1 Male, 2 Females

[SfGiantsFan]

I recently got a male betta, along with the small tank that the PetSmart worker recommended for him. I felt bad about having him in such a small tank, so I went back 2 weeks later to get a larger tank, along with a filter, light, plants and decorations and everything else i read about. The lady working there told me that i could get females too and that they would get along and he would be "docile" with them. So i got two females to go in the tank with him. After puting the 3 fish in the larger tank i've found that the females are constantly being chased by the male and hide in the corners. What are the short term and long term solutions? Should i put the male back in his small bowl for now?

[1fish2fish]

Separate all three. Males and females should never be mixed (don't listen to those who tell you other wise, only VERY experienced breeders can do this and its still not proven to be healthy for the fish).

Females can be kept together in 10+ gallon tanks but you need AT LEAST 4 females with 6+ being better.

[kuklachica]

I agree 100% with 1fish. In addition, I would call the manager and let him/her know that one of his employees is giving advice that puts the animals in danger. That needs to be dealt with at the store.

[SfGiantsFan]

thanks you! i put them each in seperate bowls. one more question, if i have a 10 gallon tank, what is the max amount of females i can have together?

[1fish2fish]

If I'm not mistaken the Petsmart care sheet does not advocate mixing males and female bettas so that would go against company policy to offer that advice.

It depends on your filtration. A cycled tank with a good filter can handle 8-10 female bettas if you keep up on water changes. A tank that stocked should get 2 weekly partial changes though because that is a lot of fish. I think 6-8 is a better number for a 10 gallon IMO

[SfGiantsFan]

I appreciate all the help. The PetSmart worker didn't seem too knowlegeble on the Betta fish. What would be the smartest thing for me to do with the male?

[Adastra]

You could always divide the ten gallon tank--it would be the safest thing and, in my opinion the best thing for a novice to do. In my opinion, keeping females together is really something an experienced betta keeper should do. Often females in a sorority situation can get injured or they show too much aggression to be kept with the other females--someone who keeps a sorority needs to know how to deal with injured fish and how to gauge when a female needs to be removed due to behavioral incompatibility. Some females are just as aggressive as males, and can't cope with a social situation--when you decide to form a sorority you are accepting that there is a risk that some females may be incompatible, and that in this case it is your responsibility to maintain these fish in a separate tank where they will be alone.

I highly suggest dividing the tank into three sections, one for the male, and one for each female. This will keep all of the fish safe and won't overstock the tank. You will have peace of mind that you won't wake up to a bunch of dead or injured female bettas, and you won't have to worry about keeping the male in a separate tank that you would have to maintain.

There is a tutorial on this site about dividing a tank using craft mesh and report binder spines--I have done this myself and am very pleased with the results. It is very cheap and easy.

[SfGiantsFan]

That sounds like a reasonable way to deal with this. I really would like to have more fish than just these 3 but i don't want to make it any worse than it already is. I'll just have to research what other kind of fish I could possibly have in the future. Thanks for the reply.

[Adastra]

I think you made the right decision. :) This way you will only have to maintain one larger tank that will be more stable and easier to clean than a bunch of smaller ones. I highly suggest you research the Nitrogen Cycle and how to conduct a fishless cycle--the process will make your life much easier. Good luck!

[SfGiantsFan]

Ok I will do that, thank you!