Can I put two FEMALE betas in one fish bowl?

Question

I purchased the first female beta and later purchased another female beta. They flared up and started attacking each other. I've separated them but they can still see each other (they still are trying to kill each other). Can I put them in one fish bowl in a week or so or will they always be separated?

Answer 1

Absolutely not.

1. Female bettas can be kept together, but not in pairs. This is because of something called "diffusion of aggression". They must live in communities of at least 5 or 6, so that they can establish a pecking order or hierarchy amongst themselves, establish a "dominant female" and then live peacefully. If you put two females together, they will be constantly fighting for dominance and all their aggression will be focused on each other. So no, if you want a female betta community, you need at least 5 or 6 fish.

2. You don't have enough space. For a sorority tank, you need at least 10 gallons of water, with a filter and heater.

In other words, your fish must always be separated unless you can get a larger tank and more female bettas.

Answer 2

A lot of people say no, do not put two females together. I have seen three females together in a larger tank (I belive it was 20 or 26 gallons). This tank was very well planted and they appeared to be co-existing just fine. Personally, I wouldn't put two females together in anything less than a 15 gallon MAYBE a 10 gallon tank, both of which should be well planted with plenty of hiding. Groups of females, three or more, will establish a pecking order (which is a hierarchy) and generally the lowest female in that pecking order gets battered by the other two fish. The female at the bottom will be highly stressed and more than likely will die sooner than the other two. So keep that in mind. If you only have two females, generally one is dominant and the submissive is extremely stressed and will not last very long. I don't know how big your "Betta" tank is and how it's setup, but I would heed to the 10 gallon rule. Also, if you're adding a female Betta to a tank that already has a female Betta, the established female could kill or fight the female. It is advisable to introduce both of them in a temporary "neutral" tank where they can get used to each other and then add them together to the established tank.

Answer 3

The answer to your question is no for a few reasons.
1. They need a real tank with a filter and a heater. They are tropical fish.
2. A small bowl will only house 1 fish. The fish will not thrive in a bowl but it can live in it.
3. To house female Betta's you need 3 or more so they can establish a pecking order. Without this the larger female will pick at the other until it dies from stress or infection.
I recommend buying a 10 gallon tank starter kit. It comes with a hood and lights as well as a filter. I purchased mine from Wal-mart for close to $30. You will need to purchase a heater separately. Then you can add a few more females as well as other types of peaceful tropical fish.

Answer 4

First, Betas don't like bowls or small places as some people think. Female Betas shouldn't fight. They could just not be used to being with other fish because they were in little pots at the pet store for such a long time. But otherwise I'm not sure why they would do something like that.

Answer 5

About housing female bettas

You can keep several females together in a tank BUT ONLY IF they have been acclimated to community living first. There is something lovely about a variety of betta females of different colors, swimming around in a nice tank. I do sell such female package deals and when you order them from me you know they have already been living together and have been properly acclimated to living in a community tank together. Click here for more details. This is the safest way to go. Otherwise, if you just buy individual females and stick them together, you might be in for a nasty surprise! "the female of the specie is deadlier than the male" :) (says the song). Although female bettas are a little less aggressive than their male counterparts, they too will fight. They will display at each other and flare and attack and pull each other's hair out LOL. You can take your chances and you may be lucky but if you do, remember to keep a very close eye on your gals as you might have to separate them, jar them, or pull a bully out. Remember the pecking order has to be established, so a little bit of picking at first is normal, but if it doesn't stop soon, or if there is too much fin damage, then you will have to remove any trouble maker. If bettas continually pick on each other, the stress it causes will make them sick.

So unless you really want to have a display female betta community tank, I recommend using the other individual housing methods I listed above as safer alternative to keep your females. Oh and remember: NEVER PUT A FEMALE WITH A MALE!! Only when you spawn them should they both be in the same tank, and even still, remember to read my section on breeding your bettas to learn how to prevent the male from killing his mate or, the female from giving your male a nasty buzz cut. ;)

Answer 6

Normally two female bettas (females only) will do fine together, but sometimes two particular fish just don't get along with each other. That is probably the case here. If your absolutely positive that the two are female, that it's probably that your bettas were stressed or just plain don't like each other. At any rate, it's probably just safer to not put these particular fish together. Most of the time, though, you can put two female bettas together.

Answer 7

Well as you said they are trying to kill eachother i would advise not putting them in 1 bowl for two reaseons
A:you say they are trying to kill eachother
and
B: most likely the bowl is two small to acommedate both of them, if you did put them together i would advise getting a bigger tank with a FILTER and plenty of hiding spots.

Oh one more thing females can live together its just get 1-2 more to reduce aggresion!!

Answer 8

Well if you say they are flaring at each other and trying to kill each other then, No dont put tthem together, And are you sure you dont have a male and female, 2 males? etc (Do NOT keep to males together - if you didnt allready know that)

Answer 9

female bettas can't be in a small fish bowl together. they have to be in a aquarium that is about 2 gallons. if they're in a small fish bowl they get too close and they will start tring to kill eachother.

Answer 10

Hello, It sounds to me like you have two young male Betta's. Since you have seen them flaring their fins. Young male Bettas can be mistaken for female Bettas. Normally female Bettas will be fine together. Good Luck