Female Betta with Tank mates

[PygmyMitch]

I think we all know that usually male bettas are more territorial than female bettas and that it’s not a good idea to keep a male betta with other community fish. That being said some people have kept a male betta successfully in community tanks.

However can a single female be kept with other community fish ? Is this likely to work better than a single male in a community tank ?

or does a female betta need to be kept in a sorority to keep the aggression down and for it to work better in a community tank with other community fish ?

 

[NoodleOfDanger0]

Female Bettas, honestly, can be just as aggressive as males and sometimes more so. I say keep the bettas on their own, away from other fish, no matter what sex the betta is. Bettas usually need large groups in sororities in order to avoid fighting among them. Someone I knew once said it's either 1 or 100. Literally all or nothing. (She was exaggerating, of course, but the point remains, keeping females alone is easiest.) I always test the temperament of my bettas by adding Ghost Shrimp to the tank. My female was the one who obliterated the Ghost shrimp. My male killed them too but much less brutally. There weren't shrimp bits all over his tank like there were in hers.

 

[On_a_dishy]

I tried to keep my lovely breeding Betta girl, Lily, in a community tank. She hated it and eventually died It was a decent sized tank - 245L - and well planted, but she was, I think, constantly stressed. Having bullish gouramis and acara in there won’t have helped, of course.
It was one of my big learning-curve moments when I realised that fish were not just creatures to be whimsically played with. Lily was great.

 

[PygmyMitch]

Thanks for the comments. Only reason I ask is because I have a 10g tank with only pygmy corys in, and I would like to add something else in there. I know another nano school of fish is probably my only option, but I’m just a bit concerned about overstocking. So if there is a fish that I can keep in there alone or even as a pair, i wouldn’t be worried that the tank is overstocked. I thought the female betta could of been a potential option

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Thanks for the comments. Only reason I ask is because I have a 10g tank with only pygmy corys in, and I would like to add something else in there. I know another nano school of fish is probably my only option, but I’m just a bit concerned about overstocking. So if there is a fish that I can keep in there alone or even as a pair, i wouldn’t be worried that the tank is overstocked. I thought the female betta could of been a potential option

I keep pygmy cories too, they're a bit shy and easily spooked, so a larger, more predatory fish like a betta (of either sex) isn't ideal for them.

Another nano fish is more ideal for them, for sure. Not only will they not be so spooked as they would be like with a single larger fish like a betta or gourami, but if you get something small, peaceful and schooling, the pygmies will often swim with them, and they act a lot like dither fish, giving the pygmies more confidence to be out and about in the open.

How many pygmies do you have in there? Is the tank planted? Because especially if the tank is planted and established, you can easily have a small group of male only Endler guppies - or on the soft water side, a group of the small tetra or rasbora, like ember tetra, or rasboras like the chili, celestial pearl, galaxy, kubatoi etc. So many options! Their bioload is small, so if the tank is planted and filtered, shouldn't be overstocked - or at least, not in a way that an experienced keeper can't handle and allow for. Those species eat similar small foods, and go well with pygmies, and shouldn't strain the tanks bioload any more than a single larger fish would.

 

[PygmyMitch]

I used to have a school of neons, and the pygmys did swim with them. But sadly I lost the neons over time. When i bought the neon’s I wasn’t aware of how most neons now are of poor health. So already having a school of fish has kind of put me off wanting another school, which is why I was thinking a female betta or something equivalent could potentially be an option. What has been said by all in this thread, I think the betta isn’t a good match and another school is my only option.

Currently only 4 pygmys. Bought them as a 4 well over a year ago. but I will be increasing the number to atleast 10 very soon, as I know they thrive better in groups of 10or more. The tank is planted lightly, but soon I will have more plants in there, giving the pygmys plenty of places to hide. I do like the look of the galaxy rasboras, but i’m going to keep looking around see if anything else catches my eye.

As for the betta, I still would like to have one, so I might just have to set up a second tank and have a betta on its own!

 

[On_a_dishy]

Bettas are great. Such personality, and tremendous curiosity. Watching them eye up a new thing and then go in further for an explore, nosing right up to it, is amusing. I lodge moss balls about 2 inches off the ground between decor and the glass to create a little bridge which he will swim under, turn around, swim under again… they love to interact with us and the toys we put in for them. Attached is a photo of my boy! He had just seen something that interested him

 

[PygmyMitch]

Bettas are great. Such personality, and tremendous curiosity. Watching them eye up a new thing and then go in further for an explore, nosing right up to it, is amusing. I lodge moss balls about 2 inches off the ground between decor and the glass to create a little bridge which he will swim under, turn around, swim under again… they love to interact with us and the toys we put in for them. Attached is a photo of my boy! He had just seen something that interested him

I love his colours. what type of betta is he ?

 

[On_a_dishy]

I love his colours. what type of betta is he ?

Thank you! He's a double tail plakat "nemo".

 

[AntonioTheFishGuy]

It always depends on the temperament of your female, and while females generally aren't as aggressive as males they are still known to be aggressive. Some ways you can help reduce the chances of your female betta being aggressive are to ensure you're keeping them in a large tank, providing plenty of live plants and other hiding places, and ensuring that you're keeping them with the right tank mates.

If you are going to keep them with tank mates, some tank mates I'd recommend are snails, shrimps, and my all-time favorite corydoras!

 

[Acorno]

I used to have a school of neons, and the pygmys did swim with them. But sadly I lost the neons over time. When i bought the neon’s I wasn’t aware of how most neons now are of poor health. So already having a school of fish has kind of put me off wanting another school, which is why I was thinking a female betta or something equivalent could potentially be an option. What has been said by all in this thread, I think the betta isn’t a good match and another school is my only option.

Currently only 4 pygmys. Bought them as a 4 well over a year ago. but I will be increasing the number to atleast 10 very soon, as I know they thrive better in groups of 10or more. The tank is planted lightly, but soon I will have more plants in there, giving the pygmys plenty of places to hide. I do like the look of the galaxy rasboras, but i’m going to keep looking around see if anything else catches my eye.

As for the betta, I still would like to have one, so I might just have to set up a second tank and have a betta on its own!

You don’t have to give up on a centerpiece fish. Just pick something a little more peaceful. Like a Pygmy sunfish.

 

[otterblue]

I had my female betta ("Angel") in a 40 gallon community tank. She was very happy in there. She had been with those fish since she was a baby betta under an inch long. I never saw any aggression from her - in fact, she seemed extremely peaceful. However, every now and then I would have one less ember tetra.

Now that I moved her to her new tank I haven't lost any ember tetras.

Guess my points are:
*Even if you don't see aggression, it could be happening - we don't watch our tanks 24/7 (plus, could happen when lights are out)
*Even peaceful bettas can become aggressive & you won't know until it's too late
*All bettas, even the "nice ones", have the predisposition to be aggressive

 

[Lanpenn]

I had three different bettas... the first was more aggressive and ate even the apple snail's antenna (and sometimes gave some "runs" over the cories in my 10 gallons tank), but I had others that are calmer and one that was bullied by the male mollies that are trying to mate with him... I also had a male paradise fish with zebra danios, without any problems.

Indeed, I don't know why there're bettas with different personalities. Maybe they can create a calmer variety from Betta splendens?

 

[Ram419]

I have a female betta in a 55 gallon tank atm. She was swimming about with the other fish when I first got her, but as I've added more fish she has retreated to hiding places. Not sure, but I might move her out.