[foamer]

Hello. I am having a problem with my fish. Qustion is at bottom if you do not to read the history.

My daughter was given a fish by her aunt. It was in a clear plastic cup. I bought a 2.5 gallon tank, filter, etc. When I put it in, it seemed very happy, swimming all around.

It has been two weeks and we wanted some more fish. We are unsure what type of fish we have, as the container was unmarked. The pouch of food that came with it said Betta Food.

So we went to the store and bought two Bettas. We bought two females as we were unsure if we had a male or female and were told two males would fight.

When we put the new fish in the tank (still in their own cups, floating), they all seemed fine. The one in the tank would come and look at them then leave.

When we finally took the new ones and put them in the tank, our first one would chase one of the new ones around the tank. I put a clear bag in the middle of the tank to seperate them and it kept trying to get to the other side. It finally did, and they seemed to be fine.

Today I noticed that either the new ones grew or the original one got smaller as they are now the same size (the new ones were smaller at first).

After looking a little closer I noticed the fins seem smaller and ragged on my first one. Before it had a long tail and now it is short.

Is it possible that the females are nipping at the other ones fins? Could one of the new ones be a male, even though they were marked as females? What should I do?

Thank you,

...
William

 

[dramaqueen]

Hello and welcome to FishForum. Males and females should never be housed together except for breeding purposes only.Bettas are solitary fish and do best by themselves. Females can live together (depending on their personality) in a sorority. The tank needs to be at least 10 gallons and there needs to be lots of hiding places. Raggedy fins may have been caused by fighting. I would separate the fish and give them individual homes.

 

[AngelicScars]

Drama is right. 2.5 is a perfect size for one Betta. You just cannot add more to that size tank. Frankly, making a sorority is a lot of work and it rarely works unless the females grew up together from fry or the tank is very large (from experiences I've read and from my own).
Separate them immediately and return the others or buy more 2 gallon + tanks to put them in. If you want, you can buy a 10 gallon and put a divider in there for to house 2 Betta in one tank.

 

[BettaSquirt]

I think that you should research betta fish more before you do anything else. Besides what they said to do up there ^ ^ ^ ^

 

[foamer]

I actually have a 5.5 gallon tank. Would my male fight with a female?

Or did I buy a male listed as a female?

...

 

[dramaqueen]

Do not put a male and female together. Yes, they will fight and one of them will end up dead. Petstore employees will tell you its ok but its not. Bettas are aggressive and males and females shouldn't be put together except for breeding purposes and even then, they need to be watched like a hawk to make sure no one gets hurt or killed.

 

[AngelicScars]

I actually have a 5.5 gallon tank. Would my male fight with a female?

Or did I buy a male listed as a female?

...

It doesn't matter, they cannot be housed together, males or females. Just separate them into different tanks or take all but one back to the store.
I hope that helps!

 

[rb500]

Yea, everyone is right. The males and females will fight unless you want to breed them and then there is a very specific system. Females will fight if there are only two together, or you don't have a big enough tank without hiding places, so your two girls are not gonna be good together. Males will definetly fight, and they kill each other so you can't have accidentally gotten an extra male because one would be dead. The original is a male, because you said it had long flowing fins, and that's male. Hope this helps, but definetly seperate them all immediately.

 

[dr2b]

I agree with what everybody has said before me. Males and females should never ever be housed together unless for breeding purposes. I really think you should do some more research on betta fish. If you leave them together someone will end up dead or almost dead.

 

[foamer]

Ever since I first posted I have seperated the male from the two females. The two females seem to be doing fine in the tank together. It is a 5.5 gallon tank with sea shells, a bridge, a pirate ship and lots of trees.

The male was chasing one around the first day, but he was the one that was beat up on the second day.

He is back in his 16oz bowl because I only have one tank right now.

...

 

[AngelicScars]

The two females aren't a good idea together either. If they haven't yet they will try to pick a pecking order. Since there is only 2 of them, they will fight to the death. Females are just as aggressive as males.
Usually, the only way females work together is if there are 5 or more of them in a 10+ gallon tank with plenty of hiding spots.
Now, you could possibly have a rare arrangement with both females doing fine together, but it's not likely. I would separate them or keep on eye on them. Watch for a stress stripe, chasing, hiding, loss of fins/scales, loss of color.
Good luck!

 

[neenjar]

The two females aren't a good idea together either. If they haven't yet they will try to pick a pecking order. Since there is only 2 of them, they will fight to the death. Females are just as aggressive as males.
Usually, the only way females work together is if there are 5 or more of them in a 10+ gallon tank with plenty of hiding spots.
Now, you could possibly have a rare arrangement with both females doing fine together, but it's not likely. I would separate them or keep on eye on them. Watch for a stress stripe, chasing, hiding, loss of fins/scales, loss of color.
Good luck!

Great info AngelicScars, thanks, saved me a bunch of typing!