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1 m 1 f in 20 ltr tank..

5K views 50 replies 14 participants last post by  hannah16 
#1 ·
so i have a male emerald dragon betta in a 20 ltr tank tok pitty on a female in lfs and put her in a guppy breeder box in his tank. when she went in he had been clamp and depressed for almost 2 weeks i thoughted he die on me (cost me $55) she jumped out i noticed her free swimming i freaked
she bailed three more time and now is just loose with him for the last three days and NO DAMAGE. hes unclamped and happier. whos says you cat keep one of each together huh?
 
#2 ·
Sorry, let me get this straight - are they in the same tank?

If so, remove them IMMEDIATELY.

They may look all fine and happy for now, but Betta are territorial fish and they WILL eventually fight. And it could be deadly.

Please at-least separate them for their own sakes, or yours.

You may also get an accidental spawn.
 
#4 ·
Hopeless is right, Abby.. I think you are pretty lucky so far, Your male is more passive than some, and may(probably) has love on his mind. If she doesn't quickly respond in kind he may become anxious and violent. If you are unable to separate with at least another large as possible bowl get her back in container and put lid on..even plastic wrap with holes. Yes it is possible you have out of ordinary relationship here, but not likely to go on forever. If you value your fish's health, please look into at least being ready to grab her out, alright?
 
#5 ·
And also one other thing... they may be passive right now, but it takes Betta a week or so to get used to their surroundings... and then the fight for territory will begin. There is a 99% guarantee that they will fight. And it may not be pretty :/

Please remove her from the tank, unless you can make a divider. You can even just float her in a bowl at the top of the tank, like I do when I get new Betta for awhile.

Best of luck.
xx
 
#6 ·
Never, Ever. Keep male and female together.

did you know they give off a "scent" as if to say, here I am, this is me? When in the same tank, even divided, the female can have some problems such as: lethargy, clamping, immune system crash, egg bound. All of which can lead to sickness and/or death.
Males can become more violent, irritated, or if they are more passive they can become the prey...to the female. They can also start tail biting out of frustration.

I have seen a few people work with this, however their tanks I believe are 20 GALLONS long or bigger, stuffed so full of plants you can barely see anything other than plants, and they have the tank completely cycled, and maintain it every week to ensure the pheromones stay down, and the fish remain healthy.

IF your fish breed, the eggs will die. 1. There is not enough room in the tank. 2. I do not think you have the foods ready at hand. 3. In a small tank, I am unsure if you have an adjustable heater. 4. Ammonia is more present in smaller tanks.

Then, if they breed, the male will attack the female until she hides or dies. Doesn't matter to him. As long as his nest is safe. You do not want that! I've also had manly females that have killed their partner.

Is that a risk, you are willing to take? We want to ensure you have the knowledge, and the power, to have healthy and active fish. We don't want you to waste all that time and money for these fish, because of something that could have been fixed.
 
#7 ·
Until i see an issue there is no reason for me to seperate you all have your own opinions, i have mine, I know my fish. i had him in a divided tank next to a female he almost died clamped and nose in the corner. i put in the 20 lt same thing she was in the guppy breeder box but kept jumping out i noticed and moved her, he clamped up until he jumped again.

she cruises around the log and plants he flirts with her MAYBE once a day, theres too much current for a bubble nest she has NO DAMAGE after 4 or 5 days neither does he. shes coloured more then when she was in the guppy tannk they are both eating. they ARE HAPPY if it means my $55 fish isnt going to die then im happy to leave them their till i see an issue.

its either that or put her in the female tank to be killed because shes A) smaller then the others nd B) she hasnt got much of a tail (WAS THE REASON I BOUGHT HER she was missing a bit of tail and slowly regrowing.) she actually looks happier too.
 
#8 ·
You do not need to snap at us. We want to ensure your fish do not die. If you do not want our help, why did you ask?

Sorry for wasting your time with valuable information that puts your fish's needs before anything else.
 
