Ok, a few days ago (Saturday), I bought a fighter fish, because I was told that they only engage in combat with others in their species - and was also told that they are able to live at peace with goldfish.

I've had my 4 goldfish since Oct. 31st, but have never had any major problems with them, until I came home from school today to find that my 2 black moors both had torn fins - the ones at the back (tails?). And their bodies are kind of scraggly. They don't appear harmed, they swim the same way they used to (only with a bit more effort, since, I guess their tails need more work to make them move). My other 2 larger goldfish don't appear to be injured.

I don't know if it's the fighter fish doing it or not, but I have seen one of the two larger goldfish lightly jab the fighter's tail, so I can sense some tension there..

Any help would be appreciated, but before it's too late!

If you didnt have any problems before introducing the fighter fish I would seperate them. It's only going to stress out your golides. You may need to treat your goldies for their torn fins...Melafix will do the trick

I very much doubt the fighter has attacked your goldfish; they do only fight with males of their own kind.

They are still not good tankmates with goldies however because fighters prefer warm, still, shallow water (like the rice paddies they originated from) and goldies need cold, well-aerated, large tanks. Fighters are tropical fish and goldies are coldwater fish, so theyhave very different needs and therefore either your goldfish or your fighter are not living in conditions which suit them. The timid fighter is probably also very stressed by the boisterous behaviour of the goldfish. I would move your fighter to his own small tank or a large bowl ASAP if you can.

As for your goldfish, do their tails look at all red-streaked or white-edged? Are there any splits or ragged edges on the other fins? What do you mean by 'scraggly' bodies? And can you test the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH of the tank and post the results for us? The ragged fins may be due to a water quality problem.

be sure to test the water for the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph levels to rule out a water quality problem.
if the water is in good condition, maybe you should think about getting a seperate tank for your betta.

Some melafix will fix the fins in no time. But what are fighter fish?

a Fighter fish is the same thing as a Betta.

but do bettas fight another betta?

Hmmm...

Well, I don't think the water quality is the problem, because the fish have been fine ever since I bought them. But I could be wrong, though I'm a real newbie at this whole testing-of-chemicals-and-stuff thing, so..

It seems I will have to get some.. Melafix**, too.

((( For further details as to the damage )))

The fins at the back seem to be torn, and the scales on the surface of the fish are kind of strange, like they had been pulled at or are falling out. Both of my black moors seem to be suffering this, but again, my two larger goldies look the same as always.

In the mall where I bought the fighter, they were all in seperate small little containers. If I put him back in there, would he be OK? The woman who worked there said that they keep them seperate in there all the time, and they're used to it because they like shallow, small environments.

BTW - I also feed the fighter BettaMin, but the goldies eat that too, every time I put in some for the fighter

Maybe it's the food that's attributing to the black moor's fin problems as well?

male Bettas will fight other male Bettas to the death I hear. and other fish that have long flowing fins and are fairly colorful would probably be in danger of being nipped and picked on.

Siamese Fighting Fish (aka Bettas) Betta Splendens Should have at the smallest a 1/2 gal - 1 gal. They should have plants to hide and play in and be in a room with few temp changes. They need weekly water changes. They dont need an air stone because they have a labyrinth which allows them to breathe oxygen from the surface of the water. You dont need a filter on the 1/2 gal to 1 gal tank because you can just do 100% water changes each week. Bettas dont do good with Goldfish because they are warmer water fish..they do better in a community tank. But its best if you have him by himself. And they eats, Betta Food, some veggies, blood worms, Brine Shrimp...etc. even some fish flakes....such as goldfish flakes..but i dont feed mine goldfish flakes...it just doesnt seem right. They do fight other fish. And do fight other Bettas to the death. When they fight they attack the jaws and gills.


Hope that helps some.

PS...They can be in 1/2gal - 5gal. But the bigger the better... I have al lmine in a half gal and they do just fine...

Another update!

Today as I was preparing to feed the fish, I noticed one of my large goldfish jab the tail of one of my black moors!

And worse still, I saw one of the black moors attack the Betta (fighter) !

What am I gonna' do?

So it seems that the big goldfish is bullying the smaller fish? It sounds like that.

Ah, now i know what a betta is

Bettas and goldfish together in the same tank is usually a bad idea. What happens most of the time is either the betta hurts the goldfish or the goldfish end up hurting and/or killing the betta. I highly recommend moving the betta into a tank of its own. The tank should be at least a gallon, more is better.

*sigh* yet another update

Ok, so I decided to let things run their course yesterday, not knowing the cause of anything. But last night, as I was shutting down my light and filter for the evening, I noticed something..

As soon as I turned off the light, the Betta began to circle one of the black moors, and its gills opened and the betta started to attack, missing several times, and succeding in biting. It seems to be going for the moor that is already the most damaged, but once it went for the other black moor too.

So I put the betta back into its original container (will have to get a tank exclusively for it).

How will the fins and body of the black moor heal? I doubt they can grow back, but since its predator is gone, what signs will I see that it's healing?

When I first started getting into the goldfish hobby, I too was under the assumption that betta's did not harm gold fish. I was told that bettas only fought males from their same species. Boy, was I wrong.

So, I resuced a very small black moor and a betta, and both had ick. Since they had ick---I didn't put either of them in my aquarium. I put them in a very large glass bowl and began ick medication. I did the bucket-to-bucket treatment, giving them new water everyday.....

Well, several times, I noticed the betta attacking my black moor. On the last oocasion, the betta ripped a nice chunk out of the black moor's tail. enough of that! I seperated the two.

So, I just wanted to add my story- that yes, betta's will attack gold fish



(I also learned later on that male bettas can occasionally fight the females of their own species as well--some times killing them).

Also, there are some really good betta websites. All you have to do is use a search engine to find them.

Alot of these web pages reccomend a small aquarium for betta's. They also reccomend filtration. This way, an actual cycle can happen in the tank-making the water quality better for the betta to live in. That way, ammonia and nitrite levels won't spike causing sickness/death for a betta.

By just changing the water once a week, ammonia will be somewhat high which is bad. Also, when I bought my betta, he was in bad water at the store (you know, those little cups) His fins, and all of the other betta's, were split and look curly and ragged. at that time, I was only changing the water once a week. He wasn't healing up good at all. When I gave him a home and let it cycle completely, he healed up and looked more beautiful. I don't have a betta right now, but when I did have him---this is exactly how I took care of him--in a very large bowl, with a filter made for the bowl, which cost me about twelve bucks.

I have my betta in my old 5 gallon aquarium with a whisper filter, and a snail and a bunch of caves and such for him to hide in. He's a happy little fish

I've heard that bettas and paradise fish will attack any fish with flowing fins... I know that with paradise fish the aggression towards other fish depends at least in part on the personality of the individual, I've not kept bettas myself though.

I'd definitely agree with the posts suggesting a decent sized tank with filtration - just because a fish can breathe with a labyrinth doesn't mean it needs to live in a tiny tank (I once overheard a girl in a pet shop telling a customer that fighting fish need to be kept in a really small tank so they don't drown!)

with paradise fish at least, I've always found them to be happier in a bigger tank with plants etc. It also helps keep temperature and water parameters more stable...