Need Correct Information. Please.

[lokr12]

To anyone who can answer my question...Ive tried searching multiple places and Im struggling to find a concensus.

I first had a small female beta in a 2 gallon bowl and fed her daily and all was fine.
Then I went and got a male and put him in with the female and they were displaying usual aggressive behavior and even mated(or what it Im pretty sure was) with no bubble nest and nothing really happened.
Finally they were a bit aggressive for a few days and now are best friends...ha
So my question is: Will the male just one day decide to make a bubble nest? or will they just live in peace forever?


Thanks..
Marc

 

[LauraFrog]

This is really, REALLY not a good idea. You need to get a different home for the male, ASAP.

2 gallons is quite small even for one betta, and far, far too small for two. You would be way better off using five gallon tanks. Bettas NEED heaters, and are better off and happier with filtration. If you don't have a heater you really need to get a tank large enough to heat. You could get a 5 gallon tank and divide it for both of the bettas you have.

Secondly, you CANNOT keep males with females. EVER. To be honest I'm amazed that the male hasn't killed the female yet. Generally, they will attack any female that is in their territory, if she is not ready to breed. If the male is currently courting the female and she is ripe with eggs, he might decide to be nice to her. But as soon as she starts ignoring or rejecting his courtship, it's bye bye female betta. You need to separate these two right away. Even if you get a big plastic container and put one of them in there until you can get either separate tanks, or a divided tank for them. It is very, very rare for males and females to live in harmony, and in a two gallon bowl I would say impossible.

 

[Platygirl11]

NO! Bad idea, that male will kill the female. Get him a new bowl, but only for a temporary solution.

Male Bettas require a tank, prefraby 5 gallons, heated and filtered, with NO OTHER BETTAS IN IT. You can feed them on something like Hikari Betta Gold. Feed 2 pellets twice daily. The filter should be a filter without much current. A sponge filter will work. The tank should have decorations to keep the betta interested. Bloodworms can be fed as a treat every few days.

Female Bettas require either a heated and filtered 5 gallon tank, with the same requirements as a male betta. They could also be in a sorority, a tank where at least 3 other females live. The smallest this could be would be 9 gallons, where you could have 4 females total, a 10 gallon could have 5-6, and tanks can be much larger. If you plan on creating a sorority, remember that it will not be peaceful. The females will fight for dominance over the tank, as well as lower ranks.

Were you trying to breed them? I hate to be blunt, but that is not really feasible until you know more about the fish. It's a long and complicated practice, and if the fish store made it seem easy, you need to stop trusting their advice.

Keep in mind that bettas are tropical fish, and an unheated unfiltered bowl is not a good home.

Also, when you get a tank, you will need to choose whether to fish out or fish in cycle it. There are many pinned topics on cycling.
Here's a basic run through of fish in cycling:
You need:
•A water testing kit
•Your fish
•A siphon to do water changes

Fish produce ammonia as their waste. Ammonia is very toxic to fish, even in low levels, so bacteria need to build up that digest ammonia and turn it into nitrite. Nitrite is also toxic, so more bacteria develop which turn nitrite into nitrate.
With your fish in the aquarium, test 3 times a day (at least) for ammonia and nitrite. If either is registered, do a 50-60% water change. THen replace the water with dechlorinated water from your tap. These water changes can last up to around a month.
If you wish to speed cycling, get some mature filter media from the fish store. Most good fish stores should be able to get you some in a baggie. This contains bacteria which will speed your cycle.

Once you finish whichever cycling method you choose, you will have an established tank perfect for a betta fish.

 

[Hawkins]

Are they Betta Splendens?

 

[chesterscot]

.

 

[double-trouble]

.

Thats abit aggresive really isn't it!!! Someone is asking for help and your shouting at them and calling them stupid. surely it is best to give them the information that they are requsting rather than being unpleasant!

Lokr12 -- Laurafrog is correct they shouldn't be kept together if you follow her advice they should live happily!! just ignore the rude person who thinks it is acceptable to give abuse rather than advice!!!

 

[Kady]

.

To be fair, my very first betta about 5 years ago, the lil chap at my local aquatics (which weirdly is a highly recommended shop in our town and has a good deal of awards too) recommended I got a female to "keep him company of his own kind" It wasn't till I started seeing a very unhappy beat up female and did some reading up myself that I realized how wrong he was. Since then I have learnt to read up myself before I buy. So I wouldn't put him down for falling into that trap when it's so easily fed to us by the people we expect to have a little knowledge.

My advice... either get your female a couple female friends, and a bigger home. Keep your male alone. Or if it's not possible to get a better home I'm afraid one may have to go back to the aquatics. Most are pretty good at taking them back if you simply explain that you was mislead to believe they'd be ok together and can't keep two tanks. Both would really benefit from a proper tank each though with a heater and filter... not only will they be happier but it also helps prevent disease.