do male and female betas co-exist peacefully? do beta males fight everytime they see each other in the wild?

Question

i always feel bad for the betas sitting in about a pint of water seperated from other fish in the pet stores...i bought one and put it in with some other tropicals and it was pretty good for about 3 days and then it started getting agressive...any body know more about them? would love to know..thx.. the pet store took it back, but they didn't have much info on them...guess i should buy a book on them..thanks again..

Answer 1

Yup males fight each other in the wild. If they aren't mating females and males fight in the wild. Betta mating tends to be a violent affair. (Think cats.) Remember that in the wild bettas will fight, and the loser will leave. They live in shallow ponds, slow streams, and rice paddies. There is a lot of room in such places.

Thus all betta are fairly territorial. The males generally can't coexist with any betta, or fish that looks like a betta. Crowntails tend to be more aggressive than normal. (The crowntail trait came from a fighting betta line.) I've had males in large tanks, and generally it was the betta who got picked on. In a tank smaller than 5 gallons a male will generally consider the whole tank to be his terroritory. (10+ gallon is better.) In your case the male most likely bonded to his tank, and was attempting to drive off the other fish. Males can't be kept with females.

Females on the other hand tend to be much less aggressive. Other than my old alpha female I've never seen females go after non betta. My old alpha female would bully my 4 inch male sailfin molly, once beat up a male betta, and was know to sample my arm. (it tickled)

The females will fight among themselves until a pecking order is established. Generally you need a 15+ gallon tank and put only one female per 5-10 gallons. (You can have other fish too.) Breeders often keep more crowded tanks, but these betta are raised from birth. If your fish store sells them a single female betta is a colorful addition to any peaceful community tank.

Honestly betta aren't very social fish. My females tend to ignore each other if they aren't posture at each other.

PS- Avoid fish like male fancy guppy that look like betta. Also slow moving fish can't out swim an aggressive betta.

Answer 2

I have four betas all male and they are seperated just for the fact that when you put them together doesn't matter if it's a male or female they will bite each other until one is dead.In the wild they life in puddles so they are comfortable in small tanks. They also can be put into tanks with other fish (goldfish) without doing harm to anything else. They are slow swimmers so don't put tropical fish in with them or the betas will not survive.

Answer 3

We actually have had several betas, male and female. Male betas are territorial, so they can't co-exist in the same evironment. As for males and females, they generally don't go well together; the only exception is when the male is in mating mode and the female is receptive (the appearance of sticky bubbles that have been made by the male signal his desire to mate). When they do mate, its good to separate them all because they male and female will become aggressive and usually eat the offspring.

As for having other fish in a tank with a beta, its definitely possible. In our case, our first male beta was very gentle and freindly. We had a couple of frogs, several small crabs. tetras, and some other community fish. Fin-nippers, like barbs and angelfish, are not ok. Our first beta became used to the other fish that when we introduced a female beta, he did real fine with her; they never bothered each other much for several months. However, when he eventually wanted to make, she wasn't interested and killed him. But in general, I wouldn't do that again with a male and female.

If you have anymore questions, feel free to email me: [e-mail]

Answer 4

Well like everyone knows NEVER put two male betta together, they WILL FIGHT. But wot everyone else says about the males and females fighting also hasnt been true for me. I've had load of betta male and females together in with Angelfish, goldfish, sharks, swordtail, guppies, and mollies. They MIGHT chase them around in play but as long as there isnt another male betta in the tank they will most likely will NOT fight with one another! Also another good way to prevent this is to put a mirror to one side of the tank to let it see its reflection so it thinks a male is one the other side.

Answer 5

Never ever put two beta males together. they are terratorial and will fight eachother to the death. The male most likely will not leave the females alone either.

Answer 6

male betas, do not get along with any other fish....that is why they are in seperate bowls.