board lead by aquarium and more
importantly, betta experts and enthusiasts. Like you and I, they only
want to help people get accurate information for the keeping of their
fish. I really hate getting into "flaring" matches with other people
who are only trying help people too.

There is A LOT of poor, and frankly very scary, information out there
regarding these fish. So we may not agree 100% but we do agree, maybe
95% and that's good enough for me.

Oh,
if you want to check out the message board I belong to, it's
http://pub36.ezboard.com/baquariumbbs
It's an EZboard site called Aquamaniacs. It'll give you the chance to
make up your own mind regarding my "research."




> I just re-read the sheet. They still haven't changed the one error about
> housing females with a male.
> This was put in there because of the thought that too many newbies to Bettas
> would toss in females in a vase/bowl with a male.
> I have again requested that the info be updated.
> I know the lady who is in charge of it and she recently had a baby and her
> hands are *very* busy. So I sent her a gentle reminder. = )
> I didn't want you to read it and think I was nuts.

[blove]

thanks, i have 10 bettas now and am bringing home 2 more gorgeous males
today. im always researching everything so i can atleast give people the
correct info but its also true that you can lead a person to knowledge but
you cant make them think. i saw that quote someplace and its true. if
everyone researched before they bought my job would be alot easier. not
that i dont mind learning about different animals but having to repeat
myself over and over and over again at work is tiresome.

"IDzine01" > wrote in message
m...
> Great advice BLOVE,
> Glad to see LFS employees who really know their stuff. I've gotten
> some pretty rotten Betta advice from folks who sell fish for a living.
> Now I'm afraid to ask. I do all my research myself. :/
>
>
>
> > first, you have hard water fish mixed with soft water fish. mollies,
and
> > swordtails and bettas like hard water higher ph, whereas your tetras do
> > better at softer acidic water. thats probably why your swordtail died.
> > livebearers (mollies, swordtails, and guppies) also like salt in their
> > water. mollies and most tetras are fin nippers and also depending on
the
> > bettas personality, some do well in a community setup whereas others get
> > stressed and die and others go on a killing spree. i find that females
do
> > better in a community tank then male bettas. and you should have
atleast 3
> > females so they can establish a pecking order. you messing with the ph
is
> > what probably did in your swordtail and stressed your betta out further.
> > most fish will adapt just fine to the local water parameters. up here
in
> > upstate ny i work at a local fish store and with the town water it has a
ph
> > of 7.6 and our neon tetras come from a wholesaler in new jersey wich
they
> > probably get there fish from fish farms down in florida or the wild i
dont
> > know but our tetras do fine in our high ph water and we rarely have
losses
> > so fish will adapt most of the time.
> >
> > "SA" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > In my tank (160 litre) I have the following:
> > >
> > > 1 x Speckled Balloon Mollie (Male)
> > > 2 x Black Mollie (Female)
> > > 2 x Silver Mollie (Fenales)
> > > 5 x Neon Tetra (Mixed)
> > > 6 x Ruby Tetra (Mixed)
> > > 1 x Marigold Swordtail (Female, Pregnant)
> > > 2 x Long Fin Gold Zebra Danio (Pair)
> > > 2 x Blue Rainbow (Pair)
> > >
> > > Levels are 7.4pH, 0ppm Nitrite and 0ppm Amonia. I have recently added
some
> > > "Proper PH7" to lower the pH levels..
> > >
> > > Last night we found the male swordtail dead ... it was fine the day
> > before.
> > >
> > > Also, I noticed last night that the fins on my Siamese Figing Fish had
> > been
> > > nibbled away. I moved him into my floating nursery tank, but was too
late
> > as
> > > he was dead this morning.
> > >
> > > What I would like to know is if anyone has experienced a swordtail
that
> > died
> > > for seemingly no reason whatsoever and if there are any ideas why this
> > would
> > > happen.
> > >
> > > Who (amongst my fish) is likely to be the candidate(s) for nipping my
> > > figther. The aquatic centres where I have bought fish from have said
that
> > > all of my fish are community friendly. I always tell them what I have
in
> > > stock and ask which fish are appropriate for my tank.
> > >
> > > Someone said to me that a Siamese Fighter will be a little timid in
the
> > tank
> > > and an easy target for other fish and to get over this I should add a
> > couple
> > > of mirrors (the sort that people use in bird cages) which fool the
fish
> > into
> > > thinking there are other bettas in the tank and make them more active
> > around
> > > the tank.
> > >
> > > Any ideas appreciated.
> > >
> > > Sean
> > >
> > >

[TYNK 7]

Snipped

>Subject: Re: Naughty fish....
>From: (IDzine01)
>Date: 1/29/2004 11:09 AM Central Standard Time
>Message-id: >

>I don't know
>what we're disagreeing on. I think we're on the same team here

The last thing you'll ever want to do is put mirrors in your Betta's
tank. The reason they become "more active" is because they think
they're being threatened. I don't even put my bettas in tanks next to
each other. Constantly seeing other Bettas stresses them out which
leads to illness or death. "The mirror game" is fun once in a while to
see your fish react, but never more then a minute or so. (I always use
this analogy) It's like having a burglar outside your window all day
and night. You'd be so stressed it would eventually kill you.

