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I have had a female betta (Kitty Rose) in a ten gallon tank with one neon, two ottos and four glow lights, for about a month.
Today, I came home to find something had savagely killed the neon, plucked out both its eyes and cut it tummy open. Could the betta have done it?
I tryed to add another female to the tank, but Kitty Rose became aggressive toward Fred, and I had to take Fred (short for Fredricka) out after finding her with torn fins.
Since I did not see had happened, I wondered if this was normal behavior for a female betta, or if the neow could have died from other causes and the others in the tank had been at it. It was pretty strange, not to leave out gruesome. Has anyone else had an experience like this?

The betta could have helped lead the neon to its death. The neon needs a school, so it was most likely stressed already. The betta could have been harrassing it, ultimately killing it, then plucked its eyes out.

Or, the neon could have just died, and the other fish did what they did.

I once had a fish die, and the others ate out the eyes. Creepy...very creepy.

Yup, she'd have done it. I've come home to a female betta with flesh ripped away from the bottom of her belly to her spine, done by another female. They can be viscious fish. That neon would have been an easy target.

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The neon may have died from being alone without its shoal. The betta will have certainly eaten bits once it had died but may have 'pushed it over the edge too'.

Thanks for your replys. I took Kitty Rose out of the ten gallon and put my other female, Fred, in the tank. She is a lot more peaceful and the remaining glowlights have come out of hiding.
The neon was hanging out with the glowlights, but you are probably right about it being stressed. I had started out with about eight neons, but one by one they died off (often without showing any outward signs of sickness).
Kitty Rose is now in the bowl that Fred, was living in (where she will stay).
I am now considering putting the remaining four glowlights in my 29 gallon tank with the becon fish and danios -- probably would be safer for them.
Thanks again.

If you want you can bump up the glowlights to six and keep them with the 2 otos in the 10 gal

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