Male Bettas And Lepord Danios? Your Thoughts.

[linzi]

ok guys. the other day one of my danios died. seemed a bit beaten up n then i got home from work last night to find that another was in half with no eyes? is this a result of having female bettas in with my male?

im new to all this n the british aquarium in bolton said that female and male bettas would be fine in the same tank as my other fish which are: 6 male guppiies n 5 danios.

my tank is only 40 ltrs though so could it be over crowded? if so what can i do? i dont want to have to get rid of any fish n dont want anymore dying in such a brutal way.

 

[catxx]

the british aquariam in bolton lied to you.

male and female bettas should NOT be kept together. they'll rip each other up as it takes weeks for them to be conditioned to breed anyway, and even then the male and female are only together for maximum 24 hours really. how many bettas do you have in that tank?

you may also find that the male betta attacks the guppies, with their long tails they can look a little like other male bettas to him, and he'll lash out. especially if he's trying to establish territory in such a tiny tank.

40ltrs is pretty tiny, and too small for danios, they need 20 US gallons really as they are such active fish.

time to rethink! could the danio have died naturally and then the other fish tucked in for a quick snack? i would have thought they'd be too quick for a betta. but i guess anything is possible!

if you don't want to get rid of the fish, then you're going to have to invest in more tanks. a 2.5-5 gallon would be fine for just the male betta. the danios, like i said, need about a 20 gallon and could share that with the guppies, and then the female bettas can have the 40ltr to themselves (just make sure it's very well planted with lots of hiding places so they can establish a heirarchy, they need to be in groups of 4+)

did you cycle your tank before adding fish?

 

[linzi]

ye i cycled the tank. i've had the male betta guppies n danios in there for a while. its only since putting the females (5) in there that things have gone down hill.

the females i bought were in a tank with a male when i bought em but my male was in a tank on his own. could this be somethin to do with it or is he just horny n lettin the other fish know who's boss now that he has lady friends?

this is sooo confusing everyone has a different opinion on what male bettas can be kept with!!!!

the british aquariam in bolton lied to you.

male and female bettas should NOT be kept together. they'll rip each other up as it takes weeks for them to be conditioned to breed anyway, and even then the male and female are only together for maximum 24 hours really. how many bettas do you have in that tank?

you may also find that the male betta attacks the guppies, with their long tails they can look a little like other male bettas to him, and he'll lash out. especially if he's trying to establish territory in such a tiny tank.

40ltrs is pretty tiny, and too small for danios, they need 20 US gallons really as they are such active fish.

time to rethink! could the danio have died naturally and then the other fish tucked in for a quick snack? i would have thought they'd be too quick for a betta. but i guess anything is possible!

if you don't want to get rid of the fish, then you're going to have to invest in more tanks. a 2.5-5 gallon would be fine for just the male betta. the danios, like i said, need about a 20 gallon and could share that with the guppies, and then the female bettas can have the 40ltr to themselves (just make sure it's very well planted with lots of hiding places so they can establish a heirarchy, they need to be in groups of 4+)

did you cycle your tank before adding fish?

although i must add he hasn't touched any others. just the danios...or atleast i think its him. could it be the females?

 

[catxx]

it could be either, they can be as fiesty as each other. it won't end happily if you keep the boys and girls together. the only time i've heard it working is in 90 US gallon+ heavily planted tanks.
shops will have a differing opinion because if they sell you the fish, they get your money!
either way, you need to have a reshuffle pretty sharpish.

the 5 females would make a good sorority tank in your 40 ltr.