Males And Females

[johnnyjtaylor]

Is it possible to keep male and female bettas together in say a ten gallon tank??? or will they harm each other?

 

[soritan]

Betta FAQ
Q: Can males and females live together?

A: Not unless you want a tank of dead fish. They should only be together if you are spawning, or if the tank is full of fry.

There are those out there that will claim "yes, you can," but I don't believe that to be even remotely so.

You will hear that the male is too aggressive, which is true. However, the female is equally as aggressive, and is often a healthier betta with no tail to weight her down, and so a faster swimmer. They with both fight and bully one another to severe injury, and likely death.

Breeding bettas takes a great deal of commitment... money, work, and patience. Even then, they injure each other.

If you want to pair your male betta with tankmates in your 10g, I recommend reading the FAQs, posted atop this forum. There are many very useful things there, including suggestions for tankmates.

 

[johnnyjtaylor]

Betta FAQ
Q: Can males and females live together?

A: Not unless you want a tank of dead fish. They should only be together if you are spawning, or if the tank is full of fry.

There are those out there that will claim "yes, you can," but I don't believe that to be even remotely so.

You will hear that the male is too aggressive, which is true. However, the female is equally as aggressive, and is often a healthier betta with no tail to weight her down, and so a faster swimmer. They with both fight and bully one another to severe injury, and likely death.

Breeding bettas takes a great deal of commitment... money, work, and patience. Even then, they injure each other.

If you want to pair your male betta with tankmates in your 10g, I recommend reading the FAQs, posted atop this forum. There are many very useful things there, including suggestions for tankmates.

I have been told it is ok with more than one female and with lots of places to hide(plants and caves). Has anyone heard this or tried this?

 

[smurfyy_2k3]

no it not ok maybe in a huuuuuuuuuuge tank but not a ten gal

 

[RandomWiktor]

I have been told it is ok with more than one female and with lots of places to hide(plants and caves). Has anyone heard this or tried this?

That is pretty much just a lie spread by fish stores to sell more bettas. Even females can be iffy about being kept together; you need just the right number, just the right temperaments, and plenty of plants and caves. Throwing a male into the mix would equal many dead and wounded bettas. I do not suggest mixing the genders outside of breeding under any circumstances; it simply is not worth the risk to the fish.

 

[Taridan]

I have been told it is ok with more than one female and with lots of places to hide(plants and caves). Has anyone heard this or tried this?

That is pretty much just a lie spread by fish stores to sell more bettas. Even females can be iffy about being kept together; you need just the right number, just the right temperaments, and plenty of plants and caves. Throwing a male into the mix would equal many dead and wounded bettas. I do not suggest mixing the genders outside of breeding under any circumstances; it simply is not worth the risk to the fish.

Indeed the females can be iffy. I've had Flame and Nipper together for oh, about 2-3 months now maybe? In my 30 gollon which has lots of silk plants in it for hiding. about two weeks ago I saw a lovely little purple female and bought her, took the other two females out and re-aranged the tank, then after aclimating them all (The new one) I added all three. After a quick dominance testing it seemed the purple female (thistle) was going to be the more dominant one, followed by flame and then nipper. Then, after about 1 1/2 weeks together, I come home and find my little purple girl all torn and bitten with a large chunk of flesh missing from her back. I think the two got tired of her being the boss and ganged up on her. So, I can only imagine what my girls would do to a male. Needless to say, I'm not going to try it to see if my imagination is right.