I thought boys and girls could play together?

[leluandswimmy]

I have three Bettas: two girls that live together and a boy that lives in another tank....I've had them seperated since I bought them. I wanted to try and see if I could get them together in one tank, because I read online that males and females could live together, just no males and males together. Well I tried this...I added the male and the second he saw one of my females he went crazy; his gills flared up and his tail was going crazy. I thought I provided enough coverage for him, with plants, rocks, etc.
Was I just misinformed? Can males and females not mix? Oh, btw, I removed him immediately, when he started to freak out. I placed him back into his old tank. All of the fish are okay now. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks,

Leluandswimmy

[Crazykat]

Good thing you were keeping watch and separated them! No, males and females should never be kept together unless you're breeding. Both males and females are aggressive. In fact, I'd keep a very close eye on your two females as well, because usually females will snap and beat each other up if you have less than five together. Having more helps to spread out the aggression. If your fish seem injured or anyone got their fins ripped up, you should quarantine and put in 1/2 tsp of aquarium salt per gallon. I hope this helps! :)

[Jupiter]

How big are your tanks? Males can never be kept with males OR females, but females can be kept together under specific conditions, though it's also a bit of a gamble.

[wallywestisthebest333]

I suggest at least a 10 gallon tank for the girls and you really should purchase about three more.

Good luck. =]

[bettamaniac]

I thought the least you could keep together was three

[leluandswimmy]

Honestly, I don't know how many gallons the tank is(it didn't say on the box). Next time I clean out their tank I'll measure the water. Anyway, I haven't had ANY problems with the girls...they get along fine...that I've seen. (I think I forgot to mention in the last post that the girls have been in the same tank since I bought them. I wanted to add the male to the girl's tank)My little sister and daughter live with me and they keep a good eye on the fish(along with myself) and we've never seen the girls act aggressively with each other, but now I'm nervous. I've had them for about five months now...but I'll pay extra close attention to them. Would I know by now if they were aggressive towards each other?
Also, I didn't know I was supposed to keep 3-5 girls together, and I did do some research before I bought them. What do you all think? Should I buy another one or do you think they'll be fine with just the two if they haven't attacked each other. (I do have a lot of foliage, rocks, cover space, etc. in the tank)
Finally, can I buy a larger tank, that fits all three, but keeps them separated? Because having all of these different small tanks is starting to become clutter...
Thank you for your suggestions:)

[appledust]

Not sure about the situation with your two girls together, but one thing you could do if you really don't want more than one tank is to get a 10 gallon (or perhaps a 14/15, or ideally a 20 long for all three of your fish) and divide it. It could be a really fun DIY project (it was for me!) and there's a thread around here somewhere about how to do it.

However, if I were you, I'd get the male a 5-10 gal by himself or a 10 gal divided with another male - cuz it's always fun to get more ;) - and then set up a sorority with the two girls you have and a few other girls.

Good luck!

[nikkilee]

I just recently read a reeeally informative sticky under Betta Fish Care about keeping sororities...check it out, lots of GREAT info! Good luck to ya!

[fishman12]

I've never really liked dividing, but that's just an opinion. A lot of people do it flawlessly. I think the min. for dividing is 5 gallons. I would go with a soroity for the girls, or at least a bigger tank (You mentioned small tanks) and 1 more girl.

[dramaqueen]

I would keep an eye on the girls. Things may be fine now but could change later.