Thinking about Bettas

[Snowfire]

I've been considering getting a betta for a while, I have a 25L (roughly 7g) tank which is sitting on my desk looking very empty. I've just got back from LFS and they've had a big delivery this week I went looking for diamond tetras for my 90g which they didn't have but they did have lots of bettas! They won't be available to buy until the weekend so I've got a couple of days to plan...
So, I'm wondering a few things, Would a betta be happy on his own? I spend a good couple of hours a day at my desk (home) but what should I do to entertain him while I'm out?
They had loads of female bettas which looked really nice, would they be ok in a community setting? I've got a 30g peaceful (well, it will be when my naughty angel moves to my 90g!) and would love to get one (or 2) to go in there. Or could I keep 2 together in the 7g? Hmm, now I'm thinking I need yet another tank...
Will they be ok on NLS 1mm community pelets or do I need to buy special food?

 

[Fishie]

I've been considering getting a betta for a while, I have a 25L (roughly 7g) tank which is sitting on my desk looking very empty. I've just got back from LFS and they've had a big delivery this week I went looking for diamond tetras for my 90g which they didn't have but they did have lots of bettas! They won't be available to buy until the weekend so I've got a couple of days to plan...
So, I'm wondering a few things, Would a betta be happy on his own? I spend a good couple of hours a day at my desk (home) but what should I do to entertain him while I'm out?
They had loads of female bettas which looked really nice, would they be ok in a community setting? I've got a 30g peaceful (well, it will be when my naughty angel moves to my 90g!) and would love to get one (or 2) to go in there. Or could I keep 2 together in the 7g? Hmm, now I'm thinking I need yet another tank...
Will they be ok on NLS 1mm community pelets or do I need to buy special food?

They would be fine alone and some people say you can put 2 bettas in a 7G. Not all bettas are good in a community setting it kinda just a hit and miss with that. You can feed him flakes thats all I know on that. Also you could add some snails to the tank or shrimp. Some bettas will play with a ping pong ball!

 

[Snowfire]

I like the idea of a few shrimp, as long as they don't get eaten!! They could also help keep the place clean

 

[Fishie]

I like the idea of a few shrimp, as long as they don't get eaten!! They could also help keep the place clean

Yea shrimp are pretty cool. Maybe red cherry or ghost.

 

[jmpgop]

I just got a betta yesterday for my 10 gallon. He's lovely - purple body with peachy fins. Stunning. I'm trying him out with some rasbora tetras. If it works, I'll leave the small school of 5 there with him, if not, I'll move them to the 36 gallon. They do all look beautiful in the tank though so we'll see. I am also using it as a QT period. I got them both yesterday from the same LFS. It too was an empty tank for about 24 hours (except a snail).


Oh and I also moved my naughty angel to my big 72 gallon. No more killing little fish for him!

 

[Snowfire]

I just got a betta yesterday for my 10 gallon. He's lovely - purple body with peachy fins. Stunning. I'm trying him out with some rasbora tetras. If it works, I'll leave the small school of 5 there with him, if not, I'll move them to the 36 gallon. They do all look beautiful in the tank though so we'll see. I am also using it as a QT period. I got them both yesterday from the same LFS. It too was an empty tank for about 24 hours (except a snail).


Oh and I also moved my naughty angel to my big 72 gallon. No more killing little fish for him!

Haha, How funny that we're doing almost exactly the same things with our tanks! I guess we must both have good ideas!
What else are you planning to put in your 72g?

Do female bettas have similar temperaments to males? I keep thinking back to the LFS and there was a tiny female crowntail who was all black and looked a bit timid. Being a sucked for a sad case I kind of felt sorry for her. Perhaps I could try her in my 30g and see how she does?

 

[HooKooDooKu]

They had loads of female bettas which looked really nice, would they be ok in a community setting? I've got a 30g peaceful (well, it will be when my naughty angel moves to my 90g!) and would love to get one (or 2) to go in there. Or could I keep 2 together in the 7g? Hmm, now

You don't ever want to keep two bettas together (male or female).

In the case of the males... well they are called 'fighting fish' for a reason.

But the females are aggressive toward each other too (just not as much as the males). It is possible to keep a sorority of females, but it requires several females to dilute the aggression of any one female. If you have only two, the more dominate will forever chase the weaker female. If you have three, there is a great risk that the two more dominate will gang up on the weakest.

I can tell you from personal experience where I have tried to keep 3 females in a 5g. Apparently I got lucky because the 1st 3 females I put together did well with each other. But then over the Thanksgiving holidays, the office I was in fumigated without telling anyone. One of the three girls died. The more dominate started chasing the weaker one, and every attempt to add a new third to the group just never worked. Small betta sorority nirvana had been destroyed.

The 30g could be a good tank for a betta sorority... but there are basically "rules" to trying to setup a sorority. You can learn more from this sticky post regarding female sororities at this betta forum:
Your basic sorority tank - UltimateBettas

 

[Snowfire]

Thanks for the link, that's given me a much better idea of what it's abouthaving although I'm thinking a sorority may be a little advanced/stressful for me, I like fish to be happy & get along but it might be something to consider for the future. I might get one female to replace the angel in my 30g then get a male plus cherry shrimp for my 7g

 

[VioletEmber]

Thanks for the link, that's given me a much better idea of what it's abouthaving although I'm thinking a sorority may be a little advanced/stressful for me, I like fish to be happy & get along but it might be something to consider for the future. I might get one female to replace the angel in my 30g then get a male plus cherry shrimp for my 7g

I recommend finding a few ghost shrimp first to see if your Betta likes to eat shrimp. One of mine gorged himself on my ghost shrimp, another one completely ignores them. If he doesn't eat them, then invest in the more expensive shrimps.

