Just an idea with 2 male bettas

[shynepo3]

Not sure if this has been brought up before....

I was wondering if anyone thinks this could work, or just plain dumb. I know male betta are aggressive and will fight to the death. In the wild, from my understanding, one will usually retreat. If I was to get a large, heavily planted with lots of hiding places, tank (say 40 gallons or even 80?), do you think they could co-exist?

I would just love to see my two males in the same tank. Instead of having two small tanks, having one really big tank.

 

[Pleco11771]

Not sure if this has been brought up before....

I was wondering if anyone thinks this could work, or just plain dumb. I know male betta are aggressive and will fight to the death. In the wild, from my understanding, one will usually retreat. If I was to get a large, heavily planted with lots of hiding places, tank (say 40 gallons or even 80?), do you think they could co-exist?

I would just love to see my two males in the same tank. Instead of having two small tanks, having one really big tank.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhh....LOL yes but no yes but no

 

[shynepo3]

ummm...ok?

 

[Pleco11771]

ummm...ok?

Well one may retreat but them the other will just be dominant and then what happens with feeding?

 

[siva]

Yes, it's definitely an idea that has atleast been toyed with. No, I don't think it's a good idea. Even if they were able to survive together long term, it would be a very stressful situation for them. If you were to do such an experiment, a 40-80 gal would not be big enough IMO.

 

[severum mama]

I think an important factor to remember is that the Bettas we are accustomed to seeing in pet stores, Betta splendens (some would argue they've been hybridized with imbellis and/or other members of the genus) have been bred selectively for flashiness and conspecific aggression (think "fighting fish"). These are so far removed from wild Betta splendens, or any other wild Betta, that IMO a fair comparison cannot be made between wild B splendens and the usual lfs specimens of B splendens (or whatever its lineage may be).