hi im new to this whole fish thing as my boyfriend has recently got me hooked. but i really like the betta fish but am so disappointed that you cannot keep a female and a male betta together in the same tank. i really wanted to breed this fish but all hopes were crushed when i read they often kill the female and the babies. i guess i want to know is it possible to breed them and keep them all alive without having like 20 different tanks?
Hi I Need Some Help As I Want To Buy Betta Fish
- Thread starter alannah
- Start date
tibby25731
Fish Herder
Answer to breeding question - NO. Your male and female need separate tanks. They can have potentially hundreds of babies from one spawning. You would need a large grow out tank for them, and then lots of small tanks or large jars to separate the boys into once they start getting aggressive. Jars mean daily water changes, also a nice warm room that you can keep to more or less the same temp, or lots of heat mats to stand the jars on. You need to heat the jars somehow. So it is not something to undertake lightly - it is a whole lot of responsibility, hard work and money.
Buy a gorgeous male as a pet and be happy with that is my advice
Buy a gorgeous male as a pet and be happy with that is my advice
Netty
Siamese Fighting Fish......The clue is in the name
Like Tibby said.....it is alot of hard work and commitment to breed and raise Betta babies. There is quite in depth information on our website about the process of breeding. If it doesn't put you off then it should help if you decide to go ahead with it.
LauraFrog
Fish Gatherer
Generally bettas are not community safe. How big is the tank in question?
LauraFrog
Fish Gatherer
You have to be very careful with tankmates... I wouldn't say there are no other fish, but it's got to be a careful choice. Bettas are aggressive by nature, and while most of them will tolerate other fish, some of them are just downright obnoxious and won't put up with other fish as well.
Mostly people who keep bettas with tankmates choose bottom dwellers. The only bottom dwellers that are okay for a tank that size are otocinclus catfish (otos) and pygmy corydoras catfish (mini corys). There are several species of each, and they are all very sensitive. Have you read up on the nitrogen cycle? Basically to keep these bottom dwellers successfully you need a very mature tank and they also need special feeding. They aren't easy to keep. I wouldn't say a beginner absolutely shouldn't have them, but they are difficult to keep and can be expensive, so be careful. They are both schooling species, so you'd want three or four in the tank with a betta.
Your other options with bettas are limited because of the tank size. You can usually get away with keeping platys with bettas, but I wouldn't put platys in a 5 gal. You can also keep multiple females in one tank but the absolute minimum size for a sorority (tank of females) is 10 gals.
You could possibly consider harlequin rasboras... they are a tough, midwater schooling species, and you could have four or five of them in there. Most of the tetras are small enough but they are not a good choice to keep with bettas because they cannot resist nipping at the betta's long fins.
Hard to know what else... if you put it past us, we can tell you if it's okay or not. Endler's livebearer would be, but guppies are not as bettas will attack them with their flowing fins.
Mostly people who keep bettas with tankmates choose bottom dwellers. The only bottom dwellers that are okay for a tank that size are otocinclus catfish (otos) and pygmy corydoras catfish (mini corys). There are several species of each, and they are all very sensitive. Have you read up on the nitrogen cycle? Basically to keep these bottom dwellers successfully you need a very mature tank and they also need special feeding. They aren't easy to keep. I wouldn't say a beginner absolutely shouldn't have them, but they are difficult to keep and can be expensive, so be careful. They are both schooling species, so you'd want three or four in the tank with a betta.
Your other options with bettas are limited because of the tank size. You can usually get away with keeping platys with bettas, but I wouldn't put platys in a 5 gal. You can also keep multiple females in one tank but the absolute minimum size for a sorority (tank of females) is 10 gals.
You could possibly consider harlequin rasboras... they are a tough, midwater schooling species, and you could have four or five of them in there. Most of the tetras are small enough but they are not a good choice to keep with bettas because they cannot resist nipping at the betta's long fins.
