Can You Keep Male & Female Bettas Together?

[Ark]

If your male betta seems lonely, try putting a few fish that don't have much of a flashy color and won't bother him. With my male betta Eclipse, i put in 3 cory cats and a snail and all was well. :)
but realize that different bettas have different personalities, so it could possibly be a different story..

[daquilajmd]

I have a 5 gal tank with filter and heater, plants, etc. and I test the water daily -- in other words, going by the book so to speak. At first I had just my male crowntail Little Blue in there by himself but he seemed lonely so I got him a lady friend. Here is where I made a decision to do my own thing. She's Rosey. They get alone pretty well. He struts and flares quite a bit but has never attacked her. She has plenty of hiding places. They seem happy and healthy and eat well, etc. Lately, however, Little Blue has taken to wrapping himself around this one particular shell and he just lays there "sleeping" or whatever. He perks up when I open the tank to feed them. He doesn't have any disease that I can tell. She looks good still too. They've been together for a couple months. At one time my boyfriend and I could have sworn she was full of eggs, but nothing came of this and now she doesn't look as swollen. You could see the eggs, I think.

Any comments or suggestions? Do you think Little Blue is now depressed or is he just kinda lazy? He has beautiful color by the way and does keep his fins fully flared so I really don't think he's sick.

[Mike420]

When I first got into aquariums I had loved Betta's and I was able to keep a 10 gallon with lava rock and 4 Female Bettas with 1 Male Betta. But I had also done my research and learned that the female cannot look similar to the male. Meaning get a split tailed bright coloured mail and 4 females that are single tail and colours aren't close. Good Luck with it though.

[dramaqueen]

Personally, I wouldn't put males and females together. Bettas are very territorial and I think its a recipe for disaster. I have heard some people say it CAN work, though, under the right conditions. If they spawn, what are you going to do with the babies?

[Guppy Girl]

Ive done it before.
In a 29 gallon tank with a whole load of other fish, and hiding places.
The other fish keep them busy, and they showed no interest in eashother. But I definitly reccommend a larger tank with more fish if youu wanted to try that.

[Haeclark]

People cannot rely on what is said about who bettas can and cannot live with. I obviously prove majority of these posters wrong...reason:

my tank:
15 gal decorated with under gravel filter system / gravel / two filters / heater /
1 fake glow-in-dark plastic grass plant / 1 fake plastic-realistic bush-like plant / 2 silk plants /
1 fake coral reef / 1 rock-plant decoration structure / 4 large river rocks /
1 large gate-cave / 1 small rock-corral-cave /
3 live plants

residents: [reason for my LOL]
over 10 male and female guppies [obtained from previous boss who no longer had time to care for them; free!]
1 unidentified Pleco / sucker fish
*1 male Viel tail Betta
*1 female Crown tail Betta

the only fish "found" dead due to the bettas were the baby guppies the Betta fish enjoy eating [population control ;D ]

*resided together in a 10 gal tank before moved into the 15 gal tank. Only time the bettas ever fought was after 1st time breeding, and when first put together during feeding time [Blue guarded his feeding floaty]. Sure, they got a sore or two in the little [and I mean little] spats they did get into...which did not last for long. A peck or two, and back to normal. But they recover fast, and only have spats now every "once in a blue moon."
When they bred, as stated by a previous poster, Blue made it quit clear to Red he was no longer interested in breeding, and would chase her away from the nest. Yet I never worried about babies, as Red would always steel / eat the eggs...Blue himself even doing so himself the next day, and she never got hurt in the process as she had plenty of places to "run and hide" [not to mention shes x2 faster then Blue]

Of course, not all bettas are the same, as some are more aggressive. But that dose not mean you cannot put ANY bettas together, ever! that's ridiculous, and not true! Blue and Red now swim together majority of the time...Red shadowing Blue for the most part, until they separate to find baby guppies!

They are my living proof you cannot believe everything you hear about Betta's and what you / they "can or cannot do!" If you want to see if your Betta can live with another...I say go for it! What I did was put a divider between the two of them for about 2 weeks, until they actually started to switch sides. One morning I awoke to find both Red and Blue in the same side together, so figured since they were both fine and alive, I could take out the divider, and they've never separated since.

[Haeclark]

Originally Posted by Mike420

When I first got into aquariums I had loved Betta's and I was able to keep a 10 gallon with lava rock and 4 Female Bettas with 1 Male Betta. But I had also done my research and learned that the female cannot look similar to the male. Meaning get a split tailed bright colored mail and 4 females that are single tail and colours aren't close. Good Luck with it though.

perhaps this is why my male VT [Blue Bandit] and my female CT [Red Petite Mermaid] get along so well.

[Haeclark]

Originally Posted by Guppy Girl

Ive done it before.
In a 29 gallon tank with a whole load of other fish, and hiding places.
The other fish keep them busy, and they showed no interest in eashother. But I definitly reccommend a larger tank with more fish if youu wanted to try that.

reminds me of when I first put Red and Blue into the guppy tank.
Obtained the guppy tank fro a previous boss, who no longer had the time to take care of them.
Figured if I could peacefully put them in with the guppies, would be less hassle for me when cleaning the tanks [1 tank instead of 2, making my situation of needing to buy purified water (water here too high in iron) better for me and fish]
When I first placed them in there, the two of them just kinda sat there, looking around at all the other fish [perhaps confused or surprised]. The water temp was the same already as the guppies tank, so no shock of water difference. after a min. or two, they slowly started to swim around, checking eveything out. The only time I ever really saw them peck at another fish was when they're eatting and the greedy female guppies try to hord the betta food...then Red will peck a little at them.

[Chicklet]

Well I guess my community I have going all hell should be breaking loose, Because I have alot of the same colored females as my male, So I really don't believe a work of that, 26 females with every different colored females I have with a red male, and I have ALOT of red females in there too...

the community is very peaceful.

[prettybettas]

Originally Posted by dramaqueen

You could have a sorority of females in a 10 gallon, with lots of plants and hiding places. I wouldn't try males and females together. Bettas are territorial and sooner or later, someone will be hurt or killed.I know you're not arguing. :)

I brought two females today. You say females can live together, is this true? I have a few silk plants and a two gallon tank. Would it be nessecary to have a divider?? I also have a problem with heating. My house is at 65 degrees, and the tank water is 62 degrees. For now the bettas are sitting on top of the OTHER fish tank's heater. Is it good to place these bettas together? I have them sitting side by side, and there is nothing that makes me think they won't go together. Please HELP!