A Few Female Betta Questions

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zophie

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Hello everyone,

After going through a long, hard, death of my beloved betta Kenji, I have decided to dive back into the betta world again :good:
I was considering female bettas, and I was wondering; can they live alone? I would love to have more then one, but I'm a little tight for space and money right now. One female would be perfect, but would she be lonely and/or bored?
If the answer to that question is yes, I think I will get the Fluval Chi 5 gallons for her. Is this a good tank? I was wondering if the filter flow may be slightly to strong or not?
Also, I want to keep a plant in my tank, but I don't really know what. I preferably want something that can come out of the tank (drape over the edges), is that possible? The Fluval Chi is quite low-light, though, so any suggestions will have to be able to grow in that light leval.

Thankyou, any help is very much appreciated!

Z :good:
 
Sorry to hear about Kenji, its always hard lossing them :sad:

Females do fine on there own and there personalilties are just as big as the males, ever when kept in groups.

I have no experience with the tank but 5 gals would be perfect :good:

Unsure on plant suggestions but Lily bulbs might work like THIS ONE for example :)
 
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Thanks, it was very hard to lose Kenji!
Thankyou for the suggestion, I'm going to take your word and go for it. Hopefully, the Fluval Chi will work out... I've herd some negative reviews, so I'm a little worried :/
WOW that plant is beutiful! Do you or anyone else know anything about its care requirements?
 
i don't have one but am looking into getting one, as said its beautiful, i currently have a lily bulb (no idea which one) in my females tank which is doing very well (until the cabomba jungle took over :lol:) just waiting for it to reach the top :rolleyes:
 
I'd be wary of keeping a female in a Chi - it is an open topped tank, and female bettas can jump very well with their short fins and tails. A few years ago I had a group of females in my 60 litre tank. One of them jumped out every time I opened the lid to feed them. I had to have my son standing by to catch her. After several days of this, I drilled a tiny hole in the lid and used a funnel to put the food in. Doing a water change was a nightmare, I had to do it when there was someone else in the house to keep an eye on the fish for the duration of the water change.
 
I'd be wary of keeping a female in a Chi - it is an open topped tank, and female bettas can jump very well with their short fins and tails. A few years ago I had a group of females in my 60 litre tank. One of them jumped out every time I opened the lid to feed them. I had to have my son standing by to catch her. After several days of this, I drilled a tiny hole in the lid and used a funnel to put the food in. Doing a water change was a nightmare, I had to do it when there was someone else in the house to keep an eye on the fish for the duration of the water change.


LOL that is my exact problem too.

I've had one on the floor; and my mam when she was looking after them had 2 (now the tank lid barely gets opened).

My girls are ok during water changes; once they realise it's not food they aren't interested.
 
Yikes, that's kinda scary! :( Is there anyway I could put a cloth or something over the top as a lid? Or are there any other tanks you recoomend? Its just that I really want to get a Fluval Chi... do you think it might be better to get a male, then?
 
Female Bettas can live together or alone. But if they are kept alone, they become more aggressive and will be harder for you to move her into a community of female Bettas later on.

Bettawarehouse.com - Buy Bettas Online
 
Is there anymore answers to my questions? B-)

1. Should I get a male betta, then?
2. Is there some sort of lid I could buy/make?
 
My male betta is in a standard rectangular 25 litre tank, but the lid broke. So I made one from perspex (also known as plexiglass). Looking at photos of the Chi, you could do that if you cut it carefully. Mine needed just a rectangle of perspex with half an inch overhang all the way round, but the Chi would need a cut out for the filter, I think. I used a stanley knife to cut mine, it needed a few slices to go right through, but if you were patient, the cut-out could be done. My perspex was a pane of "glass" for a greenhouse, which I got from my local diy shop. It was a square about 2 feet wide.
 
The fluval is a neat tank for some types of fish, but I agree it is not appropriate for Bettas. There is not a heater in it, and I get the feeling you wouldnt want to add one to this set up.

I would recommend a regular rectangular 5 gallon, with a lid, I know it's not as pretty, but it will be better for your fish in the long run. I have a Betta in the marineland hex tank as well, he is pretty happy, but spends a lot of time sleeping in his plants at the top of the aquarium.

If you really want a fluval, maybe you could go for some white cloud minnows and set it up as a biotope? There is a great article about creating a white cloud biotope at practical fishkeeping.
 
I hadn't realised the Chi doesn't have a heater.
Zophie, if you do get a Chi, you will need to get a heater for the tank, or your choices will be very limited. Even if you made a lid for the tank and got a betta, you would need a heater. Most of the fish small enough to fit will need a heater.

Most fish that don't need a heater get too big for the 25 litre Chi. Even white clouds get too big - the article that bettabits linked to states that they need a tank of 54 litres (12 galls) and 60cm (2 feet) long.
 
Oh, I will definitely add a heater to the Chi. Essjay, I like your idea of the lid! Is there anyway that I could cut a face-cloth to size and put it over the top, like I've done with many other betta tanks?
 
A face cloth would work, just perhaps look a bit odd. Though if used permanently, there's a chance it might sag in the middle and get wet.
Something else that would also work and be easier to cut is the plastic canvas used for cross stitch etc. It just needs scissors, not a sharp knife. I've used that to make all sorts of things for the aquarium. It doesn't look quite as pretty as perspex though :)
 

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