Hard to know what else... if you put it past us, we can tell you if it's okay or not. Endler's livebearer would be, but guppies are not as bettas will attack them with their flowing fins.
i have a 2.5 gallon tank with a betta and couple of tiger barb.the thing is my betta is a juvenile (1.5 inch) so i am making it comfortable with the barb.
if u want other fishes with betta buy a juvenile betta and make it comfortable with other fishes. the best tank mate for betta would be any fast swimming fish and make sure to include some hiding spots for the betta tank mates this will help if things get messy.
if u want other fishes with betta buy a juvenile betta and make it comfortable with other fishes. the best tank mate for betta would be any fast swimming fish and make sure to include some hiding spots for the betta tank mates this will help if things get messy.
1 inch fish will do fine, it will be ok to keep a betta with other fishes.
things to look for
the tank mate should be middle or bottom dweller
the tank mate should be a fast swimmer
the tank mate should be larger than the betta from the start
the tank mate should be a semi aggressive fish
go for sh=schooling fish like barb
indir-emir
Fish Addict
Tiger barbs are known fin nippers, are they not?
Regards,
Indir
Regards,
Indir
Honeythorn
Sugar coating and nicely nicely? I don't think so
Sivabiot: Your tank is too small for even betta , let alone a betta and two tiger barbs. Your tank is badly overstocked and your fish will not last long in it.
Also, tiger barbs are well known for being agressive when kept in ones and twos. They are notorious for picking at other fish when kept this way. The need to be kept in groups of at least 6 to cut down on agression towards other fish. These fish need 15-20 gallons minimum.
They may seem ok now, but in such a tiny tank and with nowhere to get away from eachother, you're heading for disaster with those fish. I don't know where you read that it was ok to keep fish in such a way, but the information was severely misguided/wrong.
Also, giving advice for hiding spots "in case things get messy " is really irresponsible. Things shouldn't have to "get messy" if you do your research correctly to begin with. Fast swimming species will stress the betta, and species such as tetras and danios for example, are well known for being fin nippers, also a bad choice for bettas with their long tails. Telling someone to keep tiger barbs?? of all things with a betta?, is pure lunacy.
Alannah In a 5 gallon tank ( good choice for a starter! ) your best bet for safe, low waste poducing tankmates is shrimp. You will need a mature tank ( at least 3 months ) so read up in the beginners section of the website, on how to do fishless cycling, and about the nitrogen cycle. This is really important because these are the two things you need to know about most, to keep a healthy tank( nitroen cycle ) and prevent your fish from dying or becoming diseased when you first get it (fishless cycling ) .
Once your tank is mature, you could get 3 or 4 shrimp to go with your betta. Cherry shrimp, Amano shrimp and Ghost shrimp are all good choices . They will eat any bits of leftover food, but you will need to supplement them as there shouldn't be too much extra food on the bottom anyway ( never overfeed! ) . Algae tabs and sinking wafers are always a good choice for this. Just one or two every few days for the shrimp is fine.
On a 5 gallon tank you will need to do 50% water changes every single week, even with only one fish in the tank. You need to keep the water chemistry in good order to prevent disease from starting ( you wouldn't believe how easily they can come down with illnesses, often overnight in some cases ).
You'll need a heater and a gentle filter for the betta ( they DO need filters despite whatever popular myths may say). The best sort of filter for them is a sponge filter. They run off a simple air pump and you can buy cheap ones on Ebay. A 25 or 50 watt heater set to 28 degrees C will be just right for a betta.
Plenty of plants for the fish to hide on and rest in are also needed. If you are a beginner and don't fancy messing about with live plants, then get several bunches of soft silk fake plants. Never get the hard plastic variety, these usually have little sharp bits on them which can easily damage the bettas delicate fins. Silk is best, and if they start to look a bit irty or grubby, you can just take them out and wash them under a warm tap, and plonk them back in again. Easy.
If you want other FISH to put with the betta, then please try to get a ten gallon tank. That can easily fit on a desk, and you could have some small bottom dwellers like Pygmy cories, or some peaceful mid dwellers such as the previously mentioned Harlequin Rasboros. These fish also need a mature tank like shrimp do, as they can be a bit sensetive to water quality.
