CatfishEmpire Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Just out of interest I would like to know what everyone's view is on keeping Betta's in a community tank? Also what is the smallest tank size you guys and girls keep your Betta's in (long term) I've recently had some discussions about these topics and it got a little heated..... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Nut Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 If the tankmates are carefully selected and the betta has a temperament suited to community life, I have no problems with them being housed in a community tank. I personally would never go below 8-10L as a permanent home. I also prefer tanks that are longer rather than taller to maximise swimming space. My bettas are housed in anywhere from 10-27L tanks and they all do fine. I do think anything under 4L as a permanent home is rather cruel no matter how warm or pristine the water might be. It just simply isn't a big enough space to provide adequate mental and physical stimulation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rileyviks Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 my true fighter male i thought was a female for a while and he was kept with a 7cm gourami for about 2 months and not one fight they just stayed away from each other thanks riley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yanagi Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 I wouldn't put a long fin male Betta in a community tank without extreme caution re; filters and tank mates. In fact, I wouldn't do it at all. I have absolutely zero issue with female bettas or a plakat male in a community tank. The smallest size tank I keep mine is roughly 5lt swimming space to themselves (it's a divided tank with a filter section in back). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumofthehoarde Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 I have friends who have had male bettas happily living in community tanks but I dont think it is the norm. Females yeah but dont change the status quo if you can help it because that can fights. My guys live in 20Lt tanks divided into two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadoh Posted May 11, 2012 Report Share Posted May 11, 2012 I once had a beautiful male VT living in my 4ft tank with Angels, Gouramis and Danios.. He was bought as a female and was quite small and timid. As time went on he sprouted and claimed a large rock cave as his territory. There weren't any fights, most fish knew instinctively to give that section some space. The Danios would test him every now and again, but were quick enough to make a getaway. At the end of the day, I guess it depends on the personality of the individual Betta. There are some types that I would never introduce to a community tank that others have success with. The most important thing is to keep a close watch on the tank and have an alternative housing solution should it all turn pear shaped :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournebetta Posted May 11, 2012 Report Share Posted May 11, 2012 At least the good thing about this forum is you can ask all sorts of questions and nobody is going to jump down your throat... so don't worry about that. We've recently seen Zui's thread with 4 male betta (pk) in together, and while it's working for him, I would definitely not recommend trying it... it's a pretty unusual (and lucky) situation, but nobody's going to spack out! I guess the thing with these fish is we naturally want to give them company, but any male I've plopped into a community, I've found they become really exhausted from all the stimulation, and considering the filtration the other fish require (i.e. my eheim filter) it's just not really worth the bother... mine lost condition quickly because they are little princesses and want to organize everyone... and were much happier in a quieter tank where they could map out some territory and go for leisurely swims. Barracks have been the best solution I've seen thusfar - either shared water or otherwise, they're the nicest way to organize and enjoy your handsome fish IMO. xNess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zui Posted May 11, 2012 Report Share Posted May 11, 2012 I do not recommend putting male bettas together ! Let that be clearly stated. I have proven it is possible to keep Giant PK males together in a mixed community tank if there is enough room and hiding holes. I would not attempt it with any long finned fighters. My case is the exception rather than the rule. I watched and studied my fish and their personality for a long time before i was comfortable enough to leave them alone together.I had them in tanks side by side ,with out any aggression shown before I did what I did. Giant PK's seem to be a little more docile than other fighters in general. Again I must say I don't recommend that other people do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournebetta Posted May 11, 2012 Report Share Posted May 11, 2012 Totally Zui, I guess the first thing to consider would be the actual tank and environment really - lots of hiding places as you say would really help... I guess it's each to their own - but I keep my fish for breeding and showing, so I guess I don't have much time for display tanks (maybe when I retire!!) My Betta females are quite happy with the Angel fish - but that's because they're fiesty as hell. Not sure about the males. