Female Bettas DO FIGHT!!!

Iggy

Iggy

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#1
Jun 25, 2003
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I went out for the day with my daugher, and when I came back, my wife told me that she found Shelby somehow got over the divider into Ruby's side. Anyway, she moved Ruby over to the other side once she noticed (Shelby was hiding) and that was that.

Well, I got home and noticed Ruby was ALL TORN UP! She had huge bites out of her beautiful long fins :(

I immediately filled-up the last remaining hole, which is only a 1/2" feeding slot between them, which is already well above water line, but obviously not high enough.

Damit! Now Ruby is going to take weeks if not months to heal. Hope she does not get any infections. Damit Damit!!!!

So, if anyone is wondering if female bettas do fight, the answer is most definately YES!!!
 

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PreciousGems

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Mar 11, 2003
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Sorry about your females. I have never had any problems with mine. Someone who bought 4 females from me did have a problem with her females too. 2 of them lip locked each other, and the lady said that it was the most fierce fighting that she has seen. Try some melafix for the ripped fins. I got so mad because a big female beat the heck out of my most beautiful male. His fins are still ripped.

Alexa
 

Iggy

Iggy

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Jun 25, 2003
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There is no such thing as a NON-FIGHTING betta. Bull-squat! Sure, a tank full of females will likely have less fighting than say 2 or 3 females, but over time, you better bet your lunch that someone in that tank will get their fins ripped up.

And mixing males with other males or males with females is the dumbest ass idea I have ever hear of, unless you WANT to kill off a few fish. Even very young bettas are very agressive. I guess if the tank is big enough, and they REMOVE ALL THE DEAD BODIES OVERNIGHT, sure, go for it!

I apologize because I am still pretty pissed about my girl, but the reason I keep them divided is because I knew they would fight, and TA-DA, one of the jumps over an tears the crap out of the other one.
 

Colisa lalia

Colisa lalia

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Oct 22, 2002
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Non fighting bettas do exist, but they are not the kind of betta you're thinking about. There are mouthbrooding bettas in the wild that live in big schools, and if the males fought they would all die, so...they only fight during the breeding season for a place to breed and hide when they are brooding their eggs. If you have the space some can be fairly good beginners fish. On the other had some are some of the most difficult to fish to keep.
 

Iggy

Iggy

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Jun 25, 2003
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Are we talking about betta splendins or something else? The betta's I know and love are not mouth brooders, and I have never heard of any other 'betta' fish that is one. Perhaps a cousin or related fish?

Regardless, if the average person walks into a fish store and asks for a 'betta' and get a couple males, stick them in a tank, they will fight to the death sooner or later. If they get only a few (2-3) female 'bettas', they will also likely fight if the tank is smaller.

Lets make sure the beginners know this, betta SPLENDINS (AKA Siamese Fighting Fish) WILL and DO fight, male or female.

If your going to get females, get more than 3 and give them room to hide when the alpha female gets agressive.

This is the 3rd time I have seen females fight. For gods sake, Shelby PURPOSELY jumped the divider to attach Ruby. You cannot get much more evidence than that. So far, no infections are appearing on Ruby (thank god!)
 

Iggy

Iggy

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Jun 25, 2003
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Thanks, so far 3 out of 3 times I had females in an undivided tank, they have fought. I get them at the same time, never seperate them, and they have fought. I get them from tanks full of females (12-30), and once they have a bit of their own space, they get territorial. I got females from 3 difference sources, they all fought sooner or later.

I guess my purpose for posting is to make sure people are aware that females can be just as territorial and aggressive as males. I am sure there are exceptions, but be prepared to seperate them at any time with a divider or seperate tank!

Thats one of the things that plague bettas as a pet fish, you should only have 1 in an undivided tank. I mean, you can buy loads of guppies or mollies or almost anything else, but bettas need to be kept apart. Everyone who has a betta is tempted to mix them, and it keeps poping up on this board... "What can you mix with a betta".

So, for all you new betta owners, keep it simple. Get 1 betta per tank (or per divided space), add a lot of decorations and get a seperate tank if you want to keep other fish. And remember, bettas can (an do) jump, so keep it covered!
 

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PreciousGems

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#9
Mar 11, 2003
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Yep, mouth brooders are a type of betta. They are not the type of betta you normally think of though. Infact, most betta species are very rare and expensive. The most common ones that people can have access to and afford are Betta Splendens, Imbelis, and Plakats.

Alexa
 

lizwinz

lizwinz

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#11
Oct 22, 2002
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#11
betta imbellis ARE peaceful, males wont really fight each other...they are harder to find then splendens but are not rare to the point that you cant find them if you know where to look... theyre bubblenest builders just like betta splendens

http://www.ibc-smp.org/species/imbellis.html

from what i understand plakats really arent a different species, they are the wild form of splendens

mouth brooding bettas - http://www.ibc-smp.org/articles/mouthbrooder.html

even though there ARE non fighting bettas, unless you know what to look for it would be very easy for the lfs to pull one over on you...i wouldnt trust anything labeled at a lfs as peaceful bettas unless i personally KNEW thats what they were

--liz:)
 

Iggy

Iggy

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#14
Jun 25, 2003
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Finally a thread worth reading (;))

If someone where to read this from top to bottom, hopefully they will come to the understanding that bettas are not just one type of fish, that mixing most common betta splendin males or females together may lead to fighting, and that you better know your species of betta before you try

I know I did learn a bunch of new stuff (thanks lizwinz for the helpful and clarifying references), so thanks, sorry if I came down on anyone, I was fairly upset about Ruby.
 

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