Flaring?

[TheSims3Dude]

Hi,

I'm new to this whole betta thing, I've only had them once before, I just bought a male and female yesterday, and the male kept "flaring" his gills and chasing my female away, why does he do that? Does he not like her?

 

[The young one]

You shouldn't have a male and a female in the same tank as they will fight to the death. I suggest you seperate them immediately.

 

[TheSims3Dude]

Well the lady at petsmart told me it would be ok,
and he seems fine with her today, their right beside each other and they're not doing anything right now...

 

[The young one]

Trust me I made the mistake of putting a male and female together and the female ended up with no fins, and by the way, never trust petsmart, they will give you false information to make money out of you.

Have you got any spare tanks?

 

[TheSims3Dude]

My dad has a tank, so I could ask him if I can put her in there, but I think he already has enough fish in there...
but he only did it once to her, and I woke up about 10 minutes ago and checked on them, and she looks perfectly fine, and he's actually near her now, not chasing her away,... I just wanna make sure that she doesn't get hurt! She's really pretty!

 

[aly_starh]

I heard male and female bettas should never be kept in the same tank together. I agree with "the young one"..never trust PetSmart.

 

[The young one]

Mine were always sitting together but then one day the male just snapped and killed her, what fish has your dad got?

And also what size tank is it?

 

[TheSims3Dude]

Umm, he has a 15 gallon tank with mostly livebearers.. (mollies from when my fish had fry)
I noticed now though, that my male betta seems to do it with anyone near his space, (he has a floating plant that he's always near) even my mollies in my tank with him, he'll get a little protective, is that just him? Or are all betta's like that? cuz my female seems to be swimming peacefully with my other fish and occasionally with my male betta..

 

[The young one]

Most male bettas are kept in tanks by themselves, I think the best thing to do is either move the male or female into your dads tank temporarily.

I think you should really buy a little 3 gallon fish tank for your male betta, just with a filter and a heater. They are much more happier on their own.

 

[TheSims3Dude]

Are they? Well, I have a little filter and a little 3 gallon tank, I'ma check to see how they are, and if he keeps it up with the other fish, then I'll set that tank up and put him in it.. Or in my dad's tank, but I was still wondering why they "flare" their gills, does that mean they're mad?

 

[loraxchick]

leave the male where he is and move the female to the community tank. seems the best option for you.
all the best

 

[The young one]

You'll have to cycle the 3 gallon, and when a betta flares it means there basically angry and defending their territory.

 

[jameshughes1989]

I've had experience with this. It doesnt work. I had one lil fella, in a bad way with clamped fins and I thought it was males that were aggressive so they went together and was fine. Happy as larry.
Then one day looked at the male, she had teared him apart. They had seperate tanks from then on. It might work for a while for but wont last.
He's had a bad time poor fella, but now doing really well in my 20 gal community setup (peaceful!)
Hopes this helps

 

[TheSims3Dude]

Hmm, I'm just confused. cuz I'm on this other site, bettaparadise.co.uk, (my name's captain_jim57) and I'm getting mixed reviews, some people say it's ok that they've had em together before with no problems, but then other people are telling me it's really bad. I'm at a loss of what to do, and like I said, I've only had betta's once before together and they lived happily with each other... but I do want to make sure that they'll both be ok, should I wait it out for now, like keep checking on them, and go from there? If he's bullying my fish to much move him?

EDIT:
They are not in a tank by themselves, it's a community tank with other fish too
so they have lots of room to swim in (it's a 20 gallon tank) with lots of plants and ornaments

 

[The young one]

I'm on that forum too and I've just read your topic. You can only keep males and females together when there spawning.