New Betta / New Betta Keeper

[QHowes]

Hi Everyone I baught my first betta yesterday his name is Diablo (pic to be posted later) he is a beautiful bright fire red. I also baught a female who is a pretty ske blue and her name is Aphrodite (the greek goddess of love). My tanks 35 gallons and i sometimes see him flaring his gills...they open really wide i am just wondering if that is normal or if he is trying to intimidate the other fish. So far he hasnt had a problem with my fan tail guppies or my plattys. Thanks in advance...

Quinton

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Is the female in a separate tank? If not check out the pinned article in the betta section, and fast! (provided taht it exists...)

 

[QHowes]

I just read the whole thing i thought they would be fine the tank is large enough

 

[QHowes]

Or do i need to put her in a separate compartment so he starts building a nest...starting to get confused

 

[rollntider]

well I would make sure she has plenty of plants to hide in , a big tank isnt enough if she has no where to hide....but if you have ample space , and hiding places keep an eye on eah of them. I have heard of females whipping the boys too, looks like an episode on Cops during sweeps week

 

[QHowes]

Thanks for the advice!
All information and little tips are very helpful so keep em comming!

TIA

 

[wuvmybetta]

Yeah, I'd seperate them OR divide the tank. IF they DO mate,he will do his best to kill her afterwards no matter how big the tank is

No need to worry about his gills, that's called flaring It's intimidation as you said.

 

[QHowes]

Thanks WUV, when you say separate them do you mean get a special breeding trap for the female? I need help i am such a newbie with bettas i am used to livebearers. I cvan go to the LFS tonight but i need to know what i am going for. TIA

 

[wuvmybetta]

hmm, a breeding net is no way to live But it would work for now until you can either buy a huge tank divider (split the tank down the center) or just get her a little tank of her own

 

[QHowes]

what if i want them to breed?

 

[juliethegr8t]

Hey Quinton, long time no see! You probably shouldn't breed them, especially since you are new to bettas. Bettas are far from easy to spawn, and the fry require specialized care. I would suggest you wait awhile and learn all you can before even thinking about it. Besides, do you really have room for a few hundred jars? And time for daily cleaning of all those jars?

 

[QHowes]

Long time no see is right! I have a separate 10 gallon tank i am not using right now which i am using for livebearer fry when they are ready. I have a whack of jars here collecting dust. I figured now that i got them i might aswell try to breed em I guess i got a little anxious. However i would stilll like to try. I have been reading alot of material on this site and from other sources but i am still a newbie

 

[juliethegr8t]

I would really, really recommend that you wait to breed. Get used to the fish first - get to know how they act, what they require, etc. Breeding just isn't easy! Also, you wouldn't want to breed your bettas this soon after bringing them home. I'd suggest waiting at least a month.

One more thing - if you have veiltails and breed them, it might be an even worse idea. It could be very hard to sell them. Before breeding, try to figure out what you would do with a few hundred fry. It can be very hard to get rid of that many veils. That is why it might be worth waiting till you can buy a decent breeding pair.

 

[QHowes]

Thanks Jules I have decided to wait after all becuase its certainly the wiser choice. Should have pictures up very soon of my male and female and I think i will get one more female just so the male doesnt chase the one around as much! He is very territorial i take it that is normal...he has his own little den where he likes to hang out and when other fish come near his little den he gets defensive.