Can I house 4 female bettas in a 10 gallon tank?

Question

I know females can live together (obviously males cannot) in larger tanks, I've even seen them housed together peacefully at pet shops instead of in the little cups. It seems if you keep a large enough group it diffuses their aggression, but I thought 10 gallons might be pushing it.

Answer 1

this can work, with enough plants, as 5.0 already mentioned, but there is no guarantee.

some betta females are nearly as aggressive as males and can even kill other females. it works best when they were raised together, then they don't pick on each other much.

the other (and better) possibility would be buying betta imbellis (crescent betta) instead of betta splendens. they look like the wild forms of betta splendens, albeit smaller and are called peaceful bettas for a reason: the males won't kill each other when they fight (but not because they are really more peaceful but because they are smaller, weaker and don't protect such a large territorium).

even other possibility is to buy some mouthbrooding bettas (like betta picta) - they are not as colourful but they are really peaceful and even should be kept in small groups with a number of both males and females.

but still, plants are important for all bettas out there.

Answer 2

Hi,
I will try to answer your question to the best of my knowledge. I would say yes. Yesterday I had 7 female bettas in a 5 gallon tank for 3 hours and they were fine. (I was cleaning my 29 gallon, now they are in it happily enjoying all of the room) I watched them a little and I saw no signs of a pecking order going on. I then got 2 more that day, and put them in too and they seemed fine also. The tank is pretty heavily planted w/ plants and has 3 rock hideouts. My neighbor has a 10 gallon w/ 2 female bettas and they seem fine together. I must get mellow females, because I haven't ever seen anyone chasing each other. So what I would do is make sure you have lots of plants, and a few hideouts- then I would actually add 5 females if they are going to be the only species in there. That way if any are aggressive, it will help spread it out. By the way, you often hear about females that are aggressive as males. I have never had one of these females before out of my 15 female bettas I have owned.
Hope This helps!!!!
Thanks for considering putting females together in a nice roomy tank instead of a bowl!!!! :)

Answer 3

Yes you can, actually the minimum you have to keep together is 3 because they need to choose the so called peckingorder, it might look like they are fighting, but they aren't really
I think MM once said that you can keep up to 5 females in a 10 gallon tank, so you're doing good
But as mentioned already, don't forget to put a lot of live plants in there


Hope that helps
Good luck


EB

Answer 4

Yes you can, that would be perfect actually. You could even add one more if you wanted, just to diffuse the aggression further. Just remember to have the tank heavily planted, so they have plenty of places to hide or get their own privacy. Even if you don't plant it with live plants, silk plants and other hide-outs like caves or little pots will also do.

Answer 5

you can get away with lots if you provide "territory". plants castles rocks, etc give bettas something to call their own and breaks up the line of sight so they aren't just staring at each other all the time. 10 gallons would be fine for at least 5 females.

Answer 6

They should be fine, especially if you buy the female bettas that are already in a tank with other bettas.

Answer 7

Yes, it would be alright. Most females aren't as agressive as the males, and therefor won't fight. Make sure to add lots of hiding places in case one feels threatened.

~ZTM

Answer 8

Yes, you can put females together, but you should include a decent amount of live plants.

Answer 9

NO. Betta's can NOT be put into a tank with other Betta's. They will attack and kill each other.

Answer 10

you should be fine