so i introduced a male and female betta to my 55 gallon community today (i let them float in cups covered with a fine mesh over night to prevent fighting) and my male keeps flexing all his fins and getting in front of her. is this a courting behavior? or a violent behavior i should keep an eye on?
betta courtship
- Thread starter Mario1994
- Start date
Males will seem to react the same towards Females during courtship where they "dance" for the Female. They also will build a bubble nest. If you see clumps of bubbles, the Male is interested in breeding. However, if the female is not interested, the Male can attack the Female. It's best to keep just 1 Male per tank. Females would be okay in groups, but I would suggest 5 or more to spread out the aggression.
housing both genders of betta splendens in the same tank is just asking for the death of at least one betta. bettas should only be housed in opposite genders when they are in the process of spawning, and the female is taken out right after she drops her eggs, to keep the male from potentially killing her.
in the wild, the male bettas stake out territories and generally don't leave those territories. the females roam about and spawn with the males, then leave after. the natural habitat of a betta is MUCH larger than a 55 gallon tank, and the females have the chance to get away from the males. the males' territories are spaced apart and males don't usually go into other male's territories.
i would suggest to return the male, or have him in a different suitable tank, and just keep the females in a sorority in the 55. as mentioned, you want to have enough females to spread any aggression out, so that one female does not get picked on (low lady on the totem pole). in a 55 you could easily do 5 females, plus other community fish that are considered non aggressive.
in the wild, the male bettas stake out territories and generally don't leave those territories. the females roam about and spawn with the males, then leave after. the natural habitat of a betta is MUCH larger than a 55 gallon tank, and the females have the chance to get away from the males. the males' territories are spaced apart and males don't usually go into other male's territories.
i would suggest to return the male, or have him in a different suitable tank, and just keep the females in a sorority in the 55. as mentioned, you want to have enough females to spread any aggression out, so that one female does not get picked on (low lady on the totem pole). in a 55 you could easily do 5 females, plus other community fish that are considered non aggressive.
uummm... I have 3 females 2 males 2 bichirs and fat-heads. my hope was that the betta fry would feed the bichirs after i ran out of fat-heads
the adult bettas will be food for the bichirs. your tank stocking is not appropriate. get those bettas out of there before they become lunch. get the two male bettas housed separately in their own tanks, and the females into a sorority tank of their own. then come back online and do more research as to what species are safe to put with a bichir. depending on the species of bichir, your tank may not be nearly big enough once they are mature.
when breeding fish to feed to larger fish, the breeding feeders need to be kept in a separate tank. in an enclosed environment like a tank, you really can't do a 'revolving' food source like that, with predator and food fish in the same tank, as the fry will get eaten quicker than they can be born.
when breeding fish to feed to larger fish, the breeding feeders need to be kept in a separate tank. in an enclosed environment like a tank, you really can't do a 'revolving' food source like that, with predator and food fish in the same tank, as the fry will get eaten quicker than they can be born.
i now have the males in separate bowls and the females in a 20 gallon tank. how do i get the females nterested in mating?
a site that i referenced often when i was attempting to breed my bettas a few years ago was www.bettatalk.com.
there is also Aquaria Central, another forum under the Monster Aquaria Network, and there is a betta sub forum there with quite a few threads regarding betta breeding.
there is also Aquaria Central, another forum under the Monster Aquaria Network, and there is a betta sub forum there with quite a few threads regarding betta breeding.