Also, tiger barbs are well known for being agressive when kept in ones and twos. They are notorious for picking at other fish when kept this way. The need to be kept in groups of at least 6 to cut down on agression towards other fish. These fish need 15-20 gallons minimum.
They may seem ok now, but in such a tiny tank and with nowhere to get away from eachother, you're heading for disaster with those fish. I don't know where you read that it was ok to keep fish in such a way, but the information was severely misguided/wrong.
Also, giving advice for hiding spots "in case things get messy " is really irresponsible. Things shouldn't have to "get messy" if you do your research correctly to begin with. Fast swimming species will stress the betta, and species such as tetras and danios for example, are well known for being fin nippers, also a bad choice for bettas with their long tails. Telling someone to keep tiger barbs?? of all things with a betta?, is pure lunacy.
Alannah In a 5 gallon tank ( good choice for a starter! ) your best bet for safe, low waste poducing tankmates is shrimp. You will need a mature tank ( at least 3 months ) so read up in the beginners section of the website, on how to do fishless cycling, and about the nitrogen cycle. This is really important because these are the two things you need to know about most, to keep a healthy tank( nitroen cycle ) and prevent your fish from dying or becoming diseased when you first get it (fishless cycling ) .
Once your tank is mature, you could get 3 or 4 shrimp to go with your betta. Cherry shrimp, Amano shrimp and Ghost shrimp are all good choices . They will eat any bits of leftover food, but you will need to supplement them as there shouldn't be too much extra food on the bottom anyway ( never overfeed! ) . Algae tabs and sinking wafers are always a good choice for this. Just one or two every few days for the shrimp is fine.
On a 5 gallon tank you will need to do 50% water changes every single week, even with only one fish in the tank. You need to keep the water chemistry in good order to prevent disease from starting ( you wouldn't believe how easily they can come down with illnesses, often overnight in some cases ).
You'll need a heater and a gentle filter for the betta ( they DO need filters despite whatever popular myths may say). The best sort of filter for them is a sponge filter. They run off a simple air pump and you can buy cheap ones on Ebay. A 25 or 50 watt heater set to 28 degrees C will be just right for a betta.
Plenty of plants for the fish to hide on and rest in are also needed. If you are a beginner and don't fancy messing about with live plants, then get several bunches of soft silk fake plants. Never get the hard plastic variety, these usually have little sharp bits on them which can easily damage the bettas delicate fins. Silk is best, and if they start to look a bit irty or grubby, you can just take them out and wash them under a warm tap, and plonk them back in again. Easy.
If you want other FISH to put with the betta, then please try to get a ten gallon tank. That can easily fit on a desk, and you could have some small bottom dwellers like Pygmy cories, or some peaceful mid dwellers such as the previously mentioned Harlequin Rasboros. These fish also need a mature tank like shrimp do, as they can be a bit sensetive to water quality.
thank you heaps honeythorn your really good at this. My bf will run the filter in his cycled tank for a week or 2 to get hte cycle done and just transfer the filter acorss but then could i add one betta fish and would you suggest a male or a female as i would only get one. i read that the betta fish are okay with tetras is this true as i like the look of them also, i think it will be hard finding fish that are bigger then the betta to begin with
Honeythorn
Sugar coating and nicely nicely? I don't think so
Your Boyfriend will need to keep your filter in his tank for a month . It takes a month to fully cycle a filter.
For a 5 gallon tank I would suggest a single Male. Females can be kept alone but do better in groups and you would need a ten gallon for a group of females ( they can't be kept with males permanently ) .
DO NOT put any sort of tetra or danio in with a betta. They will nip the fins of your fish and that can lead to diseases such as finrot. Any tankmates that are kept with a betta do not need to be bigger than him and certainly not agressive!! Bottom dwellers like cories and Khulie loaches are best for keeping with bettas. But your tank is not really big enough for any more than one fish .
If 5 gallons is the biggest tank you can have then just keep the betta on his own or with some shrimp like I said before. They don't absolutely need tankmates to be happy and do very well alone.
5 gallons really isn't enough space for more than one fish.
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