FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I bought a male betta from a pet store. He was the only one left. He was light pink and I didn't think he'd be aggressive. He has killed three guppies, one zebra danio, two female bettas, and seven blue gill. I have put him in a small bowl about a quarter gallon, but now I feel kind of bad for him. What should I do?

Sorry to hear, but you should have known better, male betta's
are agressive to other long finned fish, and anabantoids. and
you shouldn't assume the fish's behavior by how they are ihn
the store, as they are under extreme stress then.

leave him in a tank by himself, he is ovbiously not a placid
betta.

HTH,
Megil.

Thanks. He is my first male betta to act this way though. My other one's I had kept to themselves and wern't a problem.

Try getting one of these little 2.5 gallon mini bow tanks and keeping him in there alone...that will keep him happy, and the other fish alive...and i don't want to sound ugly though that is probably how i will come off, it's how i've been coming off a lot lately Just why would you put female bettas in with a male betta? Or was it in a really large tank? hml

Last edited by houston at 04-Nov-2005 20:58

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

thats why females and males shouldn't be in the same tank, unless u 100% comfindent with him.

can i ask u something, did he get them all in one day, or did this go for some time.

anyway, a bowl is best, and from now on, there is no real benefit of housing a male betta in a community tank.

The pet store owner told me you could put bettas together as long as you didn't have two males. The male wasn't really interested in the female betta though. He occasionally chased her and bit a chunk of her tail off once.

well they tell u wrong, most males shouldn't be with females unless they are breeding, but u wouldn't breed in a community tank anyway.

no that is also not 100% true, males can live together, this is a rare event should not be tried by people that haven't seen enough bettas to tell what they will do b4 they do it.

just from now one, keep male bettas alone, they dont benefit from being in a community tank, and as u seen, either does anyone else.

I learned that the hard way.

Many bettas can do just fine in a community tank and many would be better off that way than in a tiny container. Some are too agressive and won't tolerate any other fish. I just added mine to a 29g tank with an angelfish, swordtail, bristlenose, and yoyo loaches. If I didn't already have a blue gourami in my 90g I wouldn't mind adding a betta to that tank with all the tetras, threadfins, cories, and plecos. Bettas are personality dependent. Some will get along with any fish even other male bettas(rarely) and some won't get along with any fish at all. There are certain fish bettas are less likely to get along with. The top of that list would be other male bettas, then female bettas, other labyrinth fish(gouramis/paradise fish), and lastly long finned fish including fancy guppies.