Female Can't Eat

[ironjohn929]

First off, thanks for all the great information everyone has contributed to this board. It has really helped a first time Betta owner!!!

Second, We have recently purchased two Bettas. A male and a female, both from PetSmart. They reside in a 1 1/2 gallon tank for now with plans of upgrading to a 10 gallon tank in the near future.

Here's the problem....the female spends most of her time tucked hidden away in the corner of the tank behind a plant. Whenever she comes out, the male chases her back into the corner. When feeding time comes, she wont come out from hiding and the male eats all the food. My daughter is very concerned that she wont get any food and die.

Any suggestions on how to remedy this problem? Thanks in advance!!!!

[dramaqueen]

Hello and welcome to FishForum. You need to separate the two fish. Your female is hiding because she's scared. Bettas are very territorial and are called fighting fish for a reason. A gallon is too small for both fish anyway. She'll do much better in a separate bowl.

[onekatietwo]

Originally Posted by ironjohn929

First off, thanks for all the great information everyone has contributed to this board. It has really helped a first time Betta owner!!!

Second, We have recently purchased two Bettas. A male and a female, both from PetSmart. They reside in a 1 1/2 gallon tank for now with plans of upgrading to a 10 gallon tank in the near future.

Here's the problem....the female spends most of her time tucked hidden away in the corner of the tank behind a plant. Whenever she comes out, the male chases her back into the corner. When feeding time comes, she wont come out from hiding and the male eats all the food. My daughter is very concerned that she wont get any food and die.

Any suggestions on how to remedy this problem? Thanks in advance!!!!

Yeah, sadly, it's a somewhat common misconception that Bettas of opposite sexes can live together. It seems that they're only together in the wild long enough to breed. If you can't separate them immediately, definitely make sure there are good hiding places for her.

But honestly, you should probably separate them before the male injures her. If you can't get to the store right away, I think putting one of them in a large pitcher, bowl, vase, or whatever you have laying around is going to be better than leaving her in there until you get the ten gallon.

If you do chose this route, I would probably recommend putting the male in the new, smaller temperary tank since the female is probably already kind of feeling the stress.

Once you get the ten gallon, you can get a divider (easy to make. There are directions on this forum, or you can buy them at petco and places like taht) so each fish has 5 gallons, but they are each in the same tank.

Good luck!