It's not impossible to keep a male with females, but usually though the male will end up being to much of an *arse* for it to work. In my particular case though, I had had the male for a few years and added the female later on. I think it might have been partially age and being kept in a (eek!) bowl for a few years that might have chilled him out, but I probably also had an exceptionally mellow betta. After he died I tried a few other males with the female and I eventually did need to seperate them - I believe it was just as much because of the males picking on the female as from the established full grown female beating the males up.