I recently purchased a male & female Beta, and put them in a tank together. The first day everything seemed fine. They appeared to be somewhat agressive twards eachother, but it appered to be mostly chasing.
When I got home today, however, I noticed that what fins the Female had were all torn up. Now I know males tend to pick at fins of other fish, but is it normal for the male to do this to the female? I immedatly seperated them, but I was wondering if it's okay to put them together. Is this just a dominance activity or will the male continously go after the female???
I do have a tank divider, and will use it to seperate them if need be, but I just wanted to know for sure if my best bet is to keep them apart...
2006-10-06 17:06:35 · 12 answers · asked by Bobby T. 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
NO, and I am surprised the fish store sold you them and didn't bring that to your attention. Separate them at once, but at this point the female will probably die.
2006-10-06 17:09:35 · answer #1 · answered by Cinderella 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Keep them apart. The male will kill the female unless you have met specific requirements for breeding. Even then, after the eggs are laid and fertilized, the male will kill the female.
I have kept a single male beta in a tank with other species, with little problem. I always watched carefully to make sure the beta did not go after any other fish. I used to have three or four tanks and several bowls for isolation.
Definitely keep them apart. At the very least the male would pick at the female and make her life miserable or weaken her and drive her to an early death. If you want to raise betas, do your research well in advance and be prepared before problems happen.
2006-10-06 17:19:17 · answer #2 · answered by Susan M 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I've replied to a similar question recently but I'll do it again. The ONLY time you want a male and female together is when you want to breed them - PERIOD! If you have no intentions of breeding them - seperate them at once.
Males do not get along with males. Females SOMETIMES get along with other females. Bettas can live in community tanks, but the variety of tank mates is extremely limited.
Please visit this web site for excellent information on the care of Bettas. There are many resources on the web but I've found this one to be most informative without spazzing over the topic.
http://www.bettatalk.com/
Oh - and a thing about dividers. Unless you want your Betta to flare constantly (which isn't all that great for his health) forget about the dividers. Use individual tanks.
Good Luck!
-Chrystaille
2006-10-07 06:21:00 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
We encourage people to have at least a 5 gallon or bigger tank, and have other fish in the tank as well. Plants for hiding are also necessary. In the store, we keep 4-5 females in a 20 gallon with one male and have no problems. We have plants in the tank also.
Female Betta's can be just as aggressive toward a male and may tear his fins up.
2006-10-06 17:11:54 · answer #4 · answered by kriend 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I have had a male and female beta fish together for the past two years. They are in a 30 gal. tank with guppies. But you cannot put 2 males together in one tank, they will fight until one of them die. If your male and female are fighting maybe it would be a good idea to separate them..You can put the male in a beta bowl (small bowl or tank) by himself. Wal-Mart sells bowls just for male betas.
2006-10-06 17:17:36 · answer #5 · answered by badwarden 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A single Beta is good in a community tank. But two Betas should NOT be in the same tank with each other. One WILL try to kill the other. I can't believe the people at the pet shop didn't tell you that (unless they just assumed you knew).
I once had a single Beta in a tank. He kept ramming the glass, very ferociously. I was worried he was going to kill himself. We finally figured out he was seeing his reflection in the end of the tank and thought it was another Beta, so he kept attacking it. We moved the tank and ended the mirror effect he was seeing and it stopped.
FYI -- Breeding them requires extra special instructions and particularly close monitoring.
2006-10-06 17:17:20 · answer #6 · answered by kj 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get a book on Betas or look it up on the internet. Male and Female betas can be put together but only when they are ready to mate! You would have to look up signs of this! Otherwise he will not stop until she is dead! good luck
2006-10-06 17:11:44 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No - I had a beautiful male Betta and in my ignorance got him a pretty red female Betta. I thought they would mate in time, and that only the males fight. - She beat the S*** out of him! It was in a 10 gal community tank with lots of plants and hiding places. I named her Electra and put her in a tank by her self. Tough girl!
2006-10-06 17:19:47 · answer #8 · answered by hoodoo_cat 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Fighting fish are supposed to be separated from everything...
Why do you think Petco puts each of them in tiny individual containers?
2006-10-06 17:07:44 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes they can be put together in tank but some time they fight and die but on some time. mostly male and female bettas keep togetherly for breeding....bye..
2006-10-06 23:00:08 · answer #10 · answered by Ali B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