Male and female betta question

[D_Tristan22]

Can males and female betas live together in a same tank without killing each other?

 

[Greta1981]

Absolutely not, sorry. Male bettas are extremely aggressive and will kill anything else in the tank with them besides maybe a very large snail or shrimp. How big is the tank? If you have a 10 gallon and are willing to put in quite a bit of work, you could return the male and create an all female betta sorority of at least six. Again though, this is a lot of work to set up properly to prevent aggression.

 

[D_Tristan22]

Okay. I was just curious didn't want a male betta to feel lonely
How big if a tank should a full grown male have?

 

[twiddlemuffin]

You could definitely keep a male betta in a community tank with the right tank mates, and the right tank size, just not female bettas. You could keep them with oto's, various small tetras, snails, small shrimp, plecos, cories, just anything that doesn't have long flowy fins/super colorful. Also nothing super fast like danios, bettas are slowed down because of their long fins and they are prone to getting fin nipped by faster more active fish.

 

[Greta1981]

I'd add to what Twiddlemuffin said--the personality of the male betta has to be taken into account. None of my friends have had good experiences with males in community tanks, but I know others have. If you can get a 10 gallon tank for him and maybe a few cories, then you can observe him and see how he reacts to others in his tank. The cories should be safe, as they're not flashy.

 

[Samdaman]

I've had one male betta with 2 female bettas in a 30l planted before and the only issue was the females where aggressive to each other so the 3 of them where moved to a 65l community

 

[twiddlemuffin]

I think many female bettas could work in a community tank with one male if there's other species of fish in the tank, like dither fish, and lots of things to break up the line of sight/lots of hiding places. I'm sure it can be done, it's just risky.

 

[D_Tristan22]

Okay cool. I was planning on getting a betta but I have heard they prefer to live in small places and was thinking of getting a 2.5 gallon or a 3 gallon tank. Would that be a good size?

 

[twiddlemuffin]

2.5-5g is all good for a just a betta alone. Only tank makes for a tank that small would be shrimp or snails.

 

[Greta1981]

I in no way mean to be rude, but I definitely disagree with having males in with female bettas. Three of my best friends raise bettas for a living and they collectively put down their glasses (we're eating dinner while watching old movies at my place) and went "NO!"
Your betta could live in a small tank like a 2.5, but it would be far happier in a 5 or 10 gallon. Pet stores have a tendency to seriously misinform customers about fish needs. They say bettas need small spaces because they live in mud puddles in Thailand, but I actually lived in Thailand and some of those mud "puddles" were bigger than my living room ... so 5 or 10 gallon, with a heater and a low-flow filter and you'll have a very happy fish.
Edit: Just make sure you cycle your tank before adding any fish.

 

[D_Tristan22]

Okay. Well I prefer to just having one fish in a betta tank. It'll be the centerpiece of it all.

Okay so I'll look for a 5 gallon
I want it to be small enough but have a comfortable fish

Okay well thank you