Just wanted to know how everyone felt about this.
I'm new to the forum but have been fish keeping on and off for years. Bettas are among my favorites because I've never had a lot of space for a large tank.
I currently have two ten gallons, one with a male betta and three females. I know it's not recommended usually, but I've done this before with minimal to no issues. I find that it depends on a few things.
1. Size and decoration of tank. Tank must be large enough and/or planted/decorated enough to contain the aggression. My ten gallon isn't ideal but there are a lot of hiding spaces and plants. I am looking to upgrade in the future to at least a 20g.
2. Temperament of the male. You can't really know this for certain until you try it, which is why I always recommend having an extra tank lying around for the male if he's aggressive (which I do).
3. Temperament of the females. If they're aggressive enough to stand up to the male, and not too aggressive that they bully the male.
4. Number of females in the tank. Three is probably the minimum to disperse aggression.
I knew a girl on here ten or so years ago who kept a twenty gallon, heavily planted, with multiple females AND males. Somehow she didn't end up with dead fish, ever. I would never, ever put two males together under any circumstances, but somehow it worked for her.
My tank: the largest form of aggression is the chasing. It happens probably a couple times a day (and that's adding the times that I probably don't see it happen). The male will chase a female for the length of the tank, or a female will chase another female. It only lasts up to ten seconds. No torn fins or injuries. From my experience with just this one betta and these females (though I've had more and less aggressive males), my male isn't any more aggressive than my females.
I know my fish are not stressed because they eat well and come out frequently. There's no hiding for extended periods of time. They don't avoid each other or purposely swim away from each other (unless being chased occasionally).
Anyway, anyone kept a male with a female(s) and how did it go?
Attached is a pic of Mona and Ghost.
I'm new to the forum but have been fish keeping on and off for years. Bettas are among my favorites because I've never had a lot of space for a large tank.
I currently have two ten gallons, one with a male betta and three females. I know it's not recommended usually, but I've done this before with minimal to no issues. I find that it depends on a few things.
1. Size and decoration of tank. Tank must be large enough and/or planted/decorated enough to contain the aggression. My ten gallon isn't ideal but there are a lot of hiding spaces and plants. I am looking to upgrade in the future to at least a 20g.
2. Temperament of the male. You can't really know this for certain until you try it, which is why I always recommend having an extra tank lying around for the male if he's aggressive (which I do).
3. Temperament of the females. If they're aggressive enough to stand up to the male, and not too aggressive that they bully the male.
4. Number of females in the tank. Three is probably the minimum to disperse aggression.
I knew a girl on here ten or so years ago who kept a twenty gallon, heavily planted, with multiple females AND males. Somehow she didn't end up with dead fish, ever. I would never, ever put two males together under any circumstances, but somehow it worked for her.
My tank: the largest form of aggression is the chasing. It happens probably a couple times a day (and that's adding the times that I probably don't see it happen). The male will chase a female for the length of the tank, or a female will chase another female. It only lasts up to ten seconds. No torn fins or injuries. From my experience with just this one betta and these females (though I've had more and less aggressive males), my male isn't any more aggressive than my females.
I know my fish are not stressed because they eat well and come out frequently. There's no hiding for extended periods of time. They don't avoid each other or purposely swim away from each other (unless being chased occasionally).
Anyway, anyone kept a male with a female(s) and how did it go?
Attached is a pic of Mona and Ghost.
