Aggression

[ABNM]

My 29 gallon has 3 bettas, a male, 2 female, and some other fish. My male is extremely mellow and rarely flares at the females and never fights with them. They actually follow him around. I think they love him

Anyways, they've been living like that for a while and have never had problems. 99% of the time, the male never notices them.

I was wondering, what are the chances of my male being aggressive to my females? People have warned me about it, but I have never had any problems at all.

Thanks,
ABNM

 

[lljdma06]

The chances are pretty high. Your tank setup is pretty risky, and though I have seen a few successful betta communities in the past, these were done in densly planted tanks and the experienced keeper was fully aware that at any given moment, their "peaceful" community could turn pretty vicious. Oft-quoted literature, Linke's "Labyrinth fish", Baensch's "Aquarium Atlas" both recommend keeping males solitary in either community settings with very peaceful, drab fish (rasboras, cordoras, etc), or or by themselves. Females, especially those raised together can often be kept together in "sorority" type settings, or in the same general community setting, or by themselves. The two sources, however, do not recommend keeping two males together nor do they recommend keeping males and females together.

I've given you what the literature says. You could argue that your situation may be different, and that may well be the case. I'm just letting you know that it could in the future, maybe not now, things could get ugly. It would probably be prudent to separate the male and if your tank isn't overstocked, add more females after temporarily removing the two you have, rearranging the decor, and then introducing all the females in at the same time. This has worked for others in the past, though I have never done this. I don't keep females, and only have kept males in both community and solitary settings.

What are the "some other fish" in your setup? Just curious.

llj

 

[ABNM]

The chances are pretty high. Your tank setup is pretty risky, and though I have seen a few successful betta communities in the past, these were done in densly planted tanks and the experienced keeper was fully aware that at any given moment, their "peaceful" community could turn pretty vicious. Oft-quoted literature, Linke's "Labyrinth fish", Baensch's "Aquarium Atlas" both recommend keeping males solitary in either community settings with very peaceful, drab fish (rasboras, cordoras, etc), or or by themselves. Females, especially those raised together can often be kept together in "sorority" type settings, or in the same general community setting, or by themselves. The two sources, however, do not recommend keeping two males together nor do they recommend keeping males and females together.

I've given you what the literature says. You could argue that your situation may be different, and that may well be the case. I'm just letting you know that it could in the future, maybe not now, things could get ugly. It would probably be prudent to separate the male and if your tank isn't overstocked, add more females after temporarily removing the two you have, rearranging the decor, and then introducing all the females in at the same time. This has worked for others in the past, though I have never done this. I don't keep females, and only have kept males in both community and solitary settings.

What are the "some other fish" in your setup? Just curious.

llj

Other fish: cories, danios, and soon, tetras.

 

[Jozlyn]

I wouldn't get any Neon Tetra's they can be really nasty fin nippers. There is one in my school (the biggest one) that even has a go at my fancy guppies now and again!

 

[ABNM]

The chances are pretty high. Your tank setup is pretty risky, and though I have seen a few successful betta communities in the past, these were done in densly planted tanks and the experienced keeper was fully aware that at any given moment, their "peaceful" community could turn pretty vicious. Oft-quoted literature, Linke's "Labyrinth fish", Baensch's "Aquarium Atlas" both recommend keeping males solitary in either community settings with very peaceful, drab fish (rasboras, cordoras, etc), or or by themselves. Females, especially those raised together can often be kept together in "sorority" type settings, or in the same general community setting, or by themselves. The two sources, however, do not recommend keeping two males together nor do they recommend keeping males and females together.

I've given you what the literature says. You could argue that your situation may be different, and that may well be the case. I'm just letting you know that it could in the future, maybe not now, things could get ugly. It would probably be prudent to separate the male and if your tank isn't overstocked, add more females after temporarily removing the two you have, rearranging the decor, and then introducing all the females in at the same time. This has worked for others in the past, though I have never done this. I don't keep females, and only have kept males in both community and solitary settings.

What are the "some other fish" in your setup? Just curious.

llj

Other fish: cories, danios, and soon, tetras.

In my books about fishies, by David Boroshowitz (I think I spelled that wrong...) he says it is okay to keep the two together as long as you pay close attention and heavily plant the tank. I know he's been breeding for 50+ years...

 

[lljdma06]

In my books about fishies, by David Boroshowitz (I think I spelled that wrong...) he says it is okay to keep the two together as long as you pay close attention and heavily plant the tank. I know he's been breeding for 50+ years...

Again, who's the source? Somebody who's been keeping and breeding fish for 50 years. An experienced aquarist would probably be able to do this and get away with it. I'm sure Mr. Boroshowitz has other options should there be aggression. You should too. Just be prepared to remove the male if things get ugly. You should always have a spare tank lying around anyways. I don't know, however, why keep fish in a situation like that? You would always be worrying "are the females going to fight, is the male going to bite?". I like looking at my tanks and knowing that I'm not going to see a fish that's been harrassed. The constant worrying would bother me, but I worry when I forget to feed my fry. But, again, it's up to you.

I'm really surprised no one else has seen this yet. Are you lovely people at Bettas taking a nap, or what? A year ago, this would have been a 2-pager by now.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Maybe everyone's Valentine'd out...

Anyway, if you're worried (which you should be, bettas are unpredictable at the best of times), it's probably better just to give the male his own tank and replace him with a few more females. Keeping a male with a female has no benefits- they are solitary fish, not livebearers- and there are plenty of problems.

 

[fiki]

more plants... and no neons...

 

[stang1]

Bettas are definitely best kept on their own.
The first Betta i owned was kept in a heavily planted 48G tank with 6 minnows and 6 Neon Tetras. The tetras kept nipping at him and he had to be moved.