Why Is This Working?

okay heres what has happened. My bettas ( both males) were in the own tanks then it got cold and they had no heaters so i put them in a divded betta condo in my 29gallon till it gets warm enough in the house to be put back. so they were in there for a month and then the condo broke! It fell to the bottom and they both swim free. I was freaking out running to the tank to try and grab one of them when my husband grabed me and made my wait. To my great surpise they did nothing! They've been in their 3 weeks now with no probelms. I thought for sure one of them would be toast but nope. The tank mates are 3 glow lites, 3 angels, one picuts catfish and a bristlenose pleco. There is little to no current lots of fake plants, some floating ones, and a little fake tree stump cave ( that the pleco has claimed for himself).
Our guess is that one the tank is big enough for them to each have their other spot to protect. Two when they were in the condo they fought enough through the divder that they knew who was boss and just kept the hierarchy the way it was. I watch them evey day to make sure nothing has changed but so far so good. no bites, no stress lines nada. The other fish are acting the same as well. They both are males for sure. So any ideas? (please no yelling about this being cruel and unjust. it was accident and if they were not getting along they would not be together) oh i dont have the internet at home so if its a bit before i relpy to someone sorry

I have heard of it working in large tanks with lots of hiding places before, though it is by no means recommended.
A lot would depend on the individual fish's personality too. You could have two super-chilled out fish.

It is worth pointing out that although it has worked OK up to now, it could change very quickly if one gets into the other's terrotory, and if you aren't there to see it you could come home to a dead fish.

Congrats for it working so far but one day you'll end up with only one fish or maybe even none. Theycan just turn at any time. I have males in barraks with clear dividers and they ignore each other every day then suddenly they are at each other and won't back down for quite some time, now if they was together and that happened i would be sayin my goodbyes, you can't trust them.

it could change very quickly if one gets into the other's terrotory, and if you aren't there to see it you could come home to a dead fish.
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they do all the time! they swin in then swin out and the other just looks at him funny and does nada. the angels love having them in there they just follow them around like their some kinda super star

As others have said, it may be fine now but they can turn so quickly. It's worth seperating them now so you don't have the heartbreak of finding an injured/dead fish.

i had 4 males in my main tank, they were all borthers but were in plastic pint tumblers (with lots of holes for cirulation). i was away for a few days and came back to find my plec had nocked 3 of the cups over and there were 3 males in the tank, but they were all fine, and i decided to leave them. for a whole month nothing happened and then i had to go away for a couple of days again, and came back to fine the smallest males had vanished and the next smallest was shredded. it was cool while it lasted, but i would not try it again... tred carefuly..

That's so sad Blue Betta, bet you were heartbroken.

stang1 said:

That's so sad Blue Betta, bet you were heartbroken.

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not nice to loose your own babies=/ it was going so well too. the beat up boy has been rehomed with one of his sisters and shares a 40gal tank with some guppies and platties now

i was on trade me a new zealand trade site and some one was selling 50 siamese fighter together i think it was like 20 males and 30 females all kept in th same undivided tank all ready to breed

as others have said.... best change the housing arrangements b4 something goes wrong

Channing, imagine you are smoking a cigarette in the gunpowder warehouse. Right up until the earthshattering explosion it "seems safe" doesn't it? It would be great if these guys could live together. #1 reality of Bettas-- their earlier common name Siamese FIGHTING Fish. For a reason. You will feel TERRIBLE if you let them kill each other. I guarantee it.

I had a couple of male fighters living in an 18 inch tank for a few months. They ignored each other completely. There were lots of floating plants in there so I guess they were happy with their own little territories.
As mentioned by littlest it also depends on the individual fish. Some are more peaceful than others and these are the fish that should be used for breeding. The other option would be your Betta splendens have some Betta imbellis in them and that is making them a little more pleasant natured.

Wouldnl't it be great if someone could breed a strain of bettas that could live in harmony together?

fredgarvin said:

Channing, imagine you are smoking a cigarette in the gunpowder warehouse. Right up until the earthshattering explosion it "seems safe" doesn't it? It would be great if these guys could live together. #1 reality of Bettas-- their earlier common name Siamese FIGHTING Fish. For a reason. You will feel TERRIBLE if you let them kill each other. I guarantee it.

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quite an illogical comparison.

...... while not a good idea to keep two males together, it's not the equivilent to smoking in a gun powder room. i'm too tired/lazy to elaborate.

just dont keep them together is the STRAIGHT FORWARD POINT. If you are experiencing something different, you may be lucky.... but keep in mind that you are risking the health of your bettas and you must weigh the risk with your own enjoyment.