#9 ·
THERE IS TOO STRONG A CURRENT for any nest, if i NOTICE A NEST then i will look at the situation.

AND FYI to those who think im stupid (like all of you) I am set up, ready for a spawn (I AM NOT TRYING TO BREED THEM THIS IS NOT MY SPAWN SET UP I AM JUST LETTING YOU ALL KNOW IF IT WERE TO HAPPEN I AM CAPIBABLE OF LOOKING AFTER IT.)
my lounge/kitchen/dining rooms are full of tank set ups.there is a heater in the filtered 20lt tank there are hiding places and LIVE plants. all my tanks over 15ltrs have heaters and filters.
 
#10 ·
your all snappy at me, telling me to remove STRAIGHT AWAY blah blah, i didnt ask, i didnt say is it possible to keep them together i said:

So i have a male emerald dragon betta in a 20 ltr tank tok pitty on a female in lfs and put her in a guppy breeder box in his tank. when she went in he had been clamp and depressed for almost 2 weeks i thoughted he die on me (cost me $55) she jumped out i noticed her free swimming i freaked
she bailed three more time and now is just loose with him for the last three days and NO DAMAGE. hes unclamped and happier. whos says you cat keep one of each together huh?

rhetorical question.
 
#11 ·
lets see. she could b put in the female community and be killed or free swim happily with a submissive male that spends 95 % of the time ignoring her, the other 5% hes like Hey and a small flare, shes warm in a filtered tank.

to me id say that im meeting her and his needs. they are happy warm and well fed. if he was constantly harrassing her she would NOT be in there i am not stupid. i have 9 females and 14 males and have been keeping them HAPPILY (first time one on one granted) for over 4 years. ive had over 80 bettas in that 4 yrs, ive had pretty much EVERY single sickness you can have and every issue you can have and im still with it.
 
#12 ·
Unfortunately, you may think you know your fish and for the moment they may seem to be living together peacefully, but splendens are so unpredictable it can take only an instant for things to go wrong.

I have had females be completely fine with a male in their tank for over a year. Then I came down one day to find him with all his fins torn off and floating around half-dead at the surface. I had only checked on that tank an hour or so before and everything had been fine. I had no idea then what it was that triggered that attack and still have no idea now.

I worry more about males (particularly the heavier finned and less aggressive males) getting attacked by females than I do about females getting attacked by males. In my experience HM males can't defend themselves all that well if a female does decide to attack him. Their big fins make them slow and vulnerable and it does not take long for them to get shredded.

Then there is your $55 down the drain because if they are badly damaged they never really grow in as nicely as before, and sometimes the stress of having so much damage inflicted in such a short space of time can really knock a fish about.

Don't really know why you think in this situation the benefits outweigh the risks. To be honest I can't really see any benefits to it at all.
 
#15 ·
Then there is your $55 down the drain because if they are badly damaged they never really grow in as nicely as before, and sometimes the stress of having so much damage inflicted in such a short space of time can really knock a fish about.
if i remove her n he clamps and refuses to eat and eventually dies the moneys gone anyway. he clamps even if she is in the guppy breeder box.
 
#13 ·
I do realize everyone just wants to help, but these aren't our fish. You've given Abby all the advice you can, if she wishes to keep her male and female bettas together, then let her.

Perhaps nothing will ever happen? There are those one in a millions situations where they can get along happily.

If something does happen, Abby has learned never to repeat her mistake.

I think we should step back and allow Abby to do what she likes. She has heaters, plants, hiding places and a filter. She isn't being abuse and neglecting them. We may not agree with what she is doing, but we should respect her choice to leave them as is.

Abby; you've been given advice and you've chosen not to take it. That is fine, I respect your decision. I just hope it stays working out for the two of them. I'd like to be kept up to date so please continue to inform me on this thread. I don't particularly agree with your choice, but I respect it.

