I have a beta male and I am not very experienced with them. That is why I went to the petstore and asked them if I need to have a female with it so he won't be alone...so the petstore told me its totally fine...there I have a female beta now!!
I am shocked to see the male chase the female like he is going to kill her. I seperated him to a container...please can someone advice me what to do...I don't really want to take neither of them back...can they live together in one tank?
make eggs? please advice, thanks!
2007-09-10 17:04:28 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
Yes, the male will kill the female. Pet store employees are usually just average people looking for a part-time job, without any real training. It's really best to do your own research online before picking a fish.
Since you don't want to return either of the fish, you need to keep them separately. They should be kept in their own 2.5 gallon tanks with heaters and filters, in order for them to live happily.
Your male betta is fine alone; he's not lonely. If you want to get him a tankmate, he can live peacefully with other fish as long as they are not bettas, or fish that resemble bettas. However, you will usually need at least 10 gallons of water for a betta to live peacefully with another fish. If you got a 5 gallon tank, you could add an African Dwarf Frog for him to live with; or a snail; or a small school of rasboras. But he will be fine without a tankmate as well.
2007-09-10 20:30:35 · answer #1 · answered by ninjaaa! 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Never believe pet store employees. You need to separate the fish immediately! If the pair aren't conditioned for spawning, one is likely to kill the other.
To answer the rest of the question, no, they will never be able to live together (without the use of a tank divider). Even when you condition them and put them together to spawn, you need to remove the female as soon as the eggs are laid. You can find more info on this at this link: http://www.bettatalk.com/
That said, even though bettas can't be kept together (other than multiple females together in a larger tank so that each gats about 2 gallons and the tank is well planted with plenty of hiding spots), they will get along with most other fish - just don't keep them with anything that will harm them (large aggressive fish), or fish with long fins that may be mistaken for another betta (generally guppies and goruamis).
2007-09-11 00:08:59 · answer #2 · answered by copperhead 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Male bettas are usually very aggressive and territorial. They can't be kept in the same tank as another male or they're attack each other. And they shouldn't be kept with females for much the same reasons. The male will try to mate with the female first, but after the eggs are laid, either the male will attack the female or vice versa. So my advice is to keep them separate. Also, if you want to mate them, it's a lot of work! After the female lays her eggs, you have to remove her so she doesn't eat them. And you have to make sure the male takes care of the eggs by putting them in a bubble nest that he makes or else the eggs will drop to the bottom and die. And there's much more to do.
Good luck!
2007-09-11 00:12:05 · answer #3 · answered by random 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Male and female bettas should not be kept together. The male betta will try to kill the female unless they are actually mating - and once he's got her eggs, he will chase her down and try to kill her again. You'll have to keep them separate or take one back. I would go back to the pet store and insist they refund your money. They were terribly irresponsible and should not be selling fish if they don't know any better than that! Let me guess - Walmart?
2007-09-11 00:13:51 · answer #4 · answered by L H 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
your pets store is full of idiots. they can't live together. you can mate them -- it is a complex process.
if your betta seems bored two great things to do are get it a bigger home -- mine all have 2 1/2 to 5 gallons. also make it a home. get some plants that reach the top of the water -- if you get fabric plants with big leaves they like to use the leaves as rest areas.
here is a sight with pictures that shows how to breed bettas -- its not as easy as just dropping them in the same bowl.
http://www.flippersandfins.net/bettabreedingarticle.htm
2007-09-11 00:11:10 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