Female Bettas - question

[Celura]

I have a 2g mirrored tank that I kept Sushi and then Alex in for awhile (both males). Sushi couldn't have cared less about the mirror, but it stressed Alex out really bad. I came home the first night and he'd lost all colour and was lethargic. I bought him a new 2.5g tank last night and now he's fine. He's regained all colour and is his normal, playful self.

I've never owned a female Betta, but I did see a couple that I liked at the LFS the other day. I know you can keep a couple of them together as they're not as aggressive as the males, and are usually kept in community tanks. I'm interested in possibly breeding them with my males one day, and was curious how they deal with mirrors. This is a nice tank and I would like to put it to some use. Can I put a couple females in there with some plants for hiding and what not and not worry about them stressing out with the mirror like the males do?

Thanks for your input.

 

[Leopardess]

Glad he's happy again

As for the females, they can be quite aggressive. I know some have personalities just like the males and will kill each other or any other fish they come across. It really depends on the female. If you keep some together, I'd say it'd have to be a largish sized tank with several females.

Don't know how they do with mirrors but my guess is that they don't care all that much?

Breeding them can be fun, but it is a big chore. They can have 350 babies at a time! And, of course, the males need to be separated once they begin to mature - which means a possibly 150 separate one quart containers. Then, you run into the problem of where to sell them to. Most LFS's won't take them because they've got enough of their own - and because they are so common (and cheap) there isn't much of a demand for them. There are a couple of posts on this with a lot of info if you look...I don't know where they are lol.

If you are seriously interested, I'd only suggest breeding "breeder" quality bettas. Check out www.topbettas.com.

Oh, and I know you only said "someday" but while I'm thinking about it (and for others reading this who may be thinking the same thing), bettas should only be bred once someone does all of the research on it, because if you're not familar with the little signs that the fish make, the male is very likely to kill the female.

You could always just get one female for that sized tank (I would not put more than one in). They're really pretty and look so feminine...as far as fish go. I love my female

 

[Celura]

Thank you for all the information. This would definitely not be something I would undertake until got moved this summer, got settled, and did tons of research on. I wanted to see if it was possible to keep them first, then maybe use them for breeding later if I was so inclined.

I don't even know that I would want to make a profit on them, honestly. I'd mostly do it for the love of the fish.

Thank you for the input!

 

[Leopardess]

Yah, I was thinking more along the lines of just being able to "get rid" of them. It can be harder than one thinks!

 

[Bwana]

*sadistic brother's suggestion*
Betta fighting tournament


Note: This was my brothers suggestion, not mine. I would never do that. I'm sure no one else who actually cares about fish would do this either.