Can You Make A Community Of Male Bettas ?

[Miss Wiggle]

the problem here is people dealing all too readily in absolutes.

saying you cannot keep males together or you cannot keep males and females together

of course you can give an appropriate set up.

get a 1000gal tank, put two males in, they'd probably never even find each other and co-exist quite happily!

likewise if you keep males and females at a ratio of 1m:500f no 1 female is going to be stressed out by the male.

fish don't read books, they have their own characters and will so as they please.

with very carefully selected fish for temperment and massive overstocking i think you could fairly easily keep a group of males with no serious problems. occasional squabbles i'm sure but no worse than an aggressive community.

now of course it is not advisable for you to readily say on the forum that it's ok to keep males and females together, as you know there will be someone who knows no better who reads it a promptly goes to buy a mate for their male and leaves the two of them in a 5gal tank. but you should be careful of the language used and not go down the never ever route.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Aquatics would not advance one bit if more experienced aquarists didn't go past the commonly accepted limits.

Although I do wonder where the line is drawn in that... There's things I have tried (for instance, at the moment none of my tanks are heated and I haven't been using dechlorinator for over a year) which have so far worked out fine, but there's things I'd like to try that I'm not sure about... I think at the moment I'm tilting towards the 'go for it' attitude- after all, how many fish die simply getting to your shop? And that's for no advancement whatsoever.

 

[Jaded12]

Cracker I love you and your love of conflict, lmao

I'm not even stating my POV because its pointless, lol. I do love how everything seems to start a fight on these forums, its amusing

Geez really, WTF??
For once we agree!!

LMAO!!! We agreed on something? Uh oh, I think the worlds gonna explode!

 

[jollysue]

Say! Now the Betta forum has a discourse of intellect and good nature. I do not believe this sort of conversation is ridiculed or drives people of good will away down the road.

As for me, I don't care whether Brian has a friend with a tub full of males or not. It is a topic of interest to Betta keepers. It has worth, and it is not irresponsible, imo. I have had lots of great profs that gave senarios to discuss. And psychs use them to determine the mental health of a client or patient.

 

[Maxsmom]

I have a great question for the breeders... if aggression was bred into domesticated bettas, why can't it be bred out??? I think that's a dream of many of us to have a huge aquarium full of beautiful bettas. Can it be done??!!

Cracker - your pictures are truly awesome!!!

One of my LFS's did an experiment - they put 2 male bettas in a 100 gallon tank and they've coexisted for weeks without killing each other - but they do occasionally find each other and have nipped at each other's fins. But who would purchase a 100 gallon tank with just 2 relatively small fish in there??

I, for one, would never attempt keeping males together (even nervous about keeping females together as they can be aggressive with each other as well) b/c I LOVE my little guys and would feel awful for them if they started picking on each other... much the same way I would feel if my son was being bullied in school. Nature or not - it's the way I feel... anything I have in my care will get my MOST care... and that's it!

 

[jollysue]

Betta splendens are a naturally territorial fish. They have been bred to enhance their beauty and aggressiveness. There are two lines developed traditionally in Thailand, as I understand it: The VT for beauty and the Plakad for fighting. (The plakad is the most like the splendens in the wild. There are other species of Betta that can and do live in communities naturally.)

Nevertheless the fish by nature is territorial and aggressive. To breed out that characteristic would change their behavior, such as the flaring, arching, and other behaviors that are associated with their aggression and beauty.

To make them a community docile shoaling fish would change them fundamentally. It would no doubt even change one of the most endearing qualities about them: their puppy like attachment to their keepers.

I can certainly stand to be corrected by Synirr, Cracker and others of their stature and intellect--especially since most of what I just said I have gathered from them--and wuv!

 

[TubbyLaLa]

A very interesting and amusing thread!! Cracker! Dogs are ment to be like their owners - do betta owners get like their fish? Purely as an observation on the comment made about the betta forum being opinionated at times, well so are our gorgeous bettas, and everyone seems to enjoy a little flare at the edge of intellectual boundaries of the ideas of fish keeping. I agree that open mindedness to new ideas along with responsible fish keeping is the way to go, but no one knows it all not even Cracker even though he has a wealth of experience- we all still have things to learn and explore.

 

[Nevergone815]

The funny part is Cracker claims he is just an "average betta breeder" that does it as a hobby...

I don't want to know what the "expert" betta breeders that do it as a passion know, that might just confuse me ...

 

[Dibari]

Betta splendens are a naturally territorial fish. They have been bred to enhance their beauty and aggressiveness. There are two lines developed traditionally in Thailand, as I understand it: The VT for beauty and the Plakad for fighting. (The plakad is the most like the splendens in the wild. There are other species of Betta that can and do live in communities naturally.)

Nevertheless the fish by nature is territorial and aggressive. To breed out that characteristic would change their behavior, such as the flaring, arching, and other behaviors that are associated with their aggression and beauty.

To make them a community docile shoaling fish would change them fundamentally. It would no doubt even change one of the most endearing qualities about them: their puppy like attachment to their keepers.

I can certainly stand to be corrected by Synirr, Cracker and others of their stature and intellect--especially so as most of that is what I have gathered from them!

I agree with you. They would become like guppies if they weren't so firey and territorial. I dunno if I would love my girlies as much if they didn't peck and bite at my arm when I changed their water. That's just me, though.

 

[jollysue]

I have a question though, Synirr. If Cracker is just having a go, what are the pics of the adult male Betta together that he posted?

 

[Bert]

Yeah, it would be nice to have a 30 gallon with 5 or 6 boys but, it just wouldn't be the same. It's nice having them be the prettiest fish in the tank and you know they love to show boat around.

 

[SoCalMom]

I just don't understand why people start threads that they know are going to cause a stink. What's the point? Do you really not have anything better to do?

Grow up

And no, I really don't care what anyone has to say in response to this. It would be pointless to waste your time with a mean/sarcastic reply

 

[wuvmybetta]

I have a question though, Synirr. If Cracker is just having a go, what are the pics of the adult male Betta together that he posted?

I don't think the thread was started to cause a stink. It only turned that way as an easy out, I guess.

A lot of breeders raise multiple spawns together. I guess I fail to see the big joke...?

 

[_cRaCkEr_]

I have a question though, Synirr. If Cracker is just having a go, what are the pics of the adult male Betta together that he posted?

I don't think the thread was started to cause a stink. It only turned that way as an easy out, I guess.

A lot of breeders raise multiple spawns together. I guess I fail to see the big joke...?

Welcome back Wuv we miss you

I just don't understand why people start threads that they know are going to cause a stink. What's the point? Do you really not have anything better to do?

Grow up

And no, I really don't care what anyone has to say in response to this. It would be pointless to waste your time with a mean/sarcastic reply

I'm also not understanding why do you keep on checking out my threads and if you don't really like it why are you tracking it lol

 

[zoekin8yg]

I just don't understand why people start threads that they know are going to cause a stink. What's the point? Do you really not have anything better to do?

Grow up

And no, I really don't care what anyone has to say in response to this. It would be pointless to waste your time with a mean/sarcastic reply

I'm also not understanding why do you keep on checking out my threads and if you don't really like it why are you tracking it lol

Mmmm I was thinking the same thing