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2 Males together?

5K views 41 replies 20 participants last post by  Curlyfatbottom 
#1 ·
This is more of a hypothetical question, but..HYPOTHETICALLY! How big of a tank would you need to safely house 2 male bettas together? I'm really curious because obviously they live in the wild together, with their own territories and get chased out... fish get killed in tanks because there is not enough room to swim away when they encounter each other, so. How big of a space do you think 2 bettas would need to coexist? This is assuming the tank would be heavily planted and have hiding spots throughout the whole space.
 
#3 ·
I have a 72g tank in the house that I might one day be able to stock myself so I was wondering how possible this would be :) Id be stocking with other fish, and probably a bunch of girls but I thought maybe 2 males might work too.
 
#5 ·
I would do 2 males OR a sorority. I'm not going to promote having 2 males together, but If it's VERY well planted, like more than a sorority, and you have them seperate in different community tanks to see their personality with other fish, and theyre both really calm, I guess just maybe, but having males and females is just asking for trouble.
 
#6 ·
Yes, I didn't mean I would do both genders. I intended to do a sorority, but then it occured to me that maybe just 2 males could potentially work. I'm wondering if anybody has tried this...or has a large enough tank to try... I can't find anything on google on people trying this, except this thread: http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?136153-Bettas-together-and-living-Peacefully and it seems that most people are still saying its a badidea in a 55g. I wonder how big their territories can be in the wild. I've only got one boy and a family member is thinking about another... they are in individual tanks but eventually, if I get the big one set up, I might give it a shot and if it does not..back to their respective places, no harm done.
 
#8 ·
Personally, I wouldn't risk it. Most male bettas will actively hunt down competitors no matter the tank size, and even if there is no fighting, it will be very stressful for whatever male is the weakest.

Using the whole 'betta-in-the-wild' scenario is pretty pointless. Wild bettas are nowhere near as aggressive as domesticated splendens, who have been selectively bred for aggression. I have wild bettas and it is rare that any of mine have fought as viciously as two splendens.

The only way I could ever see it was working was if the males were siblings that had never been separated. But I would still want a minimum 3-4ft heavily planted tank to ensure fights and chases were a not so attractive option.
 
#9 ·
Personally it's not something I'd ever be comfortable with doing. I know Oldfishlady has some males together, but hers were selectively bred over many generations and she has LOTS of experience. If I were you I'd get some tips from her or another person who has done this successfully before attempting it.
 
#10 ·
I'm frustrated I continually see people recommending it. There is really no reason to do it other than to see if they won't kill each other. Put a divider in that big tank, bam. Two males, no risk. Stop telling people to plant it heavily and put two males in there! Fish release hormones into the tank, and as others have mentioned, two males will hunt each other down. There is no reason to do it, so just don't.

When males work out in tanks together they have been together since they were born or very young and grew up together. Even usually then it doesn't work out.
 
#12 ·
You should do a wild tank. ^^ You can buy wild type bettas on AB. They aren't as finny and bright as what you're used to but alot of the time you can keep males and females together, even multiple pairs or trios depending on the type.

Alot of wild types are mouthbrooders instead of bubblenesters.
 
#15 ·
I have wilds and there are some species I wouldn't house two males together.

Even in pairs, the females can sustain a lot of fin and scale damage, particularly before spawning I have found.

Albimarginata and channiodes are very peaceful fish that can be housed in groups with no real aggression.
 
#16 ·
I think the only way it would work would be to try to get ahold of a whole spawn and raise them together. I believe I heard once that males and females if they're siblings and raised together can still remain together as long as their not seperated.
 
#18 ·
But SD Dragon not all betta's act the same. They have their own temperments. Some females can't stand being in sororities and honestly I think even with the heavily planted tank..Two males is one of those questions that really doesn't need to be asked because of what they do to each other.
 
#19 ·
+1 AT

How long did they do great for? Until they died? Sometimes males might be ok for a day, few months, or even a week. Eventually, it will probably not work out. Making a divider is so easy, there is literally NO REASON to do this!
 
#25 ·
Visually just...unappealing? Hard to say, from photos I've seen, it just looks very shoddy and jarring, as opposed to one whole landscape that fish can swim from end to end.

otoh, something like http://media.photobucket.com/image/recent/divyb/PA190689.jpg looks nice! Its even and clean. http://media.photobucket.com/image/recent/divyb/PA190689.jpgcompared to something like http://images.yuku.com.s3.amazonaws.com/image/pjpeg/e7216342fa88e40ea418bd84bdad990c8921b49e.pjpg which I don't like the look of. I personally dont think I can pull it off and make it look 'nice'

My goal is more of plants everywhere! http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquarium-pictures/displayimage.php?imageid=5239 A divider will throw the look off, unless there are some good ones to get inspirations from?
 
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