# multiple male bettas in a single tank?



## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

ive been doing some research on bettas and from what ive read they wont actually kill each other, they attack eachother because they are territorial and one will usually back down

in your opinion how big of a tank would it take to have enough "territory" for 2 male bettas to co exist within the same glass?


also would it be "cruel" to have 1 swim freely in a tank and have a second in a floating breeder style container that is well vented?


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

I can't answer your first question, but your second one I'd say a definite "no" to, they won't be able to swim around enough in that to keep healthy and live a worthy life. He'd be better off in a 1g bowl then a breeder box IMO, and I'm not a huge fan of the bowls.


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## athena (Apr 22, 2010)

Even though they won't 'kill' eachother during a fight, the constant fighting causes tremendous stress and they always get injured during fights. It is not humane. Male bettas need to be kept separately.

As to the breeder box question, I would only keep them in a breeder box if its one of those air driven breeder box, or something similar where water is constantly 'renewed'. The ones that just float in the tank aren't as good.


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## King-eL (Apr 21, 2010)

I've done mixing 10 male bettas before. The first time I introduced them they had a royal rumble and fins were torned apart. The winner becomes the dominant and takes control of the rest of the bettas where it swim freely any part kf tye tank. While the rest of the male will guard it's clame territory defend it against other male except the dominant one. The tank was a 55g. The first two weeks was the worst part as the dominant male keep on chasing the other males. In about 3 weeks they never seems to chase or nip each other however flaring still exist to show whos boss.


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## roadrunner (Apr 25, 2010)

Few years back I talked to somebody in LPS about having more bettas in one tank. He told me he had around 5-6 in larger aquarium with no problems. I gave it a try and I had 2 male bettas in 20 g. They were fine, flared a little when they got too close to each other but then both backed off. Tank was big enough for both of them to have enough of theirs space. I noticed they were bothered more by other fish. I guess it depends on the personalities. If one is way too dominant, you may run into problems.


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## Keri (Aug 2, 2010)

Please don't try this, even if they don't kill each other there will always be an incredible amount of stress for all the bettas involved.


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

I don't think it's fair to create an environment where the betta will constantly feel like it might be harassed by a dominant male. I just think the weaker betta will always be looking behind their back. It creates stress and will probably shorten the lifespan of all the bettas. Even if they don't kill each other they can cause injuries and infections that may kill them. I have never tried multiple males in one tank and this is just my opinion on the matter. Maybe if the males were raised together from birth it may present different possibilities.


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

And they change their temper so much. I have Neo since Sept. He was flaring and all in the store, but at home he was rather calm and jumpy if somebody goes close to the tank fast. During last few weeks he changed A LOT! He is flaring and "fighting" the ramshorn snails in the tank (yeah, they are RED!), started building bubble nests, etc. He is in the same tank and same place. I wonder if he was a baby or what?

What I am trying to say is, even if it works in the beginning, you have no idea what will follow. And to think about having one/some of the bettas stressed constantly sounds pretty cruel. I don't think it worth it. Can't you just have another small tank somewhere? Sorry for the dump question


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

InfraredDream said:


> And they change their temper so much. I have Neo since Sept. He was flaring and all in the store, but at home he was rather calm and jumpy if somebody goes close to the tank fast. During last few weeks he changed A LOT! He is flaring and "fighting" the ramshorn snails in the tank (yeah, they are RED!), started building bubble nests, etc. He is in the same tank and same place. I wonder if he was a baby or what?
> 
> What I am trying to say is, even if it works in the beginning, you have no idea what will follow. And to think about having one/some of the bettas stressed constantly sounds pretty cruel. I don't think it worth it. Can't you just have another small tank somewhere? Sorry for the dump question


it was going to be more of a temporary thing than anything, im in the process of building a tank with 4 different compartments that are approx 1.7 gallons each out of plexiglass and the back, bottom and dividers will be black plexiglass (mainly because i have ALOT of it) and the front and sides will be clear plexiglass.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Your new tank sounds very interesting, especially the black plexi dividers. I hope that you post a pic when you're done.


