putting in a female with a male?

[jennifer]

Hi. I was wondering, I have a male betta, he's been in his tankish kind of thing, actually it's a vase-it's that new fad that's going around of keeping a betta in one of the long, deep vases and putting a plant on top, but yes...he's been in there alone for a year or so and I want to add a female. I've heard that you shouldn't put them together but I want a female betta so should I do it? I mean, will he REALLY kill her? seriously, he must be so lonely....and he's fat too, he needs a female to work off some of that wieght that he gained while we were apart.

thanks!!!

 

[Mollymomma]

The only time females & males should be in a tank together is for breeding purposes only. There's a whole conditioning & supervision thing that you need to do to keep the female alive after breeding.

Please keep your male seperate

As for the vase I personally think they are a horrible home for a fish But it is your choice to house your fish in one. I don't mean this statement in a mean tone just stateing my belief.

 

[jennifer]

wait, so will she actually get pregnant by being in there with him?

 

[Mollymomma]

No betta's are egg layers.the female betta will develop eggs after the right conditioning process ( I'm not sure of all the steps) when released with a male they will do a embrace where the male forces the eggs from the female, fertilizes them & then will take care of the eggs ( placing them in a bubble nest he has built) The female then must be removed or the male will turn againest her & kill her.

I hope I am explaining this right . I'm sure I have missed a few important details so I'm hoping someone will come along to help.



edit ...I just don't advise putting a pair in your tank unless you have really really done alot of research beforehand .. betta breeding can result in hundreds of fry that you will have to have a seperate set up ready & waiting ...

 

[bluefrog]

First, you really should not keep a betta in a vase with a plant. Most of the time, some roots of the plant will start to decay and may develop a fungus under the water. This could mean death to your little betta friend. There are a lot of people who know how to keep aquarium plants with fish and have a healthy environment, but it usually doesn't work in a vase. Water quality can get bad easily and quickly in such a cramped environment, and that is not good for the fish. A tall/thin vase is especially not good for water quality, because oxygen enters water from the top, so a wider bowl would be better. Second, the amount of space/water that you have for one fish is really not adequate for two fish. And lastly, you should never keep female bettas with male bettas. He will eventually kill her (especially in such a small space). And if they do spawn before that happens, you will have a lot of dead eggs/babies on your hands. You really should not attempt to breed them unless you know your stuff. I just want to add that I think it is sad the way pets stores market bettas in vases. It is sad for the betta as well as it's owner, because many aren't able to live out their full life. Your betta is lucky because you're asking questions. Good luck!

 

[Lipreader]

I agree with bullfrog, betta need more room. Vase is more for looks, just something to make a table arrangement look pretty. You can find a 1 gal tank for $20 that would give him more room to swim around and maybe would give him some excersise since you said he is fat.

If you are thinking to breed them, you need to have more experinces with betta, understand how they are, lots and lots of research! Male and female can't be in the same tank together. Female and female can. Male and male can't. Just too darn risky! You can also put betta in community tank with other kind of fish(that is not a betta) such as guppies, mollies, black skirt tetra, albino cories, etc. That way he is not lonely.

 

[baseballfan111]

At walmart $10 for underground filter, hood w/ light, a fake plant, air pump, air tube, and airstone, 1 gallon

 

[golfboy444]

At walmart $10 for underground filter, hood w/ light, a fake plant, air pump, air tube, and airstone, 1 gallon

yes this is a good deal!!!

 

[gi4get]

if you wish to eventually get a/some females make sure they have lots of space to hide from the male. while the females remain peaceful in a community tank the males may not. at the very least i'd go for the 1 gal or more (and pot the plant ). as fadish as it is, a betta vase and plant isn't healthy for the plant or (*ahem* more importantly) the betta. good luck to you and your betta

 

[Stephanie]

Thank you to all of you who answered this question... I have a 2 1/2 gallon fish bowl and was wondering the same thing.

 

[BettaBoyz]

first; the vase is a horrid home for a betta. the plant is obstructing the surface of the water meaning l'il boy can't breathe properly. i hope you haven't been told that it's a safe ecosystem where the betta eats the roots and the plant cleans the water. instead of buying a female go and buy him a proper 1 gallon square-tank home. penn plax and small pals pens work nicely. i have one male in a community tank and a second in a penn plax with a pound of gravel, a sponge filter, a thermometer and a silk plant. you could get all the fittings for maybe 30 dollars, without the air pump/tubing/filter it would be maybe 20.

now, as everyone else has said males and females don't get along. i learned that the hard way when i put a female cambodian in with my blue cambodian boy =( he never shredded an invading *males* fins, oh heavens no, but he ripped off the girls ventrals. i think the only way a male/female tank would work is being a heavily planted 10 gallon with lots of hiding places and things, with a trio of females (pairs of girls dont work and one girl would definately need backup) and a single male.

=) hope you get some pictures of your boy up soon, and maybe some of his vase/new tank if you choose to get one ^^

 

[AquaNut]

As with everything else in fishkeeping, it comes down to opinion.

I personally wouldn't permanently house any fish in a one gallon tank. It's not big enough, in my opinion. Of course, I know bettas can live in them. As the original poster in this thread has stated, they can also live in a vase with a plant. She said hers had been living in there for a year already!

I would highly recommend that you not put a male with any number of females in any size tank, regardless of planting arrangements. As somebody else has already stated, the ONLY situation under which it's recommended that you put female and male bettas together is if they have been well conditioned for breeding (which must be supervised).