Betta tank

[FishEs2978]

Hi there ! I’m new to this forum . I currently own a 60 litre tank with 11 swordtails . 2 black mollies and one starburst platty. I want to sell all of them and get bettas. I know I can keep femailes and one male together but what is the best amount of females ? I’d like as many as I can. My tank has three pieces of bogwood one of which I have put up to the side of the tank to make a cave . And it is heavily planted

 

[Essjay]

I know I can keep femailes and one male together

No you can't, I'm afraid, not in a 60 litre tank. You have the choice of just 1 male or a group of females. Not both.

Female bettas can be kept together but it doesn't always work out. It is not unknown for females to be as aggressive as males, and these females cannot be kept with other females. Have a back up plan to separate any females that obviously can't live with others.

Since the tank is heavily planted, you may be OK with a group of females. I have no experience with betta sororities, but I think between 4 and 6 would be OK in 60 litres. 4 is the minimum number for a sorority, 6 is the most I would get for this size tank. And add them all at the same time; adding another later will disrupt the pecking order. Be prepared for a lot of fighting at the beginning as they set up the pecking order.




You currently have all hard water fish, while bettas are soft water fish. What is the hardness of your water? If it's very hard, bettas won't do well.

 

[FishEs2978]

Oh ok . My research wasn’t great then. I don’t know the hardness of my water but I’ll test it when I get home. Is there anyway to keep a male with females or is it a recipe for disaster ?

 

[Essjay]

It's a recipe for disaster unless the tank is enormous.

In the wild, males have a territory and any fish which ventures into the territory is chased out. This includes females unless they are ready to breed, in which case the male allows her to stay for as long as it takes to spawn, then he chases her away. In a tank, the other fish, including females, can't get away so they are constantly invading the male's space.
The bettas we buy in shops have been selectively bred for many generations to make them even more aggressive than wild bettas - they were originally domesticated for fighting, long before we started keeping them as pets.

It is possible to keep a group of females but they need constant attention. Many members have started well but ended in disaster.


There are other species of betta which can be kept in pairs, or even in groups. These are not as easy to find though. Look at some of the posts in this forum

Non-Splendens Betta Species

Wild Types

www.fishforums.net

 

[FishEs2978]

It's a recipe for disaster unless the tank is enormous.

In the wild, males have a territory and any fish which ventures into the territory is chased out. This includes females unless they are ready to breed, in which case the male allows her to stay for as long as it takes to spawn, then he chases her away. In a tank, the other fish, including females, can't get away so they are constantly invading the male's space.
The bettas we buy in shops have been selectively bred for many generations to make them even more aggressive than wild bettas - they were originally domesticated for fighting, long before we started keeping them as pets.

It is possible to keep a group of females but they need constant attention. Many members have started well but ended in disaster.


There are other species of betta which can be kept in pairs, or even in groups. These are not as easy to find though. Look at some of the posts in this forum

Non-Splendens Betta Species

Wild Types

www.fishforums.net

So a no to them together then . However I do have a 22l nano tank with one khuli loach in it. Would the male be happy there ? And then I can keep the 4 females in the 60l ?

 

[FishEs2978]

Here is the nano tank ignore the fish in it

 

[Essjay]

That would be fine - though I'd move the kuhli to the 60 litre and get it some more friends.

 

[FishEs2978]

Ok . I’ll put him in my 180 l there are three in there

 

[Essjay]

That's even better