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As betta fish is the most beautiful of all the ornamental fish, lots of aquarists want to keep more than one betta in the same tank. This is not possible every time because of its aggression. However, with the help of some basic knowledge and tricks, you can keep some betta fish together safely and healthily.
The male betta is aggressive and will fight against each other until one is knocked out. However, 4-5 female betta can live in a sorority tank if they are acclimated together. Having glass partitions is another way to keep bettas together in a tank. Make sure to have enough hiding places and plants in the tank.
| This answer is certified by Udipta Roy, M.F.Sc. (JRF), PhD Scholar, Aquaculture, ICAR-CIFE, Mumbai |
We know this couple of sentences may not have satisfied you. So, we have created ultimate resources for you to know whether two or more betta fish can live together or not. From this article, you are going to know how you can make this possible by taking some precautions. So without wasting time let’s dive deep into the topic.
| Note:- Male Betta fish are not recommended to keep together because of their aggression. Female betta can be kept together by maintaining some precautions. Here all tricks are acceptable for only female Betta, except the first one. |
6 ways to keep betta fish together in the same tank
More than one betta fish can be kept together if you have some basic knowledge and expertise. If you are just starting a betta fish tank you must know that the betta fish is extremely aggressive and it loves to fight against each other.
Male betta fish are comparatively more aggressive than female betta. So you need some extra precautions while keeping betta fish together. These two tricks are
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Betta condos are best to keep male betta together
Generally, more than one male betta fish is not recommended to keep together. It is because one strong male betta fish becomes extremely aggressive towards a comparatively weaker male betta. Its aggression continues until the death of that weak betta fish. Both of the male betta fish may also die too. So, it is not recommended to keep betta fish in the same fish tank.
However, there is a way to keep males in the same tank. If you use “Betta Condos”, then male bettas can live healthily. Betta Condos are considered the several glass partitions in the same fish tank. It allows betta to see each other but aggressive betta can’t attack the weaker ones. So it is much better to keep more than one male bettas in the same tank.
These betta condos can create issues too. Male bettas are seeing each other through a glass partition, means it will try to attack each other definitely. However, this can create stress on them. But this can’t occur for each and every betta. For safety purposes, you can put a 5-7 inches gap in between two partitions. But if you do not want to keep this gap then you can use mirrors as partitions instead of clear glass. In this case, the price of the aquarium will be a little bit higher. Using live or artificial plants at two sides of partitions can work well.
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Use sorority tank to keep female betta together
A sorority tank is another option to keep bettas together. However, a sorority tank is considered only for female bettas. We have discussed previously that female bettas are comparatively less aggressive than male bettas. So the concept of sorority tanks has appeared.
In this tank, a couple of pairs or five numbers of female betta should be kept together. You should not go for three or two female betta fish. If you keep three bettas then one of them will definitely be bullied constantly and after a while, it may be killed also. Now if you keep four or five female bettas then aggression and territorial nature will be spread equally. One particular fish can’t be bullied in this case. So it is recommended to keep a minimum of 4-5 female betta fish in a sorority tank.
You must know the age of each and every female betta. It is recommended to purchase female bettas that are the same age and size. If the size or age is not the same then aggression may increase again. So it is better to ask about this information to the local breeder.
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Introduce female bettas at the same time
Female bettas can be kept in the same tank. However, you must do a trick here to decrease the chance of their aggression. If you do not have a big tank (>20g), then it is not recommended to keep five bettas in a tank. A 5 or 10-gallon tank will be overcrowded if you try to keep 4-5 female betta here. In this case, a pair of female betta is enough.
Now, when you want to introduce female bettas in a tank, then you must not acclimate them one by one. It is mostly recommended to acclimate all the betta fish together for a pair. This can be a little bit tricky for beginners. You must know to acclimate the same numbers of female betta at the same time.
