Neon tetras nipping at Betta tail

[Satya]

29 gallon planted tank with a sponge filter. Currently 9 neon tetras, one half moon male beta, one hill stream loach, 3 platys, one albino corydora, one panda corydoras (I know not enough corydoras for either, I’ve had horrible luck with corydoras 😞), two nerite snails, one mystery snail.

0ppm Ammonia

0ppm Nitrite 

10 ppm Nitrate

pH 7.8 Added a single Caltalpa leaf yesterday to start lowering pH again. Was at 7.6 pH when I added the driftwood but recently started creeping back up.

82 F, a little high so I turned down the heater again this morning. Was at 80 F before. 

We introduced the betta to our community tank 8 days ago and they seemed to be getting along fine. The betta would chase the platys a bit but they were too fast for him and didn’t seem stressed about it at all. Betta seemed happy, exploring, active but also not flared all the time. Then yesterday afternoon I noticed the neon tetras were chasing and nipping at the betta. He in turn seemed more aggressive toward the platy (platy doesn’t mind still). This morning I noticed his tail looks a bit torn at the edge so I added him to a breeder net until I can figure out what to do. 

The neons don’t seem interested now that he’s in the net but I don’t want to watch the poor betta go downhill. He’s such a beauty. I also certainly don’t want to watch the neon beat him up more. Unfortunately I don’t really want another tank to set him up separately. Having the community tank and a quarantine tank is the goal. Any advice? Is rehoming him the only answer? 

[kahjtheundedicated]

Tetras are often fin nippers. That said, they are more comfortable in larger groups, so you could try getting more of them.

You could try reintroducing him after leaving him in the net for a while so the tetras get used to his presence and monitor the situation. If they're still nipping his fins, may be best to find a long term way to separate them.