Is my Marine Betta being eaten?!

CoasterOfLuv · 12/13/2012, 06:32 PM

Hello fellow enthusiasts. I am new to ReefCentral and this is my first post.
My husband and I previously had a 75 gallon peaceful reef with soft corals for 6 years. Bicolor pseudochromis, various clownfish, and a pajama cardinal. Much success!
I now have an established 30 gallon with 50-60lbs live rock and no soft corals. My first few fish were damsels, and then I added a mature Marine Betta (Stephen King) who ATE! a small damsel. Swallowed him whole. I was extremely surprised and when I talked to my fish guy, he said that the marine betta is apparently more aggressive than we'd anticipated and suggested I add a small(ish) Niger Trigger. He is about 2.5 inches long.
The fish have lived harmoniously now for a week and then today my Marine Betta was scarce. He comes out finally and I see he has scales missing in 4 different spots on one side of his body!

I still see no aggression between these fish and am wondering what else could be the cause of Stephen King's (Marine Betta) injuries. Could I have possibly scraped him while moving rock? I have never had a fish succumb to injury as a result of my aquascaping.
He is hiding, coming out a bit but more up and down than I'd like to see, and not his fluttery magnificent self.

Suggestions? Should I get him out of the tank, are there any medicinal drops to soothe his skin? Was my fish guy utterly wrong to suggest these two would make a good pair?

Help!

Hudzon · 12/14/2012, 01:06 AM

You are kidding right ?
Neither of those fish should be in a 30 gal tank, the Betta was not being aggressive, it was feeding it is a predator fish but in no way can it defend itself from a Trigger fish, the trigger should be in a 100+ gal tank anything smaller and it will be ultra aggressive.
It looks like your fish store is uneducated or just don't care and is selling you whatever you will buy, find a new one.

Cloudburst2000 · 12/14/2012, 02:52 AM

The marine betta is more suited to the 30g tank than the niger trigger though it should really be kept in a 50+g tank. But it is not suited to being kept with small fish. The marine betta is a predator fish and will eat small fish and shrimp. It is normally peaceful with other similarly-sized non-aggressive fish. However, the niger trigger is not at all suited to a 30g tank. The niger trigger requires close to a 200g tank and should only be kept in an aggressive tank. It is not suited to be kept with peaceful fish like the marine betta. Yes, the marine betta will eat small fish but is not aggressive to like-sized/larger fishes. Since it is not aggressive, the niger will be beating the crap out of it. Get the trigger fish out of the tank pronto. And DO NOT listen to your LFS. Most LFS tell you what will get them a sale even if it is not in you or your tanks best interest. ALWAYS research online before buying any fish for your aquarium regardless of what your LFS tells you. Had you researched both of these fish more before buying them, you would have realized that they are not suited to a 30g tank stocked with small damsels.

CoasterOfLuv · 01/01/2013, 10:44 PM

Thank you.
I agree I was misled by my aquarium suppliers, as she was well aware of the size of my tank and fish in it.
The betta is fine and I've seen no aggression from the trigger or any animosity between the fish but the dynamics are bad and I will be returning the trigger.

Wildoak · 04/04/2013, 10:51 AM

I've got a similar situation with my Marine Betta. He's in a very peaceful 55 gallon with similar to slightly smaller sized tank mates and several soft corals. One each of a Filefish, sandsifting goby, tail spot blenny, yellow wrasse, clown goby, sunburst anthias, and the only fish with any attitude at all is one coral beauty angel. Until two days ago the Betta and all other fish were healthy and all was business as usual. Yesterday I came home to find the Betta sitting on the bottom with the much of the right side scraped raw. The left side looked normal and untouched. He looked dazed but did swim somewhat normally. He has no interest in eating. I took him out and placed him alone in a quarantine tank. I've attached a photo of the injury, hopefully it gets posted. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on how to nurse the poor guy back to health? Thanks in advance!

12/13/2012, 06:32 PM	#1
CoasterOfLuv Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: S.W Florida Posts: 14	Is my Marine Betta being eaten?! Hello fellow enthusiasts. I am new to ReefCentral and this is my first post. My husband and I previously had a 75 gallon peaceful reef with soft corals for 6 years. Bicolor pseudochromis, various clownfish, and a pajama cardinal. Much success! I now have an established 30 gallon with 50-60lbs live rock and no soft corals. My first few fish were damsels, and then I added a mature Marine Betta (Stephen King) who ATE! a small damsel. Swallowed him whole. I was extremely surprised and when I talked to my fish guy, he said that the marine betta is apparently more aggressive than we'd anticipated and suggested I add a small(ish) Niger Trigger. He is about 2.5 inches long. The fish have lived harmoniously now for a week and then today my Marine Betta was scarce. He comes out finally and I see he has scales missing in 4 different spots on one side of his body! I still see no aggression between these fish and am wondering what else could be the cause of Stephen King's (Marine Betta) injuries. Could I have possibly scraped him while moving rock? I have never had a fish succumb to injury as a result of my aquascaping. He is hiding, coming out a bit but more up and down than I'd like to see, and not his fluttery magnificent self. Suggestions? Should I get him out of the tank, are there any medicinal drops to soothe his skin? Was my fish guy utterly wrong to suggest these two would make a good pair? Help!

12/14/2012, 01:06 AM	#2
Hudzon Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 267	You are kidding right ? Neither of those fish should be in a 30 gal tank, the Betta was not being aggressive, it was feeding it is a predator fish but in no way can it defend itself from a Trigger fish, the trigger should be in a 100+ gal tank anything smaller and it will be ultra aggressive. It looks like your fish store is uneducated or just don't care and is selling you whatever you will buy, find a new one.

12/14/2012, 02:52 AM	#3
Cloudburst2000 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Lexington, KY Posts: 1,485	The marine betta is more suited to the 30g tank than the niger trigger though it should really be kept in a 50+g tank. But it is not suited to being kept with small fish. The marine betta is a predator fish and will eat small fish and shrimp. It is normally peaceful with other similarly-sized non-aggressive fish. However, the niger trigger is not at all suited to a 30g tank. The niger trigger requires close to a 200g tank and should only be kept in an aggressive tank. It is not suited to be kept with peaceful fish like the marine betta. Yes, the marine betta will eat small fish but is not aggressive to like-sized/larger fishes. Since it is not aggressive, the niger will be beating the crap out of it. Get the trigger fish out of the tank pronto. And DO NOT listen to your LFS. Most LFS tell you what will get them a sale even if it is not in you or your tanks best interest. ALWAYS research online before buying any fish for your aquarium regardless of what your LFS tells you. Had you researched both of these fish more before buying them, you would have realized that they are not suited to a 30g tank stocked with small damsels.

01/01/2013, 10:44 PM	#4
CoasterOfLuv Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: S.W Florida Posts: 14	Thank you. I agree I was misled by my aquarium suppliers, as she was well aware of the size of my tank and fish in it. The betta is fine and I've seen no aggression from the trigger or any animosity between the fish but the dynamics are bad and I will be returning the trigger.