Keeping male and female betta/fighting fish together ? Seen at a pet shop ?

[Jellybean123]

Hi guys,

I nipped into a local fish store near me today (Uk) the guy had over 100 adult betta/fighters in a tank together . A mixture of male and female all looked to have colour so aren’t that young . I think they were the same spawn as all same colours . But they seemed to be no major fighting and odd bit of chasing but that was it . There’s wasn’t much space for them to hide or find their own space. I asked he said they all seem to be fine I just take out the males that are aggressive.

How have they managed this, I mean I know it can be done for short time periods in heavily planted aquariums or with young ones but these seemed adult ? Any idea?

I would love to breed some in the future as I have some really nice specimens but I have always been put off by the amount of tanks needed to separate males .

 

[Byron]

There are a couple reasons why what you may see in fish store tanks should absolutely never be considered acceptable. The conditions in the tank are such that the poor fish are severely stressed. This can be due to simply numbers, or water parameters/conditions, or because it prevents the fish from being "normal." All three likely apply her, but especially the last.

Male bettas have a very strong instinct to have their territory to themselves. Having more fish in the tank prevents this, and I can assure you it is extremely stressful. Stores hope to sell their fish quickly, because they keep losing money the longer they have to feed and care for the fish. If this is short-term, the fish may recover, but it may not. It all depends upon the extent of the stress and the longer such stress continues the weaker the fish becomes and the immune system begins to fail.

Fish in any species have an inherent need for specific environmental factors that help them live a healthy life. This is in the genetic makeup of the species. It is not something that we can change, but we can force the fish to survive in conditions that do affect their physiology.

 

[GaryE]

Combining Bettas that have never met as adults is a recipe for disaster.
However, groups that start out together will form the same kinds of small territories they do in nature, and will stay out of each other's way. There are technical problems. The tanks I have seen this work in are large and shallow, with huge surface areas that give evaporation problems. The rooms they're in are warm and sunny. The tanks always had floating plants like Pistia (water lettuce in some places) or water hyacinth, and the light needed is serious.
They would be expensive tanks to run.
I saw one homemade tank that was about 16 inches deep, and 6 foot by 3 foot. It was a large tank, with about 30 Bettas living in harmony. The room was hot and humid, in the middle of winter. The humidity affected the whole apartment the guy had.

You can't do this with long finned Bettas. There is sparring along the edge of the tiny territories, and long fins get ripped. The extra fins seem to really upset other males - it's as if they intensify aggression. I bred some short-finned pla-kat (from a market in Thailand) one time and the fish in the homemade tank were juvies from a batch. Pla-kat are supposed to be fighters, but they were calm.
I also had a more traditional tank shape with a small group of wild caught Betta splendens fry growing to adults very peacefully in a wild tangle of plants that wasn't unlike the video the person who had caught them showed me.

I am told it's all fine and dandy til a fish dies, or until you are careless and cocky, and add a new male that doesn't know the rules. Then, it gets awful. For that reason, I don't like these projects. It is something to see though, when someone else does it.

 

[Archerfish]

While touring the fish room of a betta expert, I was astonished to see a tank full of young male bettas. They were all siblings. He said there was some 'nipping' but there were so many of them who grew up together that they were probably just overwhelmed. It was quite a site to see. I observed some chasing but nothing to cause concern. His tank was not intended to be a long-term situation.

 

[emeraldking]

Young male bettas can be kept together in one tank. As soon as the aggression starts to show up, it's time to separate them. I've bred bettas for just over 15 years. But I also have to mention that the age of a young male may differ per individual male when they start to develop aggression. When I offered bettas at relevant events, I brought them along in a plastic lockable barrel. I would lower the temperature and they were in the dark. At the time I was on the exhibition floor, I took them out one by one to jar them. Not one was damaged by others.
You can even put multiple male bettas in one tank, but the tank should be big enough to offer those males their own individual space in the tank. If you can't offer that, then don't do it. As long as the other male won't enter the other male's territory, you don't have to be worried.