i recently just bought 2 female bettas and right now they are still establishing the pecking order (chasing each other around). so basically the first day fish A chased fish B around, and starting day 2 and today, it was fish B chasing around fish A. a lot of the time fish A is hiding around at the bottom or around the plants (she's so good at it that i can hardly find her sometimes). my problem is when i feed them, fish B is the one eating all the food (will make her fat) and fish A stays at the bottom and doesn't attempt to eat. is this normal during the pecking order stage? or should i take out fish B and put in food so fish A can come up and get it without being scared of being chased around?
2006-11-19 09:12:46 · 8 answers · asked by lengmui3721 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
the people at the petshop told me 2 females can be in the same tank together. its the males who are really aggresive. females are too, but apparently once a pecking order has been established everything should b ok. i saw the same info on a few websites. if i put more food in then fish B just eats all of them. i can start to see her tummy soon, i don't want to overfeed!
2006-11-19 11:51:39 · update #1
Females are fine together, I have 5 females together. the problem is your number... you shouldn't put any less than 4 in a tank together. I'd buy at least 2 more. but make sure your tank is big enough and that there are plants and such in the tank for them to hide in, they need a way to get away from eachother, but in time they're grow to be like a pack and each will have it's place. my females all swim around together and eat together. I have a mystery snail in with them and they seem to find him quite entertaining. you might want to try that, mystery snails are very cheap and easy to care for. it seems to take the interest off each other and onto the snail. hope that helps!
2006-11-21 22:22:47 · answer #1 · answered by Kylie Anne 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Generally I would not keep 2 females in a small tank. They are just too territorial. 2 tends to be a bad number as one is alway getting picked on. I generally only keep 1 female per 5 gallons. Also 2 days is pretty early in them working out their differences. Lastly realize that adding another betta will completely mess up an established pecking order.
What I'd do is get something to put the aggressive female in. Sort of a time out box. I've used a molly breeder box, an quartine box and a tall vase. The key is that the betta needs to be able to see each other, and reach the surface for air. Also make sure they can't jump out in a way that harms them. (Jumping back into the tank is not ideal, but not fatal. Jumping out on to the floor...) Give them a week to get over seeing each other, and give them another shot at coexistence. Remember the contain the betta is in is sealed. You will need to pour 1/2 water back into the and put new water from the tank back in. Bettas breathe air from the surface, but they don't like the build up of waste.
2006-11-19 13:03:23 · answer #2 · answered by Sabersquirrel 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Two MALE betas will fight, two females is ok. I do not know if this is normal during the pecking stage but may be try to put more food in the tank so fish B can get food and some will be left for fish A.
2006-11-19 09:22:48 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i had 2 females in the same tank and they formed a pecking order within the 2nd day. I tried to push with 3 females in a 10 gallon tank.. that was a disaster... they wont kill each other but it's just stressful for everybody and lots of torn fins. 2 seems to work fin.
I think the main problem is the age of the females. If they're the same age and they're developing eggs at the same time, they'll fight with each other a lot.. but if they're was an oldest to the youngest, they seem to be fine.
2006-11-19 12:23:34 · answer #4 · answered by professorminh 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Two female betta will fight, they just wont kill each other. Your female B has established her territory as being the whole aquaium. she wont allow the other to eat. so u have four options, let them go and hope that female a will be ok, separte them, take one back to the store, or get a bigger tank.
2006-11-19 15:03:01 · answer #5 · answered by devilgirlwithcape 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In the 4 cases, of 2 female bettas being put together, that I know of, always one of them died in less then a month.
2006-11-19 15:43:57 · answer #6 · answered by rahimj_27 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, first of all, you shouldn't even have to betas in a tank together, cause they will fight and eventually kill eachother
2006-11-19 09:14:56 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i don't think that you are supposed to keep betas together. i would seperate them asap.
2006-11-19 09:15:14 · answer #8 · answered by d☻min☺ 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