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Male and Female betta with other fish (i gave alot of details to give you an idea of the situation)2007-11-24 23:38:54

I have a male blue betta with 1 black molly (used to be more but the other 2 died somehow maybe the betta did it) and 4 schoolers (1 very small,2 about 2 inches,one 3 inch) a small catfish that grows to the maximum of 3 inches and a pleco that hides in a rock all day and runs in the rock everytime we get near the tank (used to be small but now hes about 5 inches) ive only seen the betta generally only mess with the molly but the molly isnt scared of him because hes constantly next to the betta(example, the betta will flare and chase the molly the molly runs then he goes back to the betta again)its something i see often now but the betta doesnt flare at the molly everytime they get close only sometimes, ive had the betta for about 4 months now and i never witnessed him killing any fish i just assume its him when we go to sleep and about 1 month ago the smallest schooler (they have long pretty fins) got his fins ripped off and just recently i thought it mght b the betta but its stil aliv

Answers:

It depends of the betta in question. Some are more mellow than others. Long flowy fins are a no no with male betta. Molly are mixed bag sharing a tank with a male, but can easily out run a poor swimmer like a male betta. I've had larger sailfins fin nip a male betta. From the sound of your betta you've got an antisocial one. I'd get a 3 gallon for him and isolate him.

Froggie gives some dangerous advice. Females are more mellow than males, but.. They will fight will other betta. In general you can only keep males with other betta they were raise from birth with. (Even then the males in question are the most mellow of a given spawn.) I've even seen multiple males in with females. The problem is that just throwing betta together generally results in a cage match. In an established female tank the girls will general kill a male you add. While a male will often kill females you add. (The theroy of add more females is to spread the male's aggression out.) Throwing 1 betta female per 5-10 gallons into a tank will result in a week or so of fighting to work out the pecking order. (Some times a pair will beat each other up longer as they are evenly matched.) After the girls work things out they get along provided you don't add or remove betta. Females tend to ignore non betta.

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Betta's will usually attack anything with long flowing fins, it's their instinct to do that. Some betta's do much better solo in a tank, others do ok with fish with short fins that are non aggressive. It's entirely possible that your betta is the culprit when it comes to your fish dying. Perhaps put him in a tank by himself.

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We have salt water fish, but i assume that the behaviour of all fish would be similar. Fish are territorial and you should not have too many fish in one tank. I am pretty sure that betas should not be in a community tank. They prefer to be with their own. Good luck with your fish!!

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You cannot mix male and female bettas. If the female isnt ready to breed the male will kill her or the female will kill the male. Breeding bettas is a lot of work too. http://www.bettatalk.com

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In a community tank a male betta is usually at the mercy of the other fish and often winds up with badly tattered fins because they simply cannot swim as fast as other fish. Schooling fish like tetras, barbs and danios are fast and one of them is more likely to be a fin nipper than a male betta (unless of course you have 2 male bettas in 1 tank=not smart). I'm not sure but your question seems to indicate that you also have a female betta in the same tank. A female is not hindered by long flowing fins and since bettas are carnivorous, she could be the one causing the problems.

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you can put betta in a tank with reular fish but not with aggresive/semi aggresive fish. I would highly recommend not putting two male or female in the same tank. They will kill each other.

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bettas should be by themslves

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A male Betta can be kept with several female Bettas. The molly is a good choice to keep with them. If one of the female Bettas should happen to die though, do not replace it because the established females would kill the newcomer. Make sure the tank is a minimum of 10 gallon or more.