bettas (AKA siamese fighters??)

[tropical_adam]

I'm a bit confused

When you guys talk about bettas, are you refering to the long finned fish also refered to as siamese fighter fish?

My lfs has said that these can be kept in a comunity tank obviously depending on their tank mates. They also say that two males is a no no. however, a male and two females is ok? mainly cos the male gets obsessive of one female does all this sound lagit?

Ive had my 50g comunity tank set up month (fry allready!! ) and am lookin to set up another tank. My thoughts at the mo are dwarf puffers, axolottls or bettas. The bettas are looking like a really cheap option fo a wonderful lookin fish.

What you reckon guys? any info on these fellas would be great..

 

[White Whale]

Only the males are aggressive towards other males, and occasionally a single female. The males are also aggressive to anything that might even resemble a betta - like a very fancy guppy because of its tail. This is because it is territorial and its only threat to its territory is another male betta. Other than that, it gets picked on by either the larger, faster swimmimg fish, or the little shoaling fin-nippers. The bettas beautiful 'plummage' would actually be a handicap in the wild because the size of its fins would act more like a parachute instead of an aquatic navigation aid.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Don't try mating bettas in the 50.
Reasons:
1) Other fish might ruin bubble nest
2)He (betta) will kill the female
3)He (betta) will attack any fish that approaches his nest
4)They nip at slow-moving fish w/ big plumage

If he's the only betta, he'll do well w/ fast-swimming fish.

Good luck w/ your endeavor.

 

[dixaisy930]

As for putting a betta in a community tank, I'd first ask what do you have in there already.

Plus, I believe I've heard people say a 50g is too LARGE for a betta. The depth is too much for them, I believe. (Unless you have a long 50 gallon).

Some bettas do fine in community tanks...some harass all of the other fish, and some are scared to death. And when they are just kept in those cups, it's almost impossible to tell how they'd do.

 

[wuvmybetta]

mainly cos the male gets obsessive of one female does all this sound lagit?

it HAS been done but I wouldn't
The males DO obsess over the female(s),this is true, but keeping them together as a permanent arrangement is risky

All of my males have female neighbors or they share tanks that are divided,just to be safe. They have such kindred relationships that they freak out if I take one away from the other for a few minutes for a water change

 

[tropical_adam]

Thanks for the advice people. at the moment i got a couple of platies, 1 silver shark, 5 tetra neons, 1 male dwarf gourami, 2 dwarf frogs, 2 cat fish, 2 blue barbs. acouple of other odd bits but i dont think these would be a problem as they hide most the time.

What are hese bubblr nests you talk of? sound quite strange

my 50 g is quite deep so it may not be a good idea. what are these sectioned type tanks you talk about? and those cup things.. what are they? I think iwill have to have my betta tank heated as im in the cold and rainy uk!

I see some more axolottl's today, their great little things. My lfs sell a moby dick tank for about £50. i was thinking of setting up a kind of cartoon set tank, cos i think the axolottls look like japenese cartoon characters! but some i see today were about six inches,a nyone know anything about these?

Thanks again for your help guys.. most appreciated.

 

[dixaisy930]

Let's see if I can answer some of these questions.. (beeming with knowledge :kira: )

The bubble nest is what the male betta will build (it's basically a bunch of bubbles above the water) if he were to harvest the eggs out of the female (that's where he would put the eggs). But they will do this even if a female isn't present. It's a good indicator that the betta is happy and healthy.

The section tanks, are just tanks people have put dividers in to keep more than one male together safely, so they have no real contact. You have to be careful not to put real dominate males together or one dominate and one real submissive since all the flaring will stress them out (they can see each other in this set-up).

The cups are about the size of a 8 oz glass (if that) that most lfs keep male bettas in, since they cannot be housed together like other fish. This is what gets most of us started...saving the bettas from the tiny cups.

Eventhough you really didn't ask, my bettas are all kept in one gallon Kritter Keepers. It's seems to be just right (not too small, not too big...like Goldilocks ) for them. And there's a lid, which is good to help keep the air a little humid and make sure no bettas jump ship...errr water.

Hope this helps