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gulp Posted May 11, 2012 Report Share Posted May 11, 2012 (edited) I had a lovely Mustard gas HM male from someone live with a male marble HM I got off Joan. They lived in a 2 foot tank and were best friends. I found this out when one jumped into the others section. Never any problems. Dont try it though, even if you think it will be ok, you may come home to find shredded fins and missing eyes... Its in their nature to fight... A tank full of females can be fine, as long as they have plenty of room and hiding places. I wouldnt think it is a good idea to mix them in a normal community tank though, they dont like the heavy water flow etc... Better off keeping a betta tank. In saying that, I did have a VT male in my large community tank, he loved it! But they usually freak... As for size tanks for long term, I guess it depends on the fish. I think about 8L is good. But some fish dont like big tanks, they freak at wide open spaces, therefore, they would be quite happy to live in a small tank/bowl. Edited May 11, 2012 by gulp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted May 11, 2012 Report Share Posted May 11, 2012 I would never recommend more than one boy per tank. Yes, some people get away with it and most don't. Things may run smooth for a month or two but one day you may come home to one dead one and the other torn to shreds. These fish do usually fight, it's in there nature. When I have had spawns grow out, some boys get agro as they start to sprout, nip at anything. Others have stayed in grow out until almost full half adult size with very little agro. But.........it all depends on the nature of the fish (varies greatly) and the tank. If the boys can get away from each other and both have a territory with no line-off-sight of the other, then maybe. I have a 3 ft community tank full of various tetras, angels ect and all my excess girls go in here. Only time I had an issue was when I started, I put 3-4 in to try it out. One became dominant and harassed others constantly. Was killing one at a time. I then put another 6-8 in and it settled down. I now have about a dozen in the tank with no issues at all. No fish bother them and they don't really bother each other. All just my thoughts. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2littlerevheads Posted May 11, 2012 Report Share Posted May 11, 2012 i have a half moon boy in my 3ft tank as i ran out of heaters. he is in with the same fish as jarrods and i have had no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afr3178 Posted May 11, 2012 Report Share Posted May 11, 2012 Sometimes at work, you find a couple of fighters together. Sometimes one is dead, the other torn fins, sometimes both torn fins and sometimes they're both alive living happily. Each fish has their own personality, so some work some don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatfishEmpire Posted May 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 (edited) Well what a great response! Thanks to everyone, I was alittle worried about asking these questions due to problems I've had on other forums in the past. I agree that alot of housing issues has to do with temperaments and types of fish. I put my CT male and his GF in my 3ft (heavily planted) with corys,sparkling gouramis and rasbora and they LOVE it the pair of them rule the roost! But I did have concerns about over stimulating the male as those fins weren't made for heaps of water movement but I made sure he had a quiet spot (no flow) in the tank and he has turned it into HIS territory and he looks to be in good condition for it too. I have bumble bee gobys in my 4ft so ANY fish with long pretty fins is a target so thats a no go zone for Bettas! Which brings me to my question on long term living for Bettas, I HATE seeing them in jars and tiny little tanks at the LFS it makes me want to buy them ALL and take them home but I do understand the reasons behind it. I have alot of standard 2ft which are 50/60ltrs (I think) and at the moment I'm using them as grow out tanks, but I would like to turn them into long term homes for my Betta pairs or solo males (I'm not going to even try the 2 or more males!) hence my reason for asking about comfortable tank sizes as I personally couldn't justify anything smaller than that! So it was VERY helpful to hear so many different positive views on this and that some people have kept males together that is remarkable! Have a great weekend everyone :) Edited May 12, 2012 by CatfishEmpire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournebetta Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 Just quickly on the Fish store jarring thing... I hate it too, because most don't provide adequate information on how to keep betta happily... it also sort of mis-represents what environment the fish is happiest in. However you have to think about the retail perspective, they can sell 30-50 guppies (for example) in a 2 foot tank (in fact most LFS tanks are over stocked when they get new fish in) but the stock moves quickly and the filtration is much more complex than our domestic systems.... so to sell one betta in a 10 litre tank is just a bad merchandising decision... you have to offer as much range as shelving will allow. (Having said that, there's one LFS in mind that will put a "giant" betta in a 500ml unheated plastic jar, and the ones that aren't "sleeping" upside down probably have velvet) but thats a whole other rant, and we've all heard it. Some good aquariums have Barracks, and some of those barracks are suitably maintained and filtered.. but these little buggars are annoying to keep, let's face it! Often you see one betta at a LFS in a tank full of suitable mates, but hes often struggling with a heavier than usual flow, so I doubt he's terribly content.... it's one way around the merchandising problem. But these are transient situations - all I would hope is that the LFS would properly inform the buyer about care and needs, which is why I asked my retailer to hand out a care sheet with each halfmoon sale. (in fact he's able to hand it out when he sells his own CT and VT too!) Anyway - just a moments thought on that, good luck with finding tank mates ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gulp Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 Here here Ness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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