Betta Fraternity? possible?

I've read talk on here about "betta sororities". I'm curious to ask, anyone try doing multiple males, like lets say 2 in a 40g-55g, 3 males in a 75g, something like that, without a physical barrier they couldn't get past?

Can it work? would it be enough space for them to have their territories with enough plants so they don't really cross paths and see each other all that much? Could you then keep, I dunno, like 3 males, 12 females if it were like a 75g? How about a 6ft?

I'm not a fan of the bettas myself, i don't like how they have to be kept solitary, I don't like how they are sold, so I don't plan on trying it, but I'm curious if any of the betta keepers have tried to do it, or know of someone trying to do it, and how it worked out, or that it didn't work out.....

Interestingly enough, Posting this, the closest topic in "is this already being discussed" to it is "Guppy Fraternity" nothing really on keeping multiple males betta together, and I KNOW the story is "1 male per tank, 5 gallons, 10 gallons would be better" , but could you do more males with 20 gallons of water per fish?

If this is just a nono topic or something as to why I don't find much on it, , that's going to trigger some strong feelings, that is not my intention for this post. it's not a troll,I'm not trying to set anyone off.

I've been in this hobby a long time. I've never had a discussion with anyone on this specific subject in person or otherwise, it's always been "male bettas fight, just keep one, end of story" , but surely there's enough bettas in the wild sharing the same waters or same cubic foot or cubic meter of space and not killing each other.
I was told angels would mature and all heck break loose and it falls apart, and it did at first, then I read more on natural behaviors, how much spawning space, M/M, F/F, M/F adult and juvenile interactions, and spent some time on it and testing some things, and apparently it's really not an impossibility to not just keep the injuries down, but possible to keep the relative peace also if done right (and a bit of luck, there's always a troublemaker!).

So yeah, I'd really like to know peoples thoughts on this subject of More than one betta fish male in an aquarium, IN CASE I'M NOT CLEAR, I DO NOT MEAN: putting 2 betta fish males in a 5 or 10 gallon, nothing like that at all. A large aquarium is what I mean.

How about 6-12" Deep, and 8ft Lx4ft W planted like a rice field or irrigation channel? Set it up on a model train table... what then, could it work to keep mutiple males provided there's enough plant cover?

Thanks! I gots to know!

 

And you are talking about domestic Betta splendens, yes?
Not B. imbellis, B. smaragdina or whatever, just straight up, plain, domestic Betta splendens?

I wouldn't believe it until I saw it.

 

I've read talk on here about "betta sororities". I'm curious to ask, anyone try doing multiple males, like lets say 2 in a 40g-55g, 3 males in a 75g, something like that, without a physical barrier they couldn't get past?

Can it work? would it be enough space for them to have their territories with enough plants so they don't really cross paths and see each other all that much? Could you then keep, I dunno, like 3 males, 12 females if it were like a 75g? How about a 6ft?

I'm not a fan of the bettas myself, i don't like how they have to be kept solitary, I don't like how they are sold, so I don't plan on trying it, but I'm curious if any of the betta keepers have tried to do it, or know of someone trying to do it, and how it worked out, or that it didn't work out.....

Interestingly enough, Posting this, the closest topic in "is this already being discussed" to it is "Guppy Fraternity" nothing really on keeping multiple males betta together, and I KNOW the story is "1 male per tank, 5 gallons, 10 gallons would be better" , but could you do more males with 20 gallons of water per fish?

If this is just a nono topic or something as to why I don't find much on it, , that's going to trigger some strong feelings, that is not my intention for this post. it's not a troll,I'm not trying to set anyone off.

I've been in this hobby a long time. I've never had a discussion with anyone on this specific subject in person or otherwise, it's always been "male bettas fight, just keep one, end of story" , but surely there's enough bettas in the wild sharing the same waters or same cubic foot or cubic meter of space and not killing each other.
I was told angels would mature and all heck break loose and it falls apart, and it did at first, then I read more on natural behaviors, how much spawning space, M/M, F/F, M/F adult and juvenile interactions, and spent some time on it and testing some things, and apparently it's really not an impossibility to not just keep the injuries down, but possible to keep the relative peace also if done right (and a bit of luck, there's always a troublemaker!).

So yeah, I'd really like to know peoples thoughts on this subject of More than one betta fish male in an aquarium, IN CASE I'M NOT CLEAR, I DO NOT MEAN: putting 2 betta fish males in a 5 or 10 gallon, nothing like that at all. A large aquarium is what I mean.

How about 6-12" Deep, and 8ft Lx4ft W planted like a rice field or irrigation channel? Set it up on a model train table... what then, could it work to keep mutiple males provided there's enough plant cover?

Thanks! I gots to know!

I heard of a guy on reddit who did this sort of thing in a 55 gallon. the tank was very heavily planted.

 

And you are talking about domestic Betta splendens, yes?
Not B. imbellis, B. smaragdina or whatever, just straight up, plain, domestic Betta splendens?

I wouldn't believe it until I saw it.

I don't rightly know? I'd suppose domestic, would wild make a difference and if so, harder or easier?

 

would wild make a difference and if so, harder or easier?

Absolutely. And far easier. Domestic Betta splendens were originally bred for aggression levels beyond compare. Nobody cared to cross that out after fish fights went out of style.
I only once had the fortune to see wild Betta splendens in the flesh. You won't think they're the same species anymore.

There is a tank journal of a blackwater tank with wild betta somewhere here on the forum. I think it was by Joshaeus. I have seen working tanks with groups of wild betta species quite often.

 

Absolutely. And far easier. Domestic Betta splendens were originally bred for aggression levels beyond compare. Nobody cared to cross that out after fish fights went out of style.
I only once had the fortune to see wild Betta splendens in the flesh. You won't think they're the same species anymore.

There is a tank journal of a blackwater tank with wild betta somewhere here on the forum. I think it was by Joshaeus. I have seen working tanks with groups of wild betta species quite often.

Ahhh, so like flowerhorns, bred for aggressive behaviors.. makes sense the wild would be a bit more docile and less reactive.

 

Sadly you barely see wild B. splendens anymore. One more of these species that got domesticated and the wild form is rare or extinct.

So anyhow, there are several wild Betta species, that are regularly kept in groups of 3m,2f or similar combinations, comparable to smaller gourami species.

 

Supposably, one of the employees at a local Petco had a 75 gal with 3 or 4 male bettas. This was a few years ago. Never saw pics, video, or the tank myself. Did say he had a lot of floating plants and plants in general for hides. I remain skeptical, though i suppose anything could be possible, however unlikely.

 

Yes it is possible. The chance for success however is low. If I had the means and want to try would have a large surface area aquarium that is densely planted. Maybe the larger finned varieties like crowntails because they would have to expend much more energy to fight compared to a plakat would lessen the fighting. I believe the key would be having enough resources available for multiple territories. Check out The Secret History Living in your Aquarium on youtube. He has a sorority going on.

 

Sounds like a bad idea. Sororities already tend to fall apart, and the females don't have the same fight-to-the-death tendencies as the males. People generally recommend to *not* keep males and females together either, since the male tends to stress the females too much. A huge tank with tons of hiding space *might* increase your chances, but that's entirely dependent on the personality of both bettas. If either is especially inclined to keep antagonizing the other, it's not gonna work.

Maybe try one of the other betta species besides domesticated betta splendens, or some species of social gourami. Sparkling gouramis can live in groups fairly well even in tanks as small as 10g.