betta help, Will give 5 stars today! Please help?

Question

I own 1 male betta who is not as aggressive as some of my former males. I am well aware that you should not put other males with him and I dont, I dont put any other fish with him either.

I went to wal mart last night and bought a Female betta thinking maybe he would like some companionship and I think he liked her alot.
They didnt fight at all and it actually seemes as if he was flirting with her, kinda showing off. She didnt fight or anything either, However she seemed to always stay at the bottom well hidden from him. she even got under a sea shell and stayed for awhile.

She came up a few times and they never once fought. I decided She didnt really like it in there with him so I took her out but she seems to act the same way by herself.

Id rather her be in the tank with lighting and air which is his tank than be in the bowl shes in now.Do you think it would be ok to put her back with him also how about her being in my large tank with goldfish and angel? Thanks

I knew someone would ask how I keep angels and goldfish together, They always do.

Ive had my tank for about 8 months now and I did put my ONE angel in with my other goldfish and He does just fine, He seems to enjoy it very well. THe water in my tank is not COLD but not warm enough to affect my goldfish. Ive had no problems and if I ever do I will indeed take him out. Thanks

Answer 1

Given the options you list, I'd say keep her with the male for now. If she's hiding, remember you only got her last night! Let her get used to her new home. Also, the male may be picking on her, which is natural - be prepared for some torn fins between them! Put some plants (real or artificial) in the tank to give her a place to hide and she'll feel more secure. His general lack of aggression may be because he's a young fish, but as bettas have been bred for color and finnage, the aggression level is also decreasing (compared to their wild ancestors).

If you keep them together, they'll eventually try to spawn. You should be prepared for this, especially if you want to raise the fry. Also, once a female lays her eggs, you will have to get her out of the tank and set up a temporary residence for her (I wouldn't use the goldfish/angel tank). The male guards the nest/fry and will harass any other fish in the tank (including the female).

Here are some sites that will give you an idea of what should be done for the inevitable spawn attempts:

http://www.aquariumhobbyist.com/articles/BreedingBettas.html
http://betta-barracks.ourfamily.com/breed.htm

Answer 2

Bettas are very hardy fish, Much too hardy for there own good, if they died like any other fish would after being tortured by being crammed into a container of stagnent ammonia filled poisan with no way to blink that stuff out of there eyes, and no were to swimm with those beautiful fins.. there entire species would be much better off. Bettas are very tropical fish that need at least a 5 gallon tank heated to a steady temperature between 78 and 82 with a gentle filter and live or silk plants and smooth edged decorations. Feed them a variety of foods including betta pellets and frozen thawed frozen blood-worms. Very small amounts like 3-4 pellets or an equal amount of frozen or other food once a day or split up in 2 feedings twice a day. Use a gravel vacuum to change 25% of the water once a week while sifting gently through the gravel and replace it with similar temperature water and do not forget to add a dechlorinator, or even better, a de-chlorinating stress coat product, like API stress-coat with Aloe.

Answer 3

The only time that you want to put a male betta with another betta is when he has built his bubble nest, and then you put the female in with him and take her out after mating. You can however keep multiple females together.

The likely reason that your female is acting weird is that she is still "traumatized" by her encounter with the male. He was probably harassing her and you may not have seen it.

You will be ok putting your female in with the other fish, though you should give her plenty of places to hide because the angel may get aggressive, but it will likely be aggressive with other fish as well.

One of the other things that you can do is make sure that you have a large enough tank for the animals that you have in there. Many times aggression is the result of mixing the wrong fish and fish not having enough space.

Answer 4

Male betta can't be kept with any female betta. From the sound of it the male betta may have wanted to mate, and is fairly placid for a male. (Betta tend to be wife beaters and fight prior to matig is common.) That said you don't mention him building a bubblenest which I'd expect of a male betta. (Some of the less aggressive male won't mate.) Mating actually bad news as the male will defend the nest from the females after mating. (In nature she'd just run away.)

The female sounds sick and/or stressed. I'd keep her out of the male's tank. Given she didn't attack the male she's likely a relatively peaceful female.


PS- Temp wise your goldfish, angel, and female betta could live together at 75F. That said angels tend to get a little mean when they get older. A male betta might pick on the slower goldfish, and angel fish. Most female will be okay until she's mouth sized to goldfish, and/or the angelfish matures.

PPS- Where in the world do you folks get you bettas. My males are attacking snails. My girls beating each other up. Not to mention the one who beat one of my boys. Then there is the spunky girl that loves leap at the food in my hand, and ends up on the counter top.

Answer 5

I have had a male and female Betta together for four months now in a 10 gallon lighted, filtered, and planted tank. The male is always showing off and the female ignores him. He chases her around occasionally. Because the tank has many hiding places their dislike for each other is not a problem, they both can go to their side of the tank to be alone. I would advise planting live plants and placing small terra cotta pots on the bottom.

Answer 6

She's probably just stressed from all the moving around. Male bettas will attack female ones and its only a good idea to keep them together if you're breeding and then you should have 2-3 females for the one male.

Another note....how are you keeping goldfish and angels together? Goldfish are coldwater fish and angels are tropical.

Answer 7

Begin with a divider, and put the bettas apart. The female acts playful and shy while the male shows off. He acts like he wants to fight, but he doesn't. He's just being a tough guy. Don't let this fool you;;leave them apart for 5 days or so, then put them together. The female shouldn't fear him by now, and if she does, it's alright. He'll prove he's nice. She'll start making large bubbles that stay up on the top, and then it will seem like he is attacking her. He'll dive up and down at her, then they will mate. It's very hard to mate bettas, but very rewarding!

Answer 8

on very rare occasions bettas do get along together but don't bet on it. if you keep them together the chances are very good they will fight -- like 99.99%. its very risky. the more space they have the better. it usually works best if they are from the same batch of fry and grew up in a tank together. i know people with really big tanks that keep male bettas together. one claims one corner and never sees the one that lives on the other side of the tank. i really wouldn't risk it. the female might be ok with the angelfish and the goldfish and you could wake up with a bunch of dead fish. they are territorial as the males and if they feel threatened they will fight. you can have really good results keeping female bettas together. if she has enough space in the other tank she might be ok - - but you are risking your other fish.

Answer 9

She's probably just stressed from all the moving around. Male bettas will attack female ones and its only a good idea to keep them together if you're breeding and then you should have 2-3 females for the one male.

Answer 10

I think that you could put her back in with him. Female betas tend to be shy. Also, the ones from Wal-Mart have usually been kept in tiny bowls for a long time. It takes them a while to get used to having more room. They often won't really explore the tank until they get used to being "exposed." I hope this helps. :)