# tank size for female bettas



## SoBe_fish (Jan 15, 2008)

What would be a good sized tank for four f. bettas? ;-)


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## tenaj-6 (Jun 25, 2008)

id say 10-15 gallons. maybe a 20.


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## bigsis7 (Jul 6, 2008)

Probably a 20 would be best, because even female bettas can be aggresive and need some space. So 5 gallons per female betta's probably best!


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## leafgirl115 (Mar 26, 2006)

You should have more than 4 female bettas together. 5-6 would be better


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## Suzy Z & J (Jul 28, 2008)

Hi,
So if what I am understanding, you can have more than one female betta in a tank?
I have a 20gal High, that is empty. It was given to me, but the light and filter are not working as yet. Still fiddling with them.
How many female betta's could I put in it? 
Does the tank need to cycle first?
What else then would I need for the tank?
Thanks!


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## justintrask (Jun 29, 2008)

bettas arent very picky and really dislike current. You can keep female bettas together relatively peacefully, but males you can only have one. with a 20G high, I would recommend 4 female and a male betta. Throw in some floating plants, and keep the bottom either bare or with sand, and you may even breed them! Bettas like to breed at about 80F.


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## leafgirl115 (Mar 26, 2006)

Justin you should not have a male and females together. You only put a male and female together when you want to breed them and then it is a very trickey proses. *Do not put the male and females together*

Females should be in groups of at least 6. With a 20g you could put up tp 10 in there. You must make shure that there are a lot of plants (live or fake) caves, rockes, ect... the more clutured the tankt he better. this way each female can have her own teritory. 

If you have say 6 females in there to begin with and you have 3 new ones to add you must take all the femails out then switch the landscape around (plants and caves in a diferent design) this way all fish must get new teritories.

Then add the new girls, after that add the least dominant females to the tank one at a time say 5 min in betwen them.


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## justintrask (Jun 29, 2008)

I beg to differ. I have 4 females and a male together in my 10G and I have no problems at all. The male builds his bubble nest, and every now and then shows off for the females, but is never really violent towards them, or vice versa.


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## sneasle (Jun 25, 2008)

Perhaps you have a pacifist Betta?

They aren't called Siamese fighting fish because they dance well.


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## leafgirl115 (Mar 26, 2006)

No one said anything about being agressive, but the fact is if you have a male and a female together most likely they will breed.

Also, should the dominant female want to breed, she will get agressive and can hurt the lesser females.

This is not a healthy set up for the male nor the females and will be very stressful. It is NOT a good idea to keep males and females together, and just because you have had an experince where you have done so safely, doesn;t mean that is it OK to do so.
These are bettas, fighting fish, not guppies.

If by chance one of them does spawn then the fry will be eaten/ killed. THis is not responsible fish keeping and should not happen. A lot of work goes into breeding and rearing betta fry and its not something to go into with out any thought. Pleas do not keep a male in with multiple females.


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## justintrask (Jun 29, 2008)

I never meant to start an argument here. I should add in to my signature or something that everything I say is from my experience or opinion. I have had success, I'm not saying its right or wrong, but from my experience, i tell it how it is.


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## Betta Belle (Aug 31, 2006)

Justin, I can respect that. The problem is many people will come on and read that and think it is OK to keep males and females together, and that just is not the case.
In some cases you will have an unaggressive male and he is safe around the females. In some cases you have females that are just intimidated enough by the males to stay out of reach.
But all of that could change in an instant, and I would not be surprised if at all if one day the fish start to fight, either the male getting rammy, or the females getting broody. All it takes is for the water temp to be right, the barometric pressure to drop and the feeding to have been spot on to get breeding behavior.
Again, I understand better than most how doing things out of the norm can cause people to dismiss what you are saying. But when you are talking of situations where doing things out of the norm will usually result in the death of a beloved pet, it may be better to not share, or as you said, say in my experience, and then advise people to follow the norm.
Because honestly, your male is not the norm. Most males would have had all those females bred by now, and kicked some serious fin while doing it.


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## leafgirl115 (Mar 26, 2006)

Nicely said bella.


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## Suzy Z & J (Jul 28, 2008)

hi,
commenting on " Throw in some floating plants, and keep the bottom either bare or with sand,"

Why bottom bare or sand??? why not gravel?

please more specific about plants...

I came home with a female betta for me, she is so pretty, purple and red.. she is so active!! 

more later... thank you  !!


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## leafgirl115 (Mar 26, 2006)

You can have what every you want on the bottom of the tank. 

You dont have to have live plants if you dont want to. Some easy plants to keep are swords and java fern. Fake silf plants from your LFS will also work great. Remember to have a lot of hiding places for her.


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## justintrask (Jun 29, 2008)

I mentioned the bare bottom and floating plants because if you were to try to bred them, this makes it a lot easier for the male


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## khachdatinh (Sep 17, 2007)

I have problem keeping floating plants indoor. they die within days. I only breed bettas outdoor in summer. I don't have luck indoor and bare tank with fish isn't very interesting to look at.


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## Suzy Z & J (Jul 28, 2008)

Hi,
I am not sure if I would try and bred or not, right now I just wanted to see if I could keep them all in a tank. I feel really bad keeping them in these fish bowls or breeder in a tank. The first betta female we had LOVED being in the tank with the others.
About the gals and a guy being in a tank together: I really feel it depends on the fish. They have personalities and they have territorial behavior. I may try it, but if I did, I would stay by tank and see. Thats why I kept the one betta we have in the breeder net. Its self contained. its small, she has her own food, that the others cant get at, and the other fish CAN't get to her. She is very shy and I don't think she wants to be in the tank freely. She does kinda play with them.
Thanks again!


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## Teale (Apr 9, 2008)

I have 6 females right now. only a couple of them get along together, but when the 4 of them are together they are fine, kind of like a higharchy. the other 2 are very aggressive, but when introduced to a goldfish they bonded and can now live together.


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## leafgirl115 (Mar 26, 2006)

Bettas and Goldfish shoudl not be int h same tank together. goldfish are very dirty fish (they produce a lot of waste) and this is not good for the betts. Aslo gold fish need at least a 50g tank to grow to there proper size.


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## Teale (Apr 9, 2008)

thanks leafgirl but i only had them in there a day or 2 to tame my wild female betta.


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## leafgirl115 (Mar 26, 2006)

Ok well im just glad they are no longer in there.


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