Can 2 Male Bettas Live In The Same Tank?

[dcarmor927]

lol i swear i've seen 15 topics like this since i've joined the forum...I would agree also, no, dont put them together...unless maybe you have a divider

 

[wilsonnw8]

Yeah I agree bronze I didnt reply as I suspected as much... pests

 

[x0x.love.you.x0x]

the only males i have had together were two plakat males that i bought as females they never fought but as soon as i found out they were males i seperated them.

 

[LauraFrog]

^ This happens sometimes... two males who have been raised together since they were fry in the same tank, generally a very small tank with a lot of their siblings, will grow up and continue to get on. This is because they get used to the idea that in such a small and overcrowded space, NOBODY is going to be able to claim territory, so there's no point fighting. Even keeping such males together is craziness in my opinion.

So introducing two unrelated males into the same tank is absolute insanity. If you haven't seen shredding yet, it's because one of the males (the green) knows that he cannot win the fight, is absolutely terrified and attempting to hide, get away, squash himself into the tiniest corner to aviod the other male's notice. Your glass walls deny him the oppurtunity to do what he would do if he encountered another male in the wild - leave. What's the point of keeping two fish if you only ever see one of them? To me, knowing how much the fish were suffering, living on a knife edge, would take all the enjoyment out of owning them. If there are lots of hiding places, they may not kill each other - but the green fish will live a life of terror, knowing that if he moves an inch from his place, cowering miserably in a corner, he will be shredded. The blue fish will live a life of constant annoyance and stress, knowing that there is an intruder in his territory, confused as to the other fish's intentions because it neither leaves his territory nor challenges him, and unable to reach the green fish to do anything about the situation.

I should also mention that bettas are surface feeders and very rarely take any food that is not floating - so if your green fish spends all his life cowering in a cave, he will starve to death.

Your tank is large enough to divide permanently so that you will be able to keep both fish. If you do this, they will both have enough space to live comfortably, and they will flare at each other through the divider, so you will still get to watch them displaying without having to place their lives in danger. This is by far your best option. Please get a divider, it will really make them happier and healthier.

If you are a troll - you'll have to think of something considerably more inventive than this little gambit, we've heard it more times than we care to think about and TBH it's getting rather boring... try telling us that you've got a betta in a vase with a bamboo plant and it's doing just fine and we're all crazy. I seem to recall a topic like that getting locked a few weeks ago after much flaming... or was that on AusAqua?... ah, stuff it, I forget.

 

[electric yellow]

the only males i have had together were two plakat males that i bought as females they never fought but as soon as i found out they were males i seperated them.

I bought my Shimmer thinking and being told he was a female betta....only to be informed by here that she is actually a male PK...while i wanted a girl he is growing into a gorgeous man betta

 

[dingweding]

ok, i seperate them now.

ofcourse i know betta fight. I just surprised these two never do. I guess the blue betta maybe a giant betta, he just can not swim porperly. His tail is about twice size of that of normal veiltail betta. sometimes his tail was sucked at the inlet of filter. He has to rest for a while, then swim off. Although he is very active to chase others, he is really a bad swimmer.

the green betta swim fast , but he is only half the size, so he dare not confront the giant.

anyway. i put him in another tank in my bedroom now.

 

[electric yellow]

His tail is about twice size of that of normal veiltail betta. sometimes his tail was sucked at the inlet of filter. He has to rest for a while, then swim off. Although he is very active to chase others, he is really a bad swimmer.

What sort of filter do you have that would allow him to get his tail sucked into it? Why not get a filter that he doesnt get stuck or or decrease the current? If he is getting smashed about by the filter of course he is going to find it hard to swim away as he is spending ll his time trying to get his tail out of it and keeping away from the other betta!

 

[hollanda88]

the animal welfare act 2006 states that if you have animals under your care which are intentionally or unintentionally harmed its your fault, even if your just looking after them.

andrew

 

[wullie187]

when i started out with fish i put 2of them 2gether there were ok untill nightfull then they start fitting 1 lasted about a week & killed most of the fish in ma tank other 1 got ripped that much he only lasted about an other week so lost him 2 there wiz bits of tail all about ma tank


no way can u do it & it`s bracking the law if u get caught in the uk even wors now that rspca & sspca cover fish under new laws

 

[squiremaster]

are dividers opaque

 

[White Whale]

i never tried this b4. But this time i would like to try, my green crown tail betta live in a 30L tank.

Yesterday, i went to fish shop, there are some veil tail bettas, but compare to normal betta, they seems very big. I bought a blue one. But i do not have spare tank, i put him in the same tank with green betta.

This blue betta is about twice the size of the green one, but his tail is so so long, possibly the longest i have ever seen. although he is very active, he can not swim very fast.

at first i sepreate them with a breeder, then i get rid of it. They seems fine.

sometimes, they pose to each other, but big guy is not agile as the small guy. so he can not get the small guy. there are many plants and hiding place.

so can i keep them like this ?

You'll turn your tank into Thunderdome - two fish enter, one fish leaves....

 

[t3l01v]

I want to weigh in here.

How many of you who are saying "They'll kill each other" have actually tried doing it? There are so many people saying "That's why they're called FIGHTING fish" across the internet that it's unreal. People read these things now and just assume that they're truth. Why not try and find out for yourself?

I'm not expecting much, because I'm registered at three Betta forums now and have seem similar trolling on each one.

I've done everything you guys are all shouting about can't or shouldn't be done. I kept two males and eight females in a 20 gallon tank. Currently I've got seven males and fifteen females in a 125 gallon community tank. Sure, I've had a few deaths, and had a few things to learn when I started. Ignorance is the state of accepting a lack of knowledge, information, or learning.

With the proper conditions, male bettas can absolutely be kept with females and other males. If anyone wants to have a serious discussion on this, I'll be more than happy to participate.

 

[FreedomFighter]

I want to weigh in here.

How many of you who are saying "They'll kill each other" have actually tried doing it? There are so many people saying "That's why they're called FIGHTING fish" across the internet that it's unreal. People read these things now and just assume that they're truth. Why not try and find out for yourself?

I'm not expecting much, because I'm registered at three Betta forums now and have seem similar trolling on each one.

I've done everything you guys are all shouting about can't or shouldn't be done. I kept two males and eight females in a 20 gallon tank. Currently I've got seven males and fifteen females in a 125 gallon community tank. Sure, I've had a few deaths, and had a few things to learn when I started. Ignorance is the state of accepting a lack of knowledge, information, or learning.

With the proper conditions, male bettas can absolutely be kept with females and other males. If anyone wants to have a serious discussion on this, I'll be more than happy to participate.

I'd like to talk about this to be honest. Can you send me an email as I haven't recieved PM privelages. Thankyou.

(just in case, to email - click my name, go to my profile, and there should be a email me function)

 

[Tolak]

If anyone wants to have a serious discussion on this, I'll be more than happy to participate.

I would like to, particularly on how you have decorations, plants and such set up. There was a discussion some time back on doing this in a larger tank, I'd really like to hear about the 20 gallon setup, along with what I'm sure are the lessons learned when trying to do this.

 

[Ethan]

Hello,dingweding it's good to know that you seperated your bettas they will be a lot happier this way and will grow a lot healthier plus live longer unstressed



EthanCan we see some pics of your bettas?)