Never Mix Betta Fish Together!

[GentleGiantsCichlidKeeper]

*Storytime* So recently against my better judgement I tried to mix 3 Male Betta fish in one tank (10 Gallon) to try to save space in my fish room. Once I put them all in, my biggest and oldest Betta decided he didn't want them in his space and ripped up some fins on my smaller Betta's. He also trapped them in corners to give them body blows constantly. They couldn't handle him and just took it. Meanwhile my smaller male Betta's actually got along pretty well IMO. They didn't flare when they saw each other and were actually beginning to claim territories and try to get comfortable in the tank. I never will do that again! Anybody had any similar experiences? Trying to fight the odds lol.....

 

[duanes]

This is true of Betta splendens, but some of the other more obscure wild type species can be housed together.


Above Betta albimarginatta, and below another Malaysian mouth brooding species B. edithae.



Much may have to do with the amount of territorial space given, I usually used @ 50 or 55 gal tanks.
There are now a number these wild type species available

 

[Deadeye]

I haven’t tried mixing bettas, but would love too. I think to keep two males you would need at least 30 gallons, lots of cover, and some target fish to spread out the aggression.

 

[Hendre]

Why keep two fish together when you know for a fact that they will fight? Males claim a territory of up to one square metre, so a measly 30 gallon won't work

 

[GentleGiantsCichlidKeeper]

Why keep two fish together when you know for a fact that they will fight? Males claim a territory of up to one square metre, so a measly 30 gallon won't work

I didn't know for a fact that they would fight. Why always assume they would fight, and never try it out? What else interesting am I doing, lol...

 

[fishhead0103666]

Why would you put three Siamese *fighting* fish together when they are *known* to not tolerate each other?

 

[Hendre]

I didn't know for a fact that they would fight. Why always assume they would fight, and never try it out? What else interesting am I doing, lol...

If they were a species new to the hobby I would say "go ahead". But B. splendens is one of the oldest fish in the hobby, their whole reproductive strategy hinges on having as big of a territory for themselves as possible. A territory that is 5 times larger than the footprint of a 30. We know they will defend their territory with ferocity so mixing males (and oftentimes females) is ill advised.

 

[Magnus_Bane]

Why keep two fish together when you know for a fact that they will fight? Males claim a territory of up to one square metre, so a measly 30 gallon won't work

I will agree that almost all male Bettas of this specie will try to kill each other no matter the circumstances. Now I think this has a bit to do with what these fish were bred for in the past. With how many of them were bred specifically for fighting eat other it does make sense that over time their aggression levels would increase due to selective breeding, just like how we selectively breed dogs to look, act, and preform in certain ways. Now I will also say that knowing how these fish react towards each other, I have done a similar thing in the past but with a far larger tank and only 2 male Bettas. Honestly mine got along fine with eachother in the 55g but I believe this mainly had to do with the abundance of room for these 2 fish to swim threw and escape each other if necessary. Would I recommend anybody else trying this? Absolutely not. I still believe that these fish do far better separated then they do together, the same goes for female Bettas. What I did was just a stupid experiment that just so happened to work the one and only time I ever tried it, the likely hood of it successfully being recreated is slim to none.

 

[fishhead0103666]

I recall reading a conversation between two people somewhere in the depths of the internet that this man had bred his bettas, kept the fry together, grew them out all in the same tank without ever taking any of them out, and they all lived perfectly together in harmony. He did however end up taking one out for one reason or another and when he put that fish back in the tank they acted as if they had never seen him before and he was attacked ruthlessly. I think back to that from time to time, perhaps a good experiment is able to be conducted on that.

Don’t mind my ramblings, I just remembered it and wanted to say it.

 

[Magnus_Bane]

I recall reading a conversation between two people somewhere in the depths of the internet that this man had bred his bettas, kept the fry together, grew them out all in the same tank without ever taking any of them out, and they all lived perfectly together in harmony. He did however end up taking one out for one reason or another and when he put that fish back in the tank they acted as if they had never seen him before and he was attacked ruthlessly. I think back to that from time to time, perhaps a good experiment is able to be conducted on that.

Don’t mind my ramblings, I just remembered it and wanted to say it.

That somewhat makes sense though. I believe it would have to do with them recognizing their own sibling through constant interactions with them on a daily basis. As for the odd man out it makes sense that they all turned on it since it was removed from the tank for a period of time, most likely several days, and when reintroduced the siblings no longer recognized it as one of their own and treated it as a invader. Ppl always think that their fish truly recognizes them, in some cases they do, but in most cases they just memorize certain visual cues and go based off of what they instinctually feel rather then actually memorizing their owners face.

I know with my fish, the moment the see someone by the tank they all go crazy, regardless of who it is, all just because they see me and everyone else as a source of food and nothing more.