Info on female bettas needed please :)

[Mariah]

Hi everyone,
I have been searching for female bettas everywhere but the places around me that had the females they werent in the greatest shape and they were over priced.

I had to go accouple cites over and I just happend to be near a lfs that I knew had female bettas... So of course I went in and got one

So now I need all the information that pretains to female bettas please. I currently have her in a 10 gal tank along with some other fish (guppies, platies, mollies and a pleco).

Any information or suggestions would be great! I will post pics when I can

 

[Kiarra]

Hate to say it, but that arrangement probably isn't going to work.

Mollies are big, mean bullies when it comes to female Bettas (at least MY Mollies are), and the female Betta may take major offense with the Guppy. They use much the same rules for female Bettas as they do for males, except female Bettas can be kept together in groups of 4 or more. Good tankmates are generally the same, and none of the fish you have her in with are typically good tankmates for Bettas.

 

[bettaboi]

agreed kiarra

 

[Synirr]

Yeah, you're going to want to watch the tank very closely, as problems may arise with the guppies and mollies... the good news is that females don't need a larger tank than males, so if there are problems, it shouldn't be hard to get her a new little home all to herself

 

[afireinside]

yes, i agree. they betta will definantely attack the guppy. mollies CAN be bullies, but not always. after a while, the fish got used to my molly.

 

[50000_tears]

not to mention my female bettas are little snobbys..wouldent trust them in a comunity

 

[daudy_dojo]

if you want her in with the mollies do what i did leave her in a breeding net for a week then let her loose the mollies will be tired of trying to get her and then BOOM they will be like meh i dont want to try anymore and when they stop showing interest let her loose!!

 

[Mariah]

Hi,
First off thanks for the advice

I have been watching the tank very carefully since I put her in there and so far so good. She seems very shy and has been hiding alot, but she does come out and swim around. Is this normal?

My other fish dont seem to bother her at all - That may change and if it does I will be able to put her in her own tank.

Is it normal for her to sit in the floating plants? And the other plants that are planted?

How similar are females to males? Do they have to eat betta bites or can they eat normal flake food that my other fish get?

Also will she attack my other fish or will my other fish attack her?

I also want to say her fins are a greeney/blue color.. Very pretty

 

[Ember]

Welcome to your new little girl!

I agree, and recommend you give her a bowl of her own. Doesn't have to be a major deal. Just a 2.5 gallon bowl will do very nicely. No need for filters or air pump. A mini-heater would be nice for the winter especially.
My female eats the same as my boys. Hikari pellets with occasional live food lately (so far brine shrimp and blackworms. both were big hits).
It is normal for bettas to lay on leaves of plants. Sometimes you are think they're dead because they're in such a weird position. But they like it. That's why I try to put several different plants in there for them at different heights.

Although I have some males in bowls, my girl has her own tank. She's in a 6 gallon eclipse. She's my longest lived betta so far, I've had her for about 26-28 months (not sure how old she was when I got her but she was still kind of small).

Just to let you in on my girl's story......
I originally got 3 females. I watched them at the store that had several in a small tank and picked out three that seemed to get along very well. The tank I put them in was a little larger and had more plants and hiding spots so I thought they'd do great. I watched them closely to see if they were getting along. I noticed one of the fish seemed to be a bit more of a bully but only some chasing, never attacks. I figured that they'd work it out, one would become Alpha Fish and everything would be ok. Well, I think there was more stress than I realized. After about 2 months I lost one betta. Another month or so later I lost the other. I've never had bettas die so soon, usually they last a while with me. I felt so guilty. I thought I was watching them so closely. Neither of the fish ever showed any signs of damage at all so I don't think there was ever any contact. Somehow Athena just "vibed" them to death or something. Since then she and her pet snail have been living a comfortable life in her luxury home. I've been kind of afraid of putting anything in with her. Although, last week I just got a kuhli loach and put him in there with her. We hardly ever see him so it's as if she were still alone. She did watch him with interest when he came out the other day. Nothing else, just parked herself and watched. Maybe she's mellowing in her old age.

 

[xanthianacid]

I have never had a problem with a guppy and a betta before, male or female!!! And I got pretty showy guppy's too. I have found they generally leave each other alone. Now, I have never kept mollies. They are not a known factor to me, so they might be bullies as Kiarra suggested. I find my girl bettas are happier in larger groups too. I currently have 6 sharing a 40 gallon, along with bn's, kribs, rams, female guppy's and barbs. It goes against my nature not to put betta's with other fish (and I know this is contraversial). However under the circumstances, the purple maruader, who used to inhabit my sig now remains in a solitary temple as he doesn't play well with others. Mind you, he is the only betta I have had that can't live with others in the right environment. Along with the 6 girlies we have 8 male Bettas, and only two males are alone. This is only my experience. I have found the only nipping going on is amongst themselves (girls have to establish a pecking order), or girls who are put with a male.

I guess my experience is different to most others.

 

[Mariah]

Well heres hoping I have a experience like you xanthianacid! I really dont want to have to move her. My mollies so far has been leaving her alone and same with my guppies. Ive seen her eying my platies but thats about it.

She has two black lines across her side which she had at the lfs too. Ive heard somewhere this may mean shes stressed?

Also in my 10 gal (as thats what shes in) how many other female bettas could I add for her to have a friend with? Keep in mind there are other fish in there.

She still does not have a name yet, Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[Mariah]

Anyone?

 

[mybabieshavefins]

Uwa, congrats congrats! I haven't had any experience with female communities yet, but I've heard that if you're going to have more than one female betta in a community you have to have at least three. If there are two they'll get territorial and usually bicker something fierce!

As far as names go, I still like the old fashioned "get to know her personality and then name her accordingly" approach <3 She sounds lovely though!

 

[Mariah]

Thanks! She is really pretty. I am having a hard time getting a picture of her because she moves so fast! And the lighting has to just be perfect or else her colors dont show up with the camera.

Does anyone know about her having black stripes on her body? Also can I get some more females (how many) for this tank?

And one more thing - How do I make sure shes is eating her betta bites? Because last night when I fed her I dont know if she got any of the betta bites... She may of eaten the normal flakes I feed my other fish in there. Is that harmfull to her?

Thanks!

 

[Kiarra]

Horizontal stripes are stress stripes. It means she's scared, or something is really bothering her.

If they're vertical stripes, it means she's in a very aggressive, dominant mood, and is either about ready to breed, or is about ready to attack something.