Boy + Girl Community tank

[BeccaBlain]

I know most breeders/owners say an automatic "No!" to a boy girl community tank.

... but I have a very special situation I would be willing to try, but I want to pass it by you first.

I have a boy with a busted swim bladder. He can barely make the surface on a 10 gallon tank with 4 inches of water in it.

The tank would be heavily planted, with lots of things for male and female to hide in. There is NO way the male could even dream of breeding with said female, and the female is rather docile.

Do you think this could potentially work? I don't want to leave said fish in a bowl, as he gets depressed, and he can't swim enough to be a threat to the female (or even attempt to breed with her.)

I do not think he will survive much longer, so I'm trying to give him the best environment possible. I'd rather have him at least near another fishie. (if he is in my bowl, I can't accomplish this.)

Thoughts? Would it be something to just try out and watch them very closely for several days to see if they bother each other?

His level of swimming ability right now is limited to skuttling along the bottom like a lobster, and making struggling darts to the surface for air. He can't reach the top of a 10 gallon tank which is full, which is why I'm try to figure out some different housing.

 

[GuppyDude]

id be worryed about the females ripping him up, but i guess u can try it just keep a close eye on it ( this does not mean people can keep a male in a female community thogh so please dont ) you've tryed to treat his swim bladder right? if ur going to be treating him u should have him in a seperate tank away from other fish. good luck

 

[shrks1fan]

Yep, I'd be concerned of the female harming the male...as she may sense the "unhealthyness" of the male and take advantage of it (it's well known in the "animal" world that they will kill weaklings so as to not pass on the weakness to young). Even if she is "docile" as you say, temperments can change when situation/environments change.

Linda

 

[Sorrell]

Also if the female is wanting to breed and can see the male doesn't, she'll probably kill him. I wouldn't do it

 

[BeccaBlain]

He has had swim bladder problems for about 4 or so months now, and I've done everything from changing his diet, cutting out every possible thing that could cause swim bladder and keeping him in a measuring cup in the heated tank so he could have warm water and get air.

Nothing has worked.

He is rather old, over 2 now, but I don't have the heart to put him down because hes still trying.

I've tossed them together for the time being to see how it goes. So far, the female flares a bit, they flop around in a corner, and the female goes to pay attention to a male I put in a breeding trap on the other side of the tank *L*

Gave her a bit of a distraction.

The tanks so heavily planted I can barely see in, but the male just runs whenever the female gets anywhere near him.

Right now, shes cuddled up besides Steele and they are just lying together. And no, there was no flaring. She just scooted up and went to lie down right next to him.

How interesting.

*sigh* I think I'm going to have to eventually euthanize poor steele if I can't find a solution to this problem With winter well on the way, a small tank is a death sentence anyway. I could keep him in the measuring cup, but I'm not certain if he'd be ok in there.

So far, so good. She seems more interested in her reflection in the plexiglass and in Lucky and Mason than she is in the flopper.

No injuries as of yet, and only about a five minute session of her chasing him around, which happened right after I put them together.

(Mason is in the tank next door, Lucky is currently in the breeding trap.)

 

[BeccaBlain]

I'll seperate them in about half an hour. It seemed to work as a short term thing, so maybe I'll let Steele loose in the tank a while a bit each day so he can exercise, if nothing else.

I really don't want to have to euthanize Steele, he has been far too good of a little fish to just give up on.

Maybe I can find a shallow bowl of somesort I can convert to a Betta house for him. Ugh. My current bowls are too deep, and if I lower the water, he wont have enough water.

(I've been banned from other tanks, as I just got the second 10 gallon. *L*)

Maybe I'll cough out the 15 or so bucks and get another large sized breeding trap to use. I have two already, and the Bettas find them awesome little houses. I haven't had them ever make bubblenests this big until I started with them. Heh.

 

[Sorrell]

I have a swimbladder boy and he's in a 1/2 gllon kritter keeper with about 3/4 water and a plant, he does great in there. I know you have good intentions, but I really think you would shorten his life and put way more stress on him in a community tank and especially with healthy fish around Just remember that what seems like good conditions for a healthy fish can be a nightmare for another

 

[BeccaBlain]

The biggest problem I have is the fact if I keep Steele away from other fish, he completely stops eating altogether, no matter what I bribe him with. Keeping this particular fish with other fish is a requirement, or I'll just execute him via starvation and depression.

If he -liked- his bowl, the solution would be easy. I would put him in the bowl, and keep him on my desk.

Maybe If I did out Bowl-From-Hell and put one of the other fish in that and have them side by side, but I'd have to do bi-daily water changes to keep the temperature in an acceptable range... Ugh.

 

[cutechic]

The biggest problem I have is the fact if I keep Steele away from other fish, he completely stops eating altogether, no matter what I bribe him with. Keeping this particular fish with other fish is a requirement, or I'll just execute him via starvation and depression.

Have you tried handfeeding him frozen foods? Even the sickest of my bettas usually eat when I do this. Or put a mirror up right before feeding times. I hope for both of your sakes you don't need to resort to euthanizing him at this point.

 

[The-Wolf]

I'd just like to say
I had a male and female in a community tank (4ft) and never had any problems
with keeping them together.
I only don't now because I had a serious bacterial outbreak that wipped out 90% of the tanks occupants. Sadly Ryan and Cathy were amoungst the casualties.

I would new keep a male and female together in any thing less than a 4 ft tank.

 

[f250fisherman]

I can understand being attached to a fish, but this fish is suffering. Every breath it takes is a chore. Personally, I'd euthanise the fish and put it out of it's misery. A new male would be a much happier fish, and soon you would be too. Sometimes as a pet owner we have to make tough decisions. This is one of those times. However, it's your fish. Good luck.