How Many Bettas Fit in a 10G

since my kois just died, I was thinking about taking care of some bettas, maybe even breed em. ive read that little betta guide on the forum and ive got a basic knowloedge about them. was thinking about getting 3 or 4 females and 1 male. you think theyll do ok in my 10g?

 

HI Koi

Unfortunately, it is not advised to keep more than one betta in the same undivided tank, even several females, or one male and several females. I only know of one person who has done this 'successfully' in the long term (pet shops regularly keep male and female bettas together or with other fish, but that is only a very short-term measure). The reason why I put successfully between quotes, is that he did have some deaths and severe injuries (females fighting among themselves, and males killing females) but ended up finding a balance. His tank was enormous (way bigger than a 10G) and had lots of hiding places and densely planted areas.

My advice to you would be to please not try this.

Buuuut, there are lots of really fun fish to be had in a 10G. We've stocked one of ours with 3 kulhI loaches, a dwarf puffer and a couple of amano shrimps.

 

Female Betta's should be keep in groups of 3 or more in a tank that would support them. a 2.5 really and truly is way to small for 2 Betta's and to keep them together I would think a 10 gallon would have to be used to allow them to have their own turf

I just read that post earlier today and also a friend told me that if I wanted to put bettas in a tank that to put multiple females and 1 male. he told me that its only the males that fight, but I guess he could be wrong

 

Sorry, but your friend is mistaken. Females fight amongst themselves. Bettas should be seperated, only kept together for short periods of time while breeding the male and female, but Bettas are very aggressive towards their own kind.

 

Well it's a really hot topic, keeping bettas together. You've got the die hard 'Never do it' ones, and the ones who are ready to take the risk. My point is that it's open to debate, but the general advice is: dont' do it.

It has been known to work, also in the long term, but I have to say I hear of that really really really rarely. The one person whom I trust who said it had worked for them is a professional aquarist, and he lost some males and females in the experiment until he reached the balance.

I personally find that it's putting your fish at too great odds to be harmed. So I won't be trying that anytime soon.

 

You definitely cannot keep any males betta with females....can you say murder spree. But I read if you have a large enough tank you can have more than just one...they say between 4-6 where I read but I think 4 would be enough...with some dither fish.

 

Well that's what everybody says, without trying it, and I've heard form the horse's mouth that it does not have to be a disaster. But again, am definitely not encouraging it, as I also heard from the horses' mouth that it was high in casualties until he eventually found a balance. I personally am not curious enough to cost the life of a betta or two trying.

 

Fish like other animals have their own personality and some are more mellow than others. that said I personally wouldn't be willing to sacrifice numerous Bettas until I found the females mellow enough to live together. Some female Bettas are as aggressive as males. I have had females so aggressive they killed the male. so a good balance would one male OR one female in the 10G.
Carol

 

I'd say the choice is yours. I wouldn't keep males and females together. But, just females...that's a different story.

My girlfriend set up a 29 gallon sorority tank. It has female bettas (6) and 11 neon (and glolite) tetras. The key is that the girls were purchased at the same time, and put in to the tank at the same time. There has been no aggression to date. However, I will say that they all are ready for breeding....at any time. LOL So far, the only ones that are showing breeding stripes are the ones that just tried to breed. LOL

So...if you want a bunch of **** fish...you're covered. LOL

In all seriousness, if you get them at the same time...it shouldn't be an issue. I won't say that it won't be...but we haven't had one, aside from the occasional squabble between any fish.

 

But there's a whole lot of difference in a 29G tank and a 10G tank
Carol

 

True. But, there's also a whole lot of difference between 3 females and 17 fish too. LOL

 

Well that's what everybody says, without trying it, and I've heard form the horse's mouth that it does not have to be a disaster. But again, am definitely not encouraging it, as I also heard from the horses' mouth that it was high in casualties until he eventually found a balance. I personally am not curious enough to cost the life of a betta or two trying.

That's how I feel about the males, for sure.
BUT...I am going to try 4 females in the 10g...a sorority but I will be watching them closely...to see who is picking on who. The female I have now is so small, not even an inch body wise. So I will be getting ones roughly the same size. I don't recommend adding betta to any community tank if you don't have the time to keep an extra close eye on them...I had my betta Nigel RIP do well in a 20 gallon community tank...with kribs, last year. But when I tried it this year...these kribs wouldn't leave him alone. He was also a year older and pretty big betta...so older betta may not be as receptive to a community tank as younger ones. Just like any pets really. ;D

 

Mmmmmm. Am even too nervous to try a community tank with females. Do let us know how you get on.

 

Mmmmmm. Am even too nervous to try a community tank with females. Do let us know how you get on.

