Showboating betta!

[Alaris]

I went to the lfs last weekend. I was looking at a tank full of gertrude rainbowfish and they all of sudden started darting away from me. Out of nowhere comes this pretty pink betta. He's shooing off all the rainbows from the front of the tank where I was looking. As soon as they all swam away he hovered there in front of the tank staring at me! This little guy wanted me to take him out of there to tank of his own, I just know it!

 

[mike47517]

Cool did you get him?

 

[Alaris]

No...my tank is still cycling and I decided against a betta for a community tank. But I would have bought him in an instant! What a charmer.

 

[mike47517]

oh a betta isnt a bad thing for a community tank he wont bother your other fish only other bettas (sware) and you can put the betta in a bowl or something in your kitchen or somethin they do great in little water till your tank is cycled

 

[Alaris]

oh a betta isnt a bad thing for a community tank he wont bother your other fish only other bettas (sware) and you can put the betta in a bowl or something in your kitchen or somethin they do great in little water till your tank is cycled

No way! A betta may or may not be good in a community tank, it's hit or miss and more likely than not, it's going to be aggressive not just to it's own kind.

And you definitely CANNOT keep them in a bowl! Just because the lfs does, doesn't mean it's right. Bettas need at least 5 gallons of water, but anything below 2.5g is inhumane. Not to mention bettas need filters and heaters.

 

[bluerose]

Just for an interesting thought, I have talked to someone who bred bettas- she says that the males get along happily together if RAISED that way (it's when they're separated into cups that they get aggressive). She said she's had tanks of many male bettas who were born and raised together and they never fought. (I'm guessing it would be the same if you put them in a community tank- they're used to being with other fish.)

Kind of a sad thing when you think about it... that these fish have the capacity to be happy normal community fish but learn to be solitary thanks to us messing with them.

Back to our regularly scheduled betta-admiration!

 

[harmy4993]

just out of curiousity, how do male bettas act toward each other in the wild?

 

[2cvbloke]

just out of curiousity, how do male bettas act toward each other in the wild?

From what I've read, they're just as bad in the wild as they are in the tank environment, the only difference being is the lesser male has complete freedom to escape the other male after a fight, whereas in a tank there is no escape unless it's a really big tank with plenty of shelter...

 

[new2betas]

Just "another side of the coin opinion" - I have a male betta in a 10g with three peppered cories and they cohabitate very nicely together. I do, however, think it depends on the betta and the tank size, but it is doable.

 

[Alaris]

Kind of a sad thing when you think about it... that these fish have the capacity to be happy normal community fish but learn to be solitary thanks to us messing with them.

I agree. I too have read that bettas that grow up together can be kept together as adults. But what lfs is going to have baby bettas, let alone bettas that were raised together, you know?

It's too bad that we have to choose between bettas and community tanks.

However, I might actually start to consider getting that pink betta and some of the gertrudes it was with. I think that would be nice.

 

[mike47517]

oh sorry bout the betta bowl thing i just meant for a short period of time.

 

[Purrbox]

There's a betta breeder in my fish club. She's found that by leaving the male in with the babies to raise them 1. The males tend to be healthier and recover from breeding better 2. the babies are less aggressive.

 

[mike47517]

cool.

 

[crazyfishlady]

I have a 46bowfront with 1 male betta, 1 female betta, 1 pearscale goldfish, 5 swordstail, 1 bala, 1 iridescent shark, 2 mollies, and 1 lungfish. The bettas get along with everything just fine. They dont even bother each other.

 

[crazyfishlady]

I have about 5 fry in a 10gallon right now that came from the male and female in the 46. I had about 15 originally but I don't think they were getting enough microworms. Oh well, trial and error. It's the first time I've bred betta.

 

[mike47517]

good luck.

 

[jrp1588]

I've had several community tanks with a betta in them over the years. I never had an issue until I got angelfish. One morning I woke up and the BETTA's fins were torn to shreds. Guess I always got docile ones

 

[Sombunya]

It seems the Betta I put in with my Goldies has been nipping the fins of one of them. I added a glass divider to the 10 gallon tank and now the Betta and the Goldfish hang out next to the sheet of glass, on opposite sides of course.

 

[mike47517]

did the betta ever recover after the fin incident?

 

[jrp1588]

yes, I put him in a spare tank and they mostly grew back, a little misshapen though