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## hgi (Jun 13, 2010)

I have a friend who has 2 male beta's in a 90g and they never fight, they just stay opposite ends of the tank.


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## christhefish (Nov 8, 2010)

King-eL said:


> I've done mixing 10 male bettas before. The first time I introduced them they had a royal rumble and fins were torned apart. The winner becomes the dominant and takes control of the rest of the bettas where it swim freely any part kf tye tank. While the rest of the male will guard it's clame territory defend it against other male except the dominant one. The tank was a 55g. The first two weeks was the worst part as the dominant male keep on chasing the other males. In about 3 weeks they never seems to chase or nip each other however flaring still exist to show whos boss.


thats what i would expect would happen 
do you have any pictures?

i bet a big tank with a male or two would work with a bunch of females 
i might have to try that sometime


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

WOW, that tank idea sounds awesome! I will love to see a picture of it!
And as a temporal thing maybe you can make a mesh divider. Or in the worst case I guess the breeder box would work, they are in even smaller containers in the stores after all.
Good luck with your project!


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

my start on it so far

i decided to go with 3 6x7x8

each compartment works out to approx 1.3 gallons, the black devidors will be notched out at the top and the water levels will taper down approx 3/4" per section which will allow me to run one filter for the whole tank

I plan to put my double tail betta in one, my crown tail in the other and im not sure yet about the third

i also plan on it being lightly planted (one or two small plants per section)


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

This looks awesome so far! It will be a great betat tank! I would love to have one like this myself. And having just one filter, etc. will make it easier to maintain.
Please post more pictures when you can. Looking forward to see it finished with bettas and plants! Good luck!


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

You should put this into the DIY or Journal section if you have more pictures Spit.fire. I was worried at first, but obviously you have put a lot of thought into this, which is great.

This project looks awesome, especially with the black acrylic which will prevent unnecessary stress for those little male buggers.


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## athena (Apr 22, 2010)

The tank looks great! The only thing is I don't see any holes in the dividers to allow for water flow. Does that mean you'll be using three filters? I can't wait to see the finished project with the bettas in there!


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

athena said:


> The tank looks great! The only thing is I don't see any holes in the dividers to allow for water flow. Does that mean you'll be using three filters? I can't wait to see the finished project with the bettas in there!


the black dividers are not glued in, i plan on putting stoppers on each side of them so they can be removed if needed


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## kelly528 (Apr 21, 2010)

Cool tank!

And no, I would never try mixing males or males/females.

a) On the humaneness note, why would you put a load of males together knowing they will rip each others' fins off? And would it be worth a live full of stress for each betta, knowing that there are 9 other bettas crowded into what would probably be the size of the territory of 1 wild betta?

b) If you paid more than $15 per fish you're throwing your money down the drain. Severed fin rays grow back crooked, and sections of tail bitten to the caudal peduncle won't grow back ever. So any nice CTs, DTs, HMs, etc. will have screwy tails for the rest of their life.


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## Chappy (Apr 21, 2010)

Very interesting thread. I've always kept multiple female bettas with single males, but recently I've been keeping multiple males as well with no ill effects. It's almost like the males don't even see each other - I have heavy floating plant coverage so it's possible that they really haven't seen each other. I find the females flare and nip at each other quite often, but they don't appear stressed by it.


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## kelly528 (Apr 21, 2010)

Well the thing is that all the evidence fishkeepers have of bettas beig able to coexist peacefully is purely anecdotal. Like the evidence we had that tigers made good pets before Seigfried and/or Roy got mauled...


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

In order words...keeping multiple bettas together is a ticking time bomb until someone snaps.

Nice divided tank by the way  will there be a cover of some sorts? One thing I am worried about is the black dividers. Will the bettas be able to see their reflection 24/7? Perhaps a moss wall?


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

Atom said:


> In order words...keeping multiple bettas together is a ticking time bomb until someone snaps.
> 
> Nice divided tank by the way  will there be a cover of some sorts? One thing I am worried about is the black dividers. Will the bettas be able to see their reflection 24/7? Perhaps a moss wall?


http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/diy-area-18/stress-free-betta-condo-12775/

(answer posted in that thread)


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