My Bettas Dont Like Each Other!

[ryanp15]

I've set up a tank for my bettas, but the male and female aren't getting on

is it best to divide them or buy more females? he chases her and flares up to her, i dont know if buying more males would solve the problem, he might do it to all of them

any advice or own experiences greatly appreciated

 

[Jaded12]

Males and females should not be kept together under any circumstances unless breeding, and a person should only breed after doing extensive research and making sure they have the time money and space to be doing it. Separate them immediatly! Or you will end up with a dead fish. Divide the tank or get your male his own tank and turn your big tank into a sorority for females if you want more then one betta together females are a lot of fun. But please seperate those fish asap!!

 

[blue_betta]

male and female should never be housed to gether unless breeding. occasionly you get a laid back pair who co-exist peacfuly, but this is not the norm! adding more females will not help, only you will likely end up with dead fish, and adding more males is just, well.. ####??? they are called siamese FIGHTING fish for a reason...

males are best kept on their own, females can be kept in groups of 5+

 

[liz2]

Hi, welcome to the forum. We all make mistakes! How are they doing now!

 

[ryanp15]

hi thanks for all your help

i knew that it's only 1 male per tank but i didn't know that you can't keep females with them

yes I've seperated them, I did it as soon as the male showed aggression

all I need to know now is how to divide the tank, I have a 30 litre tank. Should I divide this into 2 or 3? I thought that maybe I could have a male on either side and a few females in the middle. I wasn't sure if dividing it in three was big enough for them

If i divided it into 2 how many more females should I buy? and if into 3 how many females?

thanks a lot if you can help!

 

[liz2]

sure someone will help you soon. I even keep my girls separate...little devils squabble too much...

 

[Phoenixbaby]

sure someone will help you soon. I even keep my girls separate...little devils squabble too much...

my girls did at 1st, but they dont any more, the only time they flare is when they maybe go for the same bit of food lol

 

[OldMan47]

That tank is a bit small to split it 3 ways and still have room in one part for a sorority. It could be split into 3 or even 4 parts with one betta in each section and be OK. My sorority has 5 females and might be OK with 6 or 7 but its a 10 gallon and is not divided. Yours is a little over 8 gallons and might hold just a sorority but not if you carve off 2 other sections for some males.

 

[ryanp15]

That tank is a bit small to split it 3 ways and still have room in one part for a sorority. It could be split into 3 or even 4 parts with one betta in each section and be OK. My sorority has 5 females and might be OK with 6 or 7 but its a 10 gallon and is not divided. Yours is a little over 8 gallons and might hold just a sorority but not if you carve off 2 other sections for some males.

could it be divided into 2, with one male in one bit and 3 females in the other bit?

are females generally ok in communnity tanks? because she wasn't really getting fin nipped or I could take her back to the pet shop and get another male

any ideas?

 

[OldMan47]

If you did an uneven split with the male getting the short starw you might be able to keep 3 females. The problem becomes aggression. Even females can be a bit aggressive with each other and its best to have several to spread the aggression around. You could get lucky with the right 3 but I would not count on it working out. Then you will need to put your backup plan into effect. I don't know what that is but if you don't have a backup plan my experience is that I always need what I don't have.

 

[ryanp15]

If you did an uneven split with the male getting the short starw you might be able to keep 3 females. The problem becomes aggression. Even females can be a bit aggressive with each other and its best to have several to spread the aggression around. You could get lucky with the right 3 but I would not count on it working out. Then you will need to put your backup plan into effect. I don't know what that is but if you don't have a backup plan my experience is that I always need what I don't have.

i think I've got an idea... the tank could be split into 3 with 2 males at either end and the female in the middle. This way each betta has enough space and none can attack others. Female bettas are ok alone aren't they?

There is a picture of my setup, as it is currently, on another topic i posted. Its just a few below this post if anyone wants to see the setup.

 

[OldMan47]

Single female bettas are fine. Most of us with enough room would rather have more than one. That's all.

 

[Genesis]

Bettas are solitary fish by nature, they only come together to breed.
Females are usually kept together only because they don't fight, not because they need company

Just make sure whatever you do that the male is on his own as he will shred any other Betta

 

[ryanp15]

thanks, i think I've got an idea of what I'm doing now