That was the major disagreement I had with your comments, as it's absolutley
incorrect.
I'm in no way trying to have a "flaring match" with you either. = )
I just can't imagine who would say this to you.


>Sadly, I have gotten some bogus information from local LFS

True, it is so sad, as that is where the MOST bogus info comes from.
You'd think that when you go to a pet shop, you'd get proper advice, however,
it's actually *rare* to find a shop that has knowledgeable employees working
there.
I could go on for hours on the crud that I've over heard, or even been told, by
shop employees.
I spend many hours every week, every year, trying to fix what pet shop
employees have told hobbyists, bot newbies and others who simply didn't know
any better and relied on their advice. It's downright scary.

[IDzine01]

>
> Wow. You are so way off here.
> It's great exercise for Bettas to display to the "other" male for about 20
> minutes daily with a mirror, or even to even have tanks near eachother for a
> "flare buddy", as many breeders call them.
> I have a couple of males that actually become quite depressed, get lethargic
> and refuse food when I separate them from a flare buddy.


Oops.
8 hours later I realize I never responded to the "flare buddy" thing.
I'm sure fish are like children. If you ask 100 different parents how
properly raise a child you'll get 100 different answers.

It's sort of ironic I'm even having this conversation because, like
you, I once believed that allowing your betta to flare 20 minutes a
day was good for them. Then I was convinced otherwise.

This is my take on the flare buddy, or mirror thing. The reason bettas
flare at all is because they are doing what comes naturally to them.
They are protecting their territory. They are fending off other male
bettas. They don't understand "exercise" because they are wired to
defend. They don't see their "flare buddy" as a friend like you may
expect because bettas are instinctual and don't have friends. Forcing
them to flare at another betta is intentionally putting them on the
defensive. IMO, it's natural for bettas to come across others on
occasion so I'm not against showing them a mirror or another betta for
a few minutes, but it should be limited. If your betta is lethargic,
it's probably not a good idea to stress him more by putting him into
fight mode. We all know that bettas are total pigs, so if yours is
refusing food, it's probably got other problems. :)

It's easy to look at bettas with their quirky personalities and think
that they understand what you're trying to do for them but they are
wild animals first. All they know is what they're programmed to know.
(well, sometimes I think they feel love for their mama, but I'm not
willing to let that dream go.)

[TYNK 7]

(snipped)
>Subject: Re: Naughty fish....
>From: (IDzine01)
>Date: 1/29/2004 4:13 PM Central Standard Time
>Message-id: >
>

> on
>occasion so I'm not against showing them a mirror or another betta for
>a few minutes, but it should be limited. If your betta is lethargic,
>it's probably not a good idea to stress him more by putting him into
>fight mode. We all know that bettas are total pigs, so if yours is
>refusing food, it's probably got other problems. :)

Oops, you misunderstood. = )
I have males who *get* depressed, act lethargic, and don't want to eat when
their flare buddy is *removed*.
There is nothing wrong with these males, they are as healthy as they could be.
I guess we're going to have to agree on disagreeing with this topic.
It's been my experience in nearly 26 years of keeping Bettas, that daily
exercise or having "flare" buddies is beneficial, not detrimental.

> All they know is what they're programmed to know.

You make an excellent point here.
Bettas are programmed to flare, and show off their lovely fins. It's not always
about aggression. Sometimes it's about showing how gorgeous he is, or how
excited to see you he is.
I have both males and females that flare when they see me. It's as much a form
of excitement, as it is a play for attention.
Not letting a Betta flare and show his "goods" off, would (in my opinion) be
like having a bird and not letting it fly.
They were meant to fly high and soar. Can you imagine how terrible it must be
for a bird that isn't allowed to do what it's programmed to do.

[TYNK 7]

>Subject: Re: Naughty fish....
>From: High Flight
>Date: 1/29/2004 6:34 PM Central Standard Time
>Message-id: >
>
>IDzine01 > says...
>> The only tankmates I'd personally recommend with Bettas are otos, snails
>> or ghost shrimp.
>
>Otos? I canned that idea a couple years ago. The cats were hyperactive.
>They reminded me of buzzing flies at a summer picnic. What a nuisance for
>a betta at rest.
>
> Jack

Jack,
What size tank was this?