Betta in a cave? (second update!)

[The-Wolf]

Hi as you may or may not know I have a male and female betta (veiltail)
I am new to bettas so bear with me on this one

I have set up a 4ft tank wich will be a danio only tank with larger danios in it (bengals 10cm adult, moustached 15cm adut & Giants 15.2cm adult size) 5 of each.
The tank in question has two establish filters in it and decorations and plants from my 3ft tank (cycled or mini cycle) any hoo I have put both the male and female in this tank, as I have discovered a leak in the males tank( waiting for silcon to cure),
I have watched vigilantly for several hours and apart from the occasional flare by him they seem to stay at seperate ends of the tank.

Now for the cave bit
In this tank is a cave, the male goes to the top of the tank and then into the cave and comes out and repeats this action.

Is he making a bubble nest in the cave?
Will they be ok together permantly, as its a big tank, even with the larger fish in with them?
What are your thoughts and recomendations?

For a (bad) pic of the tank click here the cave can be seen on the right as you look at the pic.

Please treat me nicely I do want what is best for them

 

[Pointy_kitty]

i would never suggest keeping a male and femal together perminantly
some have done this with success but in my experience they will breed and breed then breed some more
and when they breed they are very rough, tearing fins and ripping at each other
usually if you are trying to breed them purposely, once she lays the eggs in the bubble nest, you remove the femal and give her bettafix and aquarium salts to heal her wounds

and about the bubble nest, it could be
but i have only seen bubble nests on top of the water in clear view

 

[The-Wolf]

Thank you Kitty
I guess that this is an unkown quantity as 45 of you have looked and not replyed. I will keep you all posted on the outcome then so you will know for another time.

 

[cutecotton]

hey danio, bettas don't built bubblenests under water i dont' think i believe they only build it on the surface of the water

i wouldn't suggest keeping a male and feamle together permanently either, and i don' tknow about the bigger fish and wehther or not they'll try to attack the betta (know nothing about danios). I would put htem back in their orginal tank once its fixed

 

[Koda]

Thank you Kitty
I guess that this is an unkown quantity as 45 of you have looked and not replyed. I will keep you all posted on the outcome then so you will know for another time.

Ummm....I was one of the 45 who looked and didn't reply.My excuse is that Pointy_ kitty had already said all the good stuff


Koda

 

[wuvmybetta]

I believe he's just breathing Also, I don't recommend keeping them together either, I also wouldn't keep them in a large tank like that ,but that's just me. IMO, large aquaria exhausts bettas and speeds up their life span. Can you split a 10 for them?

 

[The-Wolf]

ok thanks for the good advise, as soon as the silicon has cured I'll put him back in his 6.5 gal

I have a 13 gal that I need to find a divider for and they can both go into that

mmm betta keeping is not easy but worth it I think

 

[IBFrog]

I would not keep them together. There can be aggression even if it is passion at first. This means stress and eventual decline. My wife kept a pair in a 40 gal community tank many moons ago that had many hidding places for the lady. The other fish also protected her form him when he got too fiesty. Fish-----go figure. I have only seen bubble nests on the surface, but you may have an exception. I have a cave in each Betta tank and some use the cave a lot, some a little, some hadly at all. It depends on the Betta. Your fella probably just likes his cave.

 

[The-Wolf]

Update.....

first of all there is no air in the cave so it looks
like you are all correct on that point.
secondly I have decided to keep the bettas together in this tank
my reasons are this
1; the male tends to stay at one end of the tank and the female at the other
2; there are lots of places to hide for her should she need to
3; the only time they goe anywhere near each other she fends him off for a second or two then goes about her business not bothered by him, and he seems to wander off in the other direction
4; neither of them bother my wcm's or panchax that are in there tempory
5; the danios/devarios that are in with them are much larger than they are and they ignore them
6: they are IMO quite happy with their large tank and surroundings.

If you feel that this is a wrong descision then by all means say so but I am home most of the day and have observed no adverse effects of keeping them together.

 

[GP]

I wouldn't do it danio. Did you ever read my thread about how my brother's friends ran a "gauntlet" and put bettas together to fight? Well, they didn't fight at first, so I kept them in the bowl until the next morning (was unknowledgeable at the time), when I would get another container. Blue betta=nearly dead.

 

[The-Wolf]

I kept them in the bowl until the next morning (was unknowledgeable at the time), when I would get another container. Blue betta=nearly dead.

This is not a bowl it's a 4ft tank that holds 36gallons.
Like i have said i feel that this is ok for them at this moment in time. I have a 6.5 gallon tank set up and ready should the need arsie, but I really feel that it won't be needed.
I do care about the welfare of Ryan and Cat but I am happy with the set up for the time being. I am taking note of any and all suggestions and will bow down to experianced keepers if this is such a great no no.

 

[sunflower]

Dont do it hun!!!!!

Even I know thats a no no and I only saw a betta for the first time in my life yesterday!

Plus, they cant kill each other til I've seen them

 

[The-Wolf]

Just to keep you all updated
there is absolutly no problems with Ryan & Cat
They each have their own territory and very rarely go into the others.

They do flare at each other when meeting in the middle but all is ok neither IMHO are stressed and there is no signs of fin damage on either one.

 

[fourplayfishy]

seriously just take one out even if its the female u take out... im time they will end up getting more used to each other and what happens when u get used to someone of the other sex neways just dont... id say take one out even if they stay on their respective sides

 

[GP]

I'd experiment, take the male out, see if the female swims around more often, then take the female out, see if the male comes out of his cave more.