Betta Splendens

[insecurity]

Hey. I'm working on a stocking plan for my 20gallon, although its currently inhabited by a some opportunistic snails that shall soon meet their end. (Don't want or like snails.)

Anyways, I got thinking of a species only Betta stock. I don't know much about them, so what sort of male to female ratio should I have in the tank? My guessimation is 1 male for 3 females.

 

[joemamauggly]

how about 1 male and thats it

 

[shellieca]

Hey. I'm working on a stocking plan for my 20gallon, although its currently inhabited by a some opportunistic snails that shall soon meet their end. (Don't want or like snails.)

Anyways, I got thinking of a species only Betta stock. I don't know much about them, so what sort of male to female ratio should I have in the tank? My guessimation is 1 male for 3 females.

ONLY IN EXTREMELY rare instances does it work having a male & female in the same tank outside of a special set up for breeding purposes. You can however do a sorority of females. I have 10 in a 46g tank. I love 'em, they are ALL over the tank, congregate at the top when I come close because they think they're going to get fed. They share the tank with a mystery snail & 2 CAE's. there's a little chasing & nipping especially when first put together but they have lots of plants & hiding spots so its not too bad. I really like that they come in a variety of colors but they can be some what hard to find at an LFS because most people want the males. If you go to my profile you can see pics of them all, if you're interested.

 

[aqua_chem]

You can't have mixed sex or multiple male betta tanks without carnage. A group of females can and have been successfully kept, but the setups tend to be volatile. You might be able to do it in a 20L with good cover, but I wouldn't try it in a 20H.

 

[LS240]

As already said, no males and females together. Females maybe. If you want a male, you could maybe divide the tank in 2 or 3 parts and keep one in each section or just keep one male in the whole 20 with 6 or so Cories of your choice. In my limited experience, Bettas and Cories get along great.

 

[orionvierling]

Way back in the 70s I did the beta thing. Had small tanks...2 gallon I believe. I male in each and then a 5 gal with females. Bred them and sold them...it was fun but only 1 male per tank or it gets messy. They do work ok in a regular tank usally though.

 

[insecurity]

Thanks for the advice, although I do remember reading somewhere about a betta setup that had 1 male to 8 females. They figured the reason why it was working was because there was enough females to prevent the male from over stressing the female.

 

[orionvierling]

Main thing you have to watch for is when the the eggs are laid you need to get the female out of the tank. The male will kill her if she gets too close to the nest. It is really neat to watch him take care of the eggs.