 

[Snowfire]

Ahh, so much for my grand plan!
This morning I made sure the 7g tank was all ready and headed for lfs. They had quite a few bettas but the one I fell for was reserved
They said if the guy doesn't want him they'll give me a ring or they can order one the same for me. So the 7g remains empty.
Then we looked at the females, they had loads of them and another woman was looking at them so we got talking. She said she currently has five & they mostly get on great! Of course my mind starts ticking & my daughter gives me the puppy dog eyes & before I know it, I've bought 5!!!
Here they are floating in their bag:

 

[Galligak]

Ahh, so much for my grand plan!
This morning I made sure the 7g tank was all ready and headed for lfs. They had quite a few bettas but the one I fell for was reserved
They said if the guy doesn't want him they'll give me a ring or they can order one the same for me. So the 7g remains empty.
Then we looked at the females, they had loads of them and another woman was looking at them so we got talking. She said she currently has five & they mostly get on great! Of course my mind starts ticking & my daughter gives me the puppy dog eyes & before I know it, I've bought 5!!!
Here they are floating in their bag:

Well good luck and get lots of decorations and hiding places!!! That's the key! I'll be watching and seeing how this goes! Bon chance!

 

[VioletEmber]

Which tank are you putting the 5 females into again?

 

[Snowfire]

It's a 30g tank, previous occupants were 6 black neons, 8 cherry barbs & a few shrimp. The naughty angel has now gone to his new home.
They've been in for a couple of hours now and so far so good! They all seem to be getting their colour back and all look pretty calm

 

[VioletEmber]

oh thank goodness! i got confused reading the thread (it's early!) and thought you were putting them in the 7g... lol.

keep us posted on how that goes! i have three in my 20 and it is peaceful for now. I think that 5 in a 30 sounds great. good luck and have fun!

 

[bruinsbro1997]

I have a couple of recommendations of female beta sororities:
a) Most of the time, 95% they don't work out. I have tried three in a 40 Gallon that was heavily planted and very big with peaceful tank mates. One ended up being bullied by the other two..
b) Plant, plant, plant. You will need a lot of plants, enough to even break lines of sight and for them to hide in without knowing they are there. They can, and will, stress each other out as they get older and more mature and their behavior changes.
c) Have a back-up plan. In any case where it does not work out, have some sort of plan on what to do with them. I ended up giving mine back to the LFS.
d) Plan it out. I jumped the gun on the bettas and ended up not having a lot of fun with them.

Good luck!

 

[VioletEmber]

I have a couple of recommendations of female beta sororities:
a) Most of the time, 95% they don't work out. I have tried three in a 40 Gallon that was heavily planted and very big with peaceful tank mates. One ended up being bullied by the other two..
b) Plant, plant, plant. You will need a lot of plants, enough to even break lines of sight and for them to hide in without knowing they are there. They can, and will, stress each other out as they get older and more mature and their behavior changes.
c) Have a back-up plan. In any case where it does not work out, have some sort of plan on what to do with them. I ended up giving mine back to the LFS.
d) Plan it out. I jumped the gun on the bettas and ended up not having a lot of fun with them.

Good luck!

Absolutely agree with all of this!

 

[Snowfire]

Well, everyone is still alive so I suppose that's good! There does seem to be some bickering between the girls but I guess that's to be expected!
The smaller of them (the black crowntail) definitely seems to be the underdog, she hasn't got all he colour back & is still quite stripy. She isn't hiding but the others seem to chase her quite a bit not sure if I should move her or leave her & see how it goes...

 

[Snowfire]

Things aren't going great...
They seem to have sorted out who's boss and seem reasonably happy except the black crowntail (Betty) who is the one the others love to chase! This morning it looks like a couple have white spot (?ich) but only a coupl of spots each. I've put the temp up a touch but feeling a bit tense about it all having read a few more stories of other peoples experiences.
Not really sure what to do, Should I;
a) Take them back to lfs & forget the whole idea.
b) Give it a few more days with increased temp and see how they go, perhaps add a couple more to take the stress off Betty.
c) Move Betty to my 7g tank, but then would someone else get bullied?

I had a feeling this was a bad idea!!!

 

[Lovin Fish]

I'm sorry your going through this. It's so frustrating when things go downhill..but this is what I would do if it were me.
Tell the LFS that it doesn't seem to be working out and that you are going to try it out for a few more days but if things don't get better you want to bring them back. Then I would be sure and continue the heat and salt treatment. Far as Betty...the other four are about the same size right? I would move Betty to the 7 gallon and let her grow out a bit. Then when she's on equal ground, put her back in with the girls and see how she does. Did you get loads of plants? I used fake ones while my real ones were growing in. Or, if you LFS has large ones available, snag them! Be sure they will thrive in your tank though...lighting ect.
Best of luck!!!!

 

[Snowfire]

Thanks lovin fish, I just phoned LFS, the guy was really nice and helpful got me to describe exactly what was going on, who's picking on who, how many white spots they have, how I felt about it etc. I'm feeling a lot better now!
He suggested putting the main bossy one in a breeder trap for a few days (time out!), raise the temp a couple of degrees to about 30c and see how it goes. he said to keep Betty in there as she might be better without the bossy purple one being mean! If things don't improve he said I can take which ever ones are problematic back to exchange or could give a credit note (can't say fairer than that).
It's funny but I'm kind of attached to them already (except the purple one!!) I don't want to take them back!