Tank Dominance

[Fishy_Friend11]

I just added my 2 older female betta fish with my 2 new ones into my other 30 gallon tank. The two new ones are fine and they are showing no sings of aggression and my two older ones are showing no aggression to them. My two older ones are fighting, is this just for tank dominance? and can it be serious?

[BettaLu&Meg]

no its showing dominance, usually out of the females adding more than 3 will definitly calm the fighting down. but usually there is one that will show more aggression than others. This is normal behavior even when breeding and fry's reaching adulthood this happens. its normal behavior. Just make sure there are spots and decor for your females to hide in! this will take out the chasing and niping when the other females hide. You dominant female will occasionally chase until your less dominant hide. this will be ok like i said as long if theres hiding places in your tank! females can be housed together even different ones but fin nipping and tearing are normal behavior so don't get to worked up over it providing hidding places will limit this

[Fishy_Friend11]

K well they were kind of full blown fighting, my one has a little bit of scale missing. I just dont want any dead betta's on my hands here, plus they are really pretty and i would hate for them to die. They started fighting like 30min in to when i put all four in.

[BettaLu&Meg]

yeah and they are goin to if you put them in later also. They have to get used to each other being in together and by that, one will show who's the boss of the tank! this is normal behavior. like i said females can live together with the occasional fighting to show dominance and to test dominace, this is normal animal instincts but some people don't like the fighting and chance of ripping so they seperate them. me personally i breed and keep my fighters seperated in dividers. i need them to be in top shape for breeding which is all i do. But like i said this is normal behavior. To avoid death the best thing for you to do is especially with that size tank is to buy a big decor! theres decor with massive hidding places and prevents dominant fish to get to the others when there hiding! Bettas natural habbitate is massive and not like in our tanks, in the wild they don't "FIGHT TO THE DEATH" because of the room they have in the wild for the loosing betta to swim away. This is limited in our tanks which is why hidding places are vital to betta tankmates! Actually check out "fivestars" videos he has some females together with a big decor and they are fine! this is because they all have a chance to get away from one another...

[Fishy_Friend11]

All right, sounds good i was just getting a bit worried cause they were going at it pretty good. Thank you for your help:P

[BettaLu&Meg]

no problem, remember they are territorial and aggresive so seeing your bettas fins can be nerve wrecking but keeping them together in a tank, it will happen. i recommend the decor of anything big with some hidding places! like i stated check out "FiveStar's" video in the "showroom" section of the forum and check his vid out! he has a decor of a roman colliseum which is huge with spots to hide! and cool looking i might say so myself! lol if theres anything else you need help with or question feel free to ask!!! and as a breeder i'm the same way about my lil guys too! and care for them tremendously!

[FishMomma]

If you've got some missing scales I would go ahead and add 1/2 teaspoon of AQUARIUM SALT per gallon of water. That will cause your fish to produce a thicker "slime coat" thus giving them some extra protection against disease and infection after they've been injured. Here is a link that has some basic info about salt and its benefits: [Registered users only can see links. ]. If you see actual injured fins or they get torn, add some of API's Melafix (same as the Betafix but dosed for larger tanks) and this will help them heal faster as well as help prevent any bacterial infections. Since it's a natural treatment it won't destroy your beneficial bacteria, either.

Female Bettas don't have quite the aggression that males do, but they still have a set heirarchy. There will be a leader and then the followers. Usually having more than 3 will help avoid too much picking on each other. Have plenty of hiding spaces for them to "relax" from any stressors, too.

Good luck!

[Fishy_Friend11]

All right I will get some aquarium salt and some Melafix. Thanks for all your help.

[BettaLu&Meg]

Yeah that stuff will help your betta grow back scales and their fins faster will protecting them from infections