I hope it works out for you; HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE.
 
#14 ·
thank you hannah, I check them many times a day ( feeding and just checking where the next lot of plants should go etc, change things up) and they are in the dining room so im always in there. im not neglecting them or starving them
 
#16 ·
You're welcome.

Like I said, we may not agree with you, but there is no point in 5 different people repeating the same thing over and over again.

Want to see what happens? Keep an eye on the thread. That's all we can do.
 
#17 ·
No one said you were neglecting or starving them, just that the odds are against you that it is going to work out. Especially in a 20L tank where there is really no room for the losing fish to get away if they do have a fight.

I will never condone males and females living together having had a fish die because of a similar housing arrangement. I also think that as a forum that in part is aimed at educating first time betta owners, the kind of living situation Abby describes isn't one that should be readily accepted as okay.
 
#18 ·
I never said it was okay; I don't agree with it. But there isn't a point in us giving the advice more than what we have when she's made it clear she won't separate them. Not much we can do, these aren't our fish.
 
#19 ·
I do not want to see what happens... I've seen what happens. During spawning. Where the male's entrails were strewn across the tank, because of the female, who decided to take it a step higher than I had ever expected.

IF ANYTHING, instead of snapping at us, AT LEAST get a 10 gallon tank. 5 gallons is not enough. Then add a S%@& ton of live, silk and fabric plants so they do not bother each other at all.
 
#20 ·
This is an open forum. There are certain topics everyone knows are hot-button issues. Housing male and female bettas together is one of them. By posting this kind of thread on a forum dedicated to betta care, you are going to have to expect a majority of people are going to be opposed to it.

I hope Abby manages to prove us wrong as really the only other alternative is that it all goes to hell in a hand basket and one or both of her fish are injured or even killed.

I just never understand why these threads are posted if the OP doesn't want to hear anything negative. If so they really need to put a disclaimer in the title of their thread.
 
#21 ·
As I did with the "1-2 gallon tanks!" ;-)

Or, have posted in the... "betta fish chat". And perhaps said they were going to try this out and if all else fails remove them.

I just do not want you to wake up to dead fish, Abby. I hope you know that.
 
#22 · (Edited)
If someone wants to post about doing this, it's going to invite criticism because people are worried about the highly inevitable outcome. Don't want the criticism? Don't post about it. It's not the fault of the other people giving well-intended advice when someone does something like this and then gets defensive when told they've committed their fish to a time bomb of violent death. It's the simple truth. If you don't want to hear it, why post about what you're doing?
 
#23 ·
I have to agree with you Abby dear. I have a male and female that used to live together for awhile until I got another tank for the female. They lived peacefully and never bothered each other. I may say it all depends on the fish and there attitude. Sometimes, the color of both of the fish may cause a attack. That is why both of my Betta's that was put together was both dark colors that can blend into the dark plants. Hope they are both doing well, Abby!
Stay happy!:)
 
#26 ·
I agree with Choc, if you don't want to learn about your fish's care this isn't the site for you. We are here to help people take proper care of their fish, not agree with you when you do something unsafe for fish. Also 5 gallons is too small for two betta's free roaming together, you need at least 20 gallons well planted.
 
#28 ·
I agree did you ever try to figure out why your male has fin clamped? Also did you know sometimes when males are close to death they will perk up around females as a last ditch hope to spawn and pass on his genetics. You may be encountering this with your male right now which is likely why he perked up. His fin clamping is caused by something else you should have investigated and did you even gt for 2 weeks before adding her because she could spread something to him now if he is already sick. There is a lot on betta care you didn't seem to have considered already with this thread alone :/ maybe why you have had so many betta in such a short amount of time.
 
#29 ·
you know what we all know to not put a male and male together or a male and female together because they could fight or spawn. But seriously if they've been fine for this long and you're ready if they do spawn. And they're depressed without each other I see no reason not to keep them together as long as you check the tank frequently just in case.
 
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