My bettas r currently living with 2 goldfish. my female seems to do well in cold water. she swims back and forth and back and forth around the 10 gallon tank. my male on the other hand, looks VERY active, always showing off to my female. should i get a heater for them or should a leave things as they r now?
2006-12-20 13:46:37 · 6 answers · asked by Shadow(betta boy) 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
Actually you can't keep a male and female betta in the same tank, or the male will continually harass the female until she dies.
Males are extremely agressive to females in attempts to get them to spawn with them.
You need to either have one male in a tank, or take the male back and have a couple of females.
In either case they do require warm water so you will want to get a heater for the tank.
2006-12-20 14:58:51 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your current fish tank is not appropriate for bettas or goldfish...
Goldfish are high waste producers. They are poop machines and churn out way too much ammonia for a 10 gallon to deal with. They are fine in room temperature as they are coldwater fish, but fancy goldfish really need 15-20 gallons of water per fish. Other goldfish like commons, comets, etc, need to live in ponds because they are so big.
Bettas, on the other hand, are small, and although 10 gallons is ample room for ONE, you should never keep two together (unless they are females). Male bettas do not tolerate the presence of other bettas - male OR female - in their territory, except when spawning, and even then, many females are injured.
Bettas require warm water - they are from Thailand waters of 80F. The cold water they are in now is lowering their immune systems and also their metabolism, which is why you are seeing only mild threat displays by the male (they aren't 'showing off', really, they are 'GET OUT OF MY TERRITORY")
If you leave them as is, your fish probably will not live too long. While the arrangement may work for a while, the goldfish will succomb to ammonia poisoning, and the bettas will succomb to diseases brought on by being in cold water.
I suggest you get a nice big tank, 30 gallons would do, for your 2 goldfish, and leave your bettas in the 10gal, and a get a divider and a heater.
2006-12-20 22:01:58 · answer #2 · answered by Zoe 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋
It depends on your temperature. If it is constantly at 78 or higher than you don't need one. If that is the case, your goldfish are suffering. If the temp is lower than that, the bettas are suffering.
Fish are not mammals. Fish are cold blooded and MUST have the temp just right or they will suffer.
2006-12-20 21:52:52 · answer #3 · answered by fish guy 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Bettas need heat, but goldfish can die if you put a heater in the tank. So, I probably not put a heater in.
2006-12-21 02:52:33 · answer #4 · answered by iluvmyfrenchbulldogs 6 · 0⤊ 4⤋
watch out for them if it starts to get bad then get a heater
2006-12-20 21:49:41 · answer #5 · answered by big boy 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
i would think bettas need heat but call some where like petco.that would be your best answer.
2006-12-20 21:49:40 · answer #6 · answered by bassetluv 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