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Males and Females together...

1K views 22 replies 11 participants last post by  tanseattle 
#1 · (Edited)
Before I go off this is not about anyone specific, I've come across more than a handful of people doing this and to be honest it's getting to me.

YOU DO NOT PUT A MALE AND FEMALE TOGETHER IN A COMMUNITY TANK!!!

If your spawning then yes by all mean put them together, but NOT in a community tank, or any tank no matter how heavily planted you think you have it.

I saw too many posts last week (and it seems to be continuing into this week) about people saying their girl betta is sick but on the "tank mates" part of the forum they have "a male betta..."

*face palm*

to quote Mythbusters "Well there's your problem!"

And no you cannot just divide and have everything be better, the hormones and pheromones released into the water will still stress the heck out of your fish! Females will still get eggy, males will be on guard looking for her.

"I can smell you but I can't see you."

the only solution for houseing males and females together is SEPARATE tanks.

Please people do your research before just throwing them together.
 
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#2 ·
I've also heard of people putting females and males in seperate cups next to eachother while doing water changes and the females still get eggy. So I agree. Seperate tanks & not close to one another.
 
#3 ·
If you have a large enough tank it can definitely be done... How do you think they survive in the wild. The establish there own territory.. if the tank is large enough for them to have there own territory. theoretically it CAN be done. OFL is an example as well as people very large tanks and outdoor ponds
 
#4 ·
True. The average 10 or 20 gallon isn't going to do it though. That and the people posting about having issues don't keep them in a huge tank.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Doesn't OFL have a big tank with males and females together? By big, I mean like a 55 gallon..Someone does but I am not sure who.

On a side note, I had a 3 way divided with a female in the middle. Never had any problem or any signs of a problem.
 
#7 ·
That woman really is amazing with her fish though. She has trained them not to tip (how I have no clue) lol.
 
#9 ·
I could fight with you about hormones and such but these are opinions and we're each entitled to our own.
 
#12 ·
From what I've read and such its more a researched opinion. I would never try it myself, I'd be to worried about my fishies.
 
#14 ·
congratz! I'm happy it works for some people. There are probably a ton of factors to keeping them in divided tanks happily (plants, filters, water conditions and such). I still wouldn't personally recommend it to anyone lol. Would it be ok if I referred people to you for that sort of thing though?
 
#16 ·
they look beautiful, so green! plexi glass makes a great divider! I've contemplated dividing a 55 halfway with plexi glass, I'd seal it though. Sorority on one side and divided bachelors on the other.
 
#17 ·
OFL breed them to be able to live with each other, I believe they are al related, but from separate spawns. Domestic and wild bettas are much different anyways, some you can keep them in groups, others need to be kept alone. LBF has some of her wilds in groups. Domestic bettas were bred to be aggressive so that is why you can't simply put a male with a male or a male with a female as they are domestic and were bred to kill each other. Through breeding it is quite possible to breed aggression out, but it will be hard.
 
#18 ·
I don't recommend keeping males and females together...But this is more due to some hobbyist misunderstanding how to keep males and females together long term without issue.....You can't just toss them together and expect all to be fine....It can be done-just not with every male or female and/or in every setup....

I have been successful and have even been successful with unrelated males being kept with other males in 75gal NPT and males/females in 10-75gal heavy planted tanks-But I wouldn't recommend it...especially with new keepers and not with every Betta....some are more tolerant than others....

As far as keeping males and females together in divided tanks-generally that shouldn't be an issue....But....some can have problems....As the OP posted the hormone and pheromones can be problematic for some Betta.......since it can over stimulate them-while others it can desensitize them and make spawning harder and while others it has no ill effects one way or the other......

Female will always have unripe eggs in them once sexually mature and when she sense the male the eggs will start to ripen...This isn't always a bad thing since she will either drop, eat or not or reabsorb the eggs- but it can shorten her lifespan to a degree.

The OP does have good points to consider....
YOU DO NOT PUT A MALE AND FEMALE TOGETHER IN A COMMUNITY TANK!!!
But it is more due to hobbyist attempting it without more knowledge/understanding of the dynamics......
 
#19 ·
With OFL on this...

I have kept both genders mixed in huge, planted tubs outdoors. But I know betta body language.

Male and female does not work. One can overpower and kill the other in a small tank.

Bettas, DO NOT LIKE OTHER FISH. THEY DO NOT WANT FRIENDS AND THEY DO NOT GET LONELY.
 
#20 ·
i have three of my bettas side-by-side. Delta, HMPK, PK. Ichi, Stephano, Lulu. Lu's never had issues with being able to see a male. Stephano loves showing off. it's boosted his confidence alot, imo. went from super shy boy who stayed clamped, to active boy who's always showing off. he flares at Ichi, hides in his plants when tired of that. flirts with Lulu, goes to sleep in plants. keeps Ichi active, as well. Lulu..... is getting old. she puts up with Stephano's eagerness, but generally ignores him. sometimes she flirts back, though. it's kinda cute...

as for keeeping males and females together.... my setup is the closest i'll get. i DID want to get a 5 and divide it between my rescues, but decided against it. because of the risk. i don't want to have to IM their savior and say 'well, Fritter passed away.... got eggbound and burst." that'd be horrid. D8
 
#21 ·
Although it can be done, most people doing it aren't experienced enough to do it! A month or so ago someone posted about having a male in a tank with 2 females. We told the person to separate them ASAP. that person ignored us and said "they get along, they've lived together for a year" then a couple days later, ironically, they killed each other.
It's sad that it's so preventable.
 
#22 ·
Yeah I remember that one. It was particularly nasty, I kinda felt bad but then again we had warned them. I've seen too many posts recently and I'm worried we're going to be having a few more instances like that.
 
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