I will...I am nervous about it too but I think it's possible when they are babies...BUT not in anything smaller than a 10g...they may even get a 20 gallon once I get a bigger tank for my angels again.

 

Since the original question was how many bettas could Koi keep in a 10G tank I'm still more comfortable with just one. 10G doesn't give anyone much room to hide should one of them become aggressive. Just my thoughts.
Carol

 

One betta fits in a 10 gallon whether it is a male or a female. They will fight among each other no matter what. Trust me I have tried. I do have some of my 12 gallons divided but I have had them jump the dividers and have to have the tops covered to prevent this. The 25 gallon is also divided and they get along famously because of having more room I believe and those particular bettas do seem to be more laid back and calm and they tend to ignore each other and stay to the far sides of the tank, but this is very unusual behavior in bettas. I do not want to recommend anyone to try to combine a pair of bettas without a great deal of caution or knowing the bettas ahead of time. Perhaps those who have kept bettas for a long time could try it, but even then I have heard of tragedies and very sad outcomes.

Rose

 

I'm going to have to register my vote for "only one". I hate to say it, but it's just too little space unless it's divided (at that point, it's controversial).
KeijI pretty much owns his tank, and I don't think he'd be very happy, even with a female. I maybe will be tempted to try this if I've got something large, like a 50g+ tank, but I'll be watching it closely, and will have a tank standing by for the female.
Pretty much every fish is going to need more than 10 gallon for successful breeding. Most fry don't survive the attention of their parents, so in addition to having more space, the fry should really have a separate area for themselves.
Bettas do ok with a few other types of fish, though. Otos, if you can get them to survive, or a pair of dwarf cories, would be good, in my opinion.

And, don't forget the guideline of 1" of fish per gallon of tank. For example, with five bettas in a 10 gallon tank, if they stop growing at their "average" size (and I've seen a number of bettas larger than 2.5"), you'd be over a safe bioload by about 50%.

 

Keeping females together is almost as disasterous as putting two males together. It just takes them longer to work up a really bad aggression. At first they seem to get along, then they start chasing and nipping and finally they are tearing chunks out of each other. This could take days, weeks or even months. Females get more and more aggressive as they get older. My females are more aggressive than my males. I had a 10 gallon well planted with hiding spots for 5 females and within 5 days they had to be separated quickly when a major fight broke out and several lost a lot of fins.
It is unnatural for female Bettas to live together. They do not "hang out" together in the wild and are not schooling fish. They are loners and forcing them to live together is very stressful for them. It is NOT worth the lives of several innocent females in order to find a few who "may" tolerate each other for a few months only to start fighting amongst themselves later. Each one of those females deserves a safe home where she won't be attacked or feel the need to defend herself.
One male with a couple of Otos would be great in a 10 gallon or you can get a divider and get 2 females (one on each side).

 

That's how I feel about the males, for sure.
BUT...I am going to try 4 females in the 10g...a sorority but I will be watching them closely...to see who is picking on who. The female I have now is so small, not even an inch body wise. So I will be getting ones roughly the same size. I don't recommend adding betta to any community tank if you don't have the time to keep an extra close eye on them...I had my betta Nigel RIP do well in a 20 gallon community tank...with kribs, last year. But when I tried it this year...these kribs wouldn't leave him alone. He was also a year older and pretty big betta...so older betta may not be as receptive to a community tank as younger ones. Just like any pets really. ;D

I had a bad dream about female betta last night...I am not getting anymore to put in the tank with Jewel...I'll get some ottos...there's a baby bn pleco in there that she hardly notices.

 

we've tried the sorority tank with 4 females in a 10g. it was such a bad time, we almost gave up fish keeping, it was that much of a disaster. I definitely recommend 1 betta splenden per tank.. if you want more than 1 betta in a tank, then betta mahachaI might be for you.

 

What happened, Dave? Did they injure each other?

 

we've tried the sorority tank with 4 females in a 10g. it was such a bad time, we almost gave up fish keeping, it was that much of a disaster. I definitely recommend 1 betta splenden per tank.. if you want more than 1 betta in a tank, then betta mahachaI might be for you.

I hated when my african cichlids got aggressive and were fighting...I don't want to put my fish or myself thru that again. Maybe I'll consider getting betta mahachaI someday...for now...I need to be satisfied with 3 betta lol

 

I would buy a divider, and put a male on either side of the divider...and ive heard adf's, otos, and corys do well...so you could try those

 

wow this post has gone on for a pretty long time, thanks to everyone replying and ive decided not to get bettas anymore.

 

Oh really? Tell us, tell us. Whatcha going to get?

 

maybe change my tank to a beachy oceany look with some sand few plants and get some african cichlids

 

maybe change my tank to a beachy oceany look with some sand few plants and get some african cichlids

Some african ciclids from Lake Tanganyika