For instance, if you want to acclimate 5 betta fish in a sorority tank, then 3+2 is not the right acclimation rule for it. In this case, 1+1+1+1+1 is the most suitable one. For a couple of pairs, you can use 2+2 as an acclimation rule. For 6 numbers of females betta fish, 3+3 or 2+2+2 can be the right acclimation rule. This rule helps to reduce aggression between female bettas.
If you do not have a fully established tank then you must not keep more than two female bettas. A minimum of 6-9 months old cycled tank is required to keep more than a pair of female betta fish.
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Use densely planted medium-sized aquarium
Lots of aquarists want to keep more than one betta fish in a nano tank and that’s why plantation is the most required here.
According to the expert, the aggression of betta fish increases when they see each other clearly. Heavy plantation helps to reduce the sightings of them and automatically aggression has been reduced with it. So for a nano tank, it is mostly required.
Generally, betta fish come from shallow and pond water. So you can develop a natural pond condition by keeping live plants. If you add driftwood then automatically the pH level will be reduced just because of driftwoods leach tannins. Soft and black water is good for female betta fish. So if you want to keep more than one female betta then having a heavily planted tank is the most important.
A nano tank can be a curse for inexperienced fish keepers because of the fluctuations of water parameters. Ammonia, nitrite, pH, the temperature can fluctuate frequently. This has the ability to kill all the animals in the tank.
Now your fish tank is heavily planted, it means the chances of these fluctuations will be reduced drastically. This is actually good for betta fish because betta requires a stable fish tank to thrive.
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Medium/big sized (>20g) aquarium is most recommended
Lots of aquarists keep betta fish in a 5-gallon tank. However, this tank is not suitable for betta fish. A single betta fish requires a minimum of a 10-gallon fish tank.
Now if you want to keep more than one or two female betta fish then you must purchase a minimum of a 30-gallon tank. According to experts, female bettas are less aggressive than male bettas. However, it is partially true. If they do not get sufficient space then female bettas can be aggressive like males too. So you must provide enough space and heavy plantations in the fish tank.
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Juvenile betta can be kept together
Juvenile bettas are less aggressive and these can be kept together. An adult betta grows up to 3 inches long. If you have a betta which length is less than 3 inches, it means that the betta has not grown yet. You can keep these with other juvenile bettas.
To know whether the betta is adult or not you can measure this with a scale. But it is a little bit tough to measure from outside the fish tank. You must know that male adult fish always have long and beautiful tails. However, juvenile and female betta do not have long tails. To be sure you can ask the local pet shop about it.
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What will happen if a female Betta is kept with a male betta?
A male betta is more aggressive than a female betta. Male betta will try to nip that female fish. Due to frequent attacks, female betta will be stressed enough. It will definitely die due to insufficient hiding places. However, during the breeding period, male bettas build bubble nests to mate with females.
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Can two female bettas live in a small tank?
Female betta can live in a nano tank. However, it is not recommended because insufficient space may create unnecessary aggression among female betta. Besides this for beginners, it is difficult to maintain a nano tank. The frequent fluctuations of pH, ammonia & nitrite can increase the stress of female bettas.
A minimum of 10-gallon tank is required to keep 1 betta. However, you can see lots of aquarists keep a betta in a 5-gallon tank. This is not a way to keep betta healthy. For 3 female bettas, a 20-gallon tank is enough.
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In my experience, the aggression level of each and every female betta is not the same. Crown tail female and veil tail female bettas are incompatible with each other. It is because of the high aggression level of the crown tail female betta. My veil tail betta was attacked several times. However, it was alive just because of enough hiding places in my tank.
Do not keep any shrimps or snails with a female betta. Crown tail female betta will make them evening snacks for her.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can recommend not doing any kind of experiment if you do not have much experience in fish keeping. All of these tricks may fail if the species is aggressive in nature. There is no hard and fast rule to keep betta fish together. However, if you have experience then you can understand the fish behavior quickly and can take precautions.
However, if you still want to keep more than two betta fish together, then using betta condos is the most suitable option. Besides this, a heavily planted medium or big-sized tank is recommended to keep female bettas together.
So best of luck & happy fishkeeping 🐟