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Whats the average lifespan of a heathly male and female bettas?

For a long time people believed it was 2-3 years. Now 4-5 is quite common, and there was a study on males done in (separate) 20 gallon planted tanks who were still alive when the study closed, at 9 years old.

EDIT: thought I should make it clear they weren't all in the same tank!

[span class="edited"][Edited by LittleMousling 2004-08-09 19:23][/span]

-Molly
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I'm thinking of perhaps getting 2 females for my community tank. Does the lifespan differ for females?

[span class="edited"][Edited by sly 2004-08-09 19:21][/span]

Which is all happy news for those of us who adore our bettas.

My sister's roommate had a betta for three years (pet store betta, so it was probably nearer to four years old), that lived in a vase with the peace lily on top or whatever the plant was. She was convinced that it would eat off the roots and his water changes weren't as often as they should have been. In spite of that, he lived as long as he did.

Given proper care, a betta should hopefully surpass that betta's lifespan. Which is good, because I'd love to breed my bettas, but don't have the room for it now. With a lot of TLC, they should still be happy and healthy in a year or two.

And despite the popularity of the male bettas, it's my females I'd love to see around for a long time. They seem to love their twenty gallon home and if LittleMousling'ss facts are correct, they should live a long, happy life with me. Yay! I my girls.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Would Female bettas be compatible with my stock list below?

some bettas that u get @ petstores are older males and females so they might live 6 months-1 year. most bettas live about 2 years but i have heard of a betta living to 9.

Would Female bettas be compatible with my stock list below?

No. Gouramis are also labyrinth fish, and I think that the betta may try to fight them because of their close-relatedness.

Also I would not put them in with the rams.

-6 Leopard Cories - unless you get some really aggressive betta girls, this should be no problem

-3 Dwarf Gouramis - possible issues, both are labyrinth fish, so there might be fighting over the same territory

-2 Bolivian Rams - no ideas, I have no experience with rams

-4 Amano Shrimps - bettas may or may not eat shrimp, it depends on the individual

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Are you serious?

I just spent an hour looking at female bettas at AquaBid.com

[span class="edited"][Edited by sly 2004-08-09 20:48][/span]

if possible you should just keep your bettas seperate. they do much better this way. no1 can damage them and they can't damage n.e1 else.