[GreyCheyenne]

I have a male betta (Captain Shining) in the petco bookshelf aquarium (apx. 6.6g, but it's 24"L x 8"W x 9"T). I recently(Feb 10) added a female (kept her in bowl by his tank for a couple days 1st) & 2 African dwarf frogs (Lucy & Ethel). The female (Magdalena) is young and not interested in him. He frequently flares at & chases her. She is small & much faster than him, and she has several places to hide. He never actually hurts her, & she eats well (she eats the frogs' sinking pellets out of their dish though). So I don't know if I should wait & see if it works out or move her back to a 1g bowl. Also, the frogs are acting healthy, but I haven't seen them eat, will they start eating soon? Thanks for any help!

 

[bettalover2033]

Well you must immediately take the female out of the tank and return her back to her own home because the only way a female and male can be together is if they are being bred. I am not sur that your are ready for that yet.

Male and Female bettas are not compatible. eventually he can chase and stress her out sio much to the point of exhaustion and death of a sever open wound.

I personally have kept male and female together because my male was VERY docile and would never flare. He seemed like he was a female and I had him in a sosority. This also isnt advised unless you have a well amount of experience with the fish.

So my best advice is to take the female out and put her back in the 1 gallon bowl. I also advise that you try to get at least a 2.5 gallon aquarium because 1 gallon should only be temporary.

Good Luck!

 

[tpocicat]

That's right^ A male and a female should only be kept together for breeding. Even then they should be monitered to be sure one isn't severely beating the other up. Please get the female a tank of her own as soon as you can.

 

[bettalover2033]

Just to add...It leaves both the male and female stress free and you will see a dramatic change in behavior when she is out.

Hopefully we hear from you soon.

 

[GreyCheyenne]

I was thinking that I should take her out, I was just hoping the situation would improve. I have had many bettas in the past 4 1/2 years & I once kept a male & female in a small (too small, I've learned since then) container. Ezekiel & Millie seemed to like each other very much. When I cleaned their "tank" I would put them in a cup together & they would just swim around each other. when she died he didn't eat for like a day. And the only other time I put a male & female together, the male was afraid of her (though she did nothing to him, ignored him really). He just layed at the bottom of his bowl, so I took the lil' girl out. Once I actually got a nice tank, I was hoping I could find another pair like Ezekiel & Millie, but oh well; thanks for the advice! I just hope I can find a nice (but cheap) tank setup for Magdalena & a place to put it(lol).