Can two female bettas ever get along?

Question

Is there any hope in keeping two female bettas alone in a tank together? I had a trio of female bettas that got along great, then one recently passed and all hell has broken loose. One will just not leave the other one alone. The bullied one took to hiding in a cave all the time, until the dominant one discovered that’s her hiding place and now the dominant one is constantly checking the cave (this dominant one seems smart and persistent). So the bullied one has started wedging herself in a group of leaves that rest close to the surface of the water to hide. Sometimes she gets on a leaf that is too high and a bit of her top side is actually out of the water, which seems dangerous to her health to me. I am thinking it would be best to buy a 2nd tank to separate them, but I would be open to buying a larger tank to keep them together if more space would help them get along (they are in a 5-gallon tank now).

Thanks to everyone who responded. I appreciate the input.

Finatic, I was thinking the same thing as you – that my alpha passed and the new alpha is making herself known a little too aggressively right now. I have also read that 2 seems to be the “unlucky” number with female bettas, because you need 3 or more to create a firm pecking order.

In any case, in your experience and knowledge, if they don’t settle down in the next week or so, do you think they would prefer separate tanks or a larger tank together? I’ve have read conflicting websites on whether female bettas enjoy company or would rather be alone. Thanks in advance for taking the time to respond.

Answer 1

i broke every rule there is to having bettas and they turned out great!

they lived for a long time. even though proper care said they were suppose to die if i didnt take care of them how they wanted.

it may depend on the betta so be careful.

i had 4 bettas( 2 males and 2 females) and
I had them in a huge aquarium (your suppose to kept them in small sperate "jars"

Answer 2

I once had a 25 gallon tank with 6 Neon Tetras. I added a female betta and at first she chased them around. After establishing that she ws the dominant fish, she paid them no mind and got along fine with them. About a week later, I added 6 Phantom Tetras. The addition of more "enemies" stressed her out and she went into hiding so I took her out. Any other female betta I put in the tank lead to the same result. The point I am trying to make is that with 3 female bettas they will have each other to worry about let alone the other fish species. It sounds like these females have never lived together before so they will establish their pecking order righta way. Watching the females pecking order ritual is very interesting but can also very stressful. You should watch them carefully for stress and provide a lot of places they can hide. Depending on the female, other fish will just be an added distraction which can cause them to get even more stressed out.

Answer 3

Females will create a pecking order, but not as aggressively as males. There is ALWAYS an alpha in a tank with more than one fish (regarding female betta). Most people associate alpha traits with males, but this behaviour is not exclusively a male trait. Female betta will absolutely create a pecking order when kept together! I’m stating this more for others that might read this answer as you seem to already be aware of this.

Most likely, the female that died was your tank’s “alpha” and the “bully” in your tank is asserting herself as the new alpha! My best recommendation would be for you to rearrange your tank to distract the fish and create more hiding spaces. This will help keep the peace in your tank and eventually the new alpha will calm down.

If this doesn’t work, then I’d try getting a 10 gallon tank. The two females can definitely stay together with a 10 gallon tank provided there are enough hiding places!

Answer 4

Like many aggressive fish, it's best to keep them in groups of 3 or more, more being better. This spreads out the pecking order, as one will be the "alpha" female.
It would of course be cheaper to get a couple more females, than to get another tank, but if you get a second, a 10 gallon doesn't cost much more than a 5 gal.

Answer 5

Yes, you can put as many female bettas together as you want. At the pet store they are kept in the same tank. However, if you decide to add a female betta in with one that is already there, the first one may be territorial. The only combination of bettas you can't have is more than one male. I find they do well with any kind of community fish, just not other male bettas.

Answer 6

try a larger tank with more hiding places(plants, caves, etc.) also, try putting other types of fish in with your bettas. if there's more than one fish (other than herself) swimming around she's less likely to be picking on the other female betta. check with your pet store for which would be the most compatable. (make sure the store specializes in fish) good luck! :-)

Answer 7

I've always heard that two bettas can't get along, especially if they're the same sex. I use to own bettas and they could never get along, had to put them separate. But i don't know try it but if they start fighting take one out immediately

Answer 8

No. You are not supposed to put two beta fish of the same gender in the same cage. I have owned several before, and the pets stores have all told us the same thing. They will actually kill each other. Actually, I wouldn't even put them in close tanks because we did that once and they still tried to attack each other through the glass. They even try to attack pictures of other fish if you hold them up to the cage. (Yes, I'm mean i've done that. lol)

Answer 9

I was always told not to put any betta fish together

Answer 10

no cause the kind off fish you got can kill each other and how do you know that you have girls huh