# New Bettas' Behavior Questions



## IslandRzrbk (Aug 14, 2011)

Hi!

Ok, so after doing a lot of reading and speaking with my LFS people, I decided to add a male and female betta to my community tank. Experimentally if necessary. 

They are VERY new to the tank so I mostly would like input as far as settling in behavior. I only added them yesterday.

Right now the male has taken up as "tank bully". He has not made contact with anyone, but he has started the habit of chasing off the other fish if they get to close to him. The other fish don't seem to care though, they just swim away and ignore him. The female betta's behavior is the most interesting to me. 

I added them at the exact same time. The female is very complacent she does not chase anyone and just swims along. The male, when he notices her, will flare up and chase her around - never biting or nibbling. Once he stops chasing her she turns around and will drift toward him, not fast, just as if she wants to be near him. Then he'll chase her again, then stop, then she'll try and stay by him. Sometimes she'll go away for awhile, then go looking for him again. It seems odd to me that she does this especially when he chases her around so much, but I'm new to keeping bettas in a community setting. Overall none of the fish SEEM particularly stressed. 

Just wanted to get thoughts from others out there who are more familiar with keeping bettas in a community, will he calm down? If he keeps up should I be worried? 

Thanks for any feedback, it's much appreciated!!


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

Normally you can't keep a male and female betta in the same tank. If the tank is large enough, and has enough cover, and IF the bettas in question have the right personalities, maybe. But from what is sounds like, you may be headed for trouble. Personally I'd have a backup tank just in case you can't keep both in the same tank. Keep a close eye on things, and watch them for a week or two


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## IslandRzrbk (Aug 14, 2011)

I have several plants and places to hide and it's a 35g tank so I figured that was big enough. And I wouldn't have done it had I not read or heard from people with success stories. I will keep you posted and I'm definitely keeping a very close eye on them!

Thanks!


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

What you are witnessing is the basic spawning behavior from the female.She will look for him and flash vertical stripes to show she is ready.However if he is flaring and chasing without waving his body to her,then he sees her as someone in hos way.They will try to breed if they are in good condition.If she wants to and he does not,she can kill him and vice versa.

The reason bettas found in petstores(the non wild ones) are not together is they are solely bred to kill each other.The farmers in Thailand would catch them and train them.The losers were released while the winners were kept and bred.These would bare offspring with the aggressive traits,and then these would be bred to other aggressive ones.The point was the farmers would bet money with these fish so the more aggressive the better.

If I was you I would keep a very close eye on them.Your male may seem sweet,but I have had a very gentle male rip a females eye out.She died a few days later.I have also had females rip males to the point they would no longer try to spawn,and even kill them,so be aware.


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## IslandRzrbk (Aug 14, 2011)

Thanks majerah, I really appreciate the spawning info. I've been having trouble finding information on the difference between "flirting" and flaring. I was beginning to think she has her "love-goggles" on because she can't get enough of his rude behavior. Some people I've talked to say that this might settle out within a week or two so I'm being cautious and observant, but won't separate them until it becomes obvious (which means even a slight tear in a fin!).


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## Stinky (Jun 18, 2009)

Where did you get those fish? I think depending on the source they can be aggressive or complacent when there's room. Some years ago I used to keep a few tanks and wanted to get some bettas. The fish store told me females could be kept together so I got 3 of them, but 1 killed another and the other would just hide. I don't believe they should be kept together at all unless you already see them together when you buy them. I think it depends on how the fry was raised, whether they had company for long or not.


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## IslandRzrbk (Aug 14, 2011)

Thanks Stinky for the input. I got them at Petco, which has the best betta selection in my area. My LFS has great fish and quality product, but his bettas are usually dead when I go in there. From what others have told me, typically the petstore bettas are usually much more aggressive, but I just can't justify spending the money on shipping since I'm not showing or breeding them. 

To everyone else, everything was going fine in the tank, I actually noticed a huge drop in aggression from the male betta. He wasn't flaring anymore and he wasn't pursuing the female nearly as much. Then yesterday morning I was checking on them (which I do MANY times during the day), the female had a huge tear in her tail. NOTHING life threatening as the end of the tear was still noticeably far away from the body, and she was still swimming and behaving normally. I immediately pulled that bad boy out of the tank and put him in his new vase home. 

I was quite irritated with him and was considering taking him back to the store and exchanging him for some other fish (betta or otherwise). His saving grace is that he's just too damn pretty for me to part with. 

So now the female is the only betta in the tank and is faring quite well by herself. I have two new additions: a chinese algae eater and a candy-striped pleco (both are less than 2 inches long). I consider them part of my janitorial staff.

Anyway thanks again for all the advice and input! I have uploaded some new pics of the tank too if anyone is interested.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Yep he would have tore into her before long.

Also,get him in a proper setup as soon as possible,as he will be miserable in a vase.


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## IslandRzrbk (Aug 14, 2011)

It's a gallon vase and he's been blowing lots of bubbles and has been very active and this was the same vase I had a betta in for 2 years prior. It's vacant now because I moved and the transit would have been to strenuous on him.


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