I thought Bettas killed eachother..

Jul 10, 2003
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#1
My brother and I each had one betta for eachother (both males)...They were in seperate tanks from January until June. We had put them in our new 55 gallon tank (which we got in June) and for a couple weeks, they were alone. But I was always told, never put 2 bettas in the same tank, especially if their male, or they'll kill eachother. It's been one month, and no problems among them. Even when we added more fish to the tank, still no problems. I thought Bettas were supposed to kill eachother??? LOL:D
 

Mar 11, 2003
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I suggest you seperate them ASAP. One day you will know why people said that. That wasn't a bright idea to begin with, I don't know what would make someone want to put 2 siamese fighting fish, that they were TOLD not to put together, in the same tank. Please remove them. From one betta owner to another, do whats best for your fish. They do fight, and I don't want someone getting the wrong impression by this post.

Alexa
 

Iggy

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Jun 25, 2003
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#3
Take one out or put a acrylic divider with holes in the tank. You are rolling the dice here, I have had female bettas that got along fine until one day the dominate one decided she wanted more territory and chased and bit the other two constantly until I seperatedd them. Are you saying they never flare or fight at all, or just that you allow them to untill one backs down?
 

revfred

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Jun 21, 2003
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#6
You will be headed for trouble when they discover one another. I think the big tank helps them maintain the territorial space they need. I've found Bettas to be pretty much individuals . . . so maybe . . . just maybe they will be OK .... But I wouldn't push it.
 

catfishmike

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Oct 22, 2002
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#7
in the wild betta steak a peice of territory and defend a certain area around it,when another male comes too close the defending betta will flare and procede to chase off the other male.ususaly the offending male gets the hint and leaves.in the confines of an aquarium,things change.often the space on betta occupies is very simalar to a cichlid,a large amount of the tank.which means that one betta rules the tank.in a very heavly planted and decorated tank sometimes two bettas can coexisit because they can't see each other.keeping two bettas in the same tank can be done but i HIGHLY suggest that you don't.bettas also have the annoying habit of being very peiceable fish and then one day they snap and turn into terrors.
 

Jul 10, 2003
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#8
what i'm saying iggy is that they never fight at all..sorry if i got anyone confused...actually, they get along quite well..better than i've ever seen fish get along..they swim side by side all day long, they don't bother eachother or other fish....its the weirdest thing...they have adapted better to the 55 gallon than when they were in the smaller one...i thank you all for your advice and concern, but i'm going to leave them in there for a little longer considering they are getting along so well...and if i see any hint of jealousy or agression or anything like that, i'll remove one immediatly..thanx
 

#11
um...are you SURE they're males???
I'm not saying your lying or anything...but it doesn't sound very believable!:eek:

I would take them out even if it seems they get along...one day you will be sorry that you didnt' just play it safe when you come out and find one, if not both, dead and floating.

Is it really worth the risk? I know they seem fine, but as mentioned, sometimes they snap. If you love the guys, PLEASE separate them.

Also, they might not fight, but they could be stressing each other out, which may lead to disease. And, if they aren't fighting per se, but are occasionally tearing each other's fins, they could get infected. I think you are playing russian roulette with the little guys :(
 

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Mar 11, 2003
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#12
They might just be young and haven't fully developed yet. I have 2 5 month olds that look full grown, but when I tried to spawn them, they got along perfectly. And I have 40 some 3.5 month olds that are just starting to look like bettas, that get along fine too (although they are ALL seperated into their own jar until I can send them to their new owners). But when they get older, their instincts strengthen and they become more territorial. Faith at bettatalk.com said that there was an experiment done to see if bettas could co-exist peacfully, if given enough room. 2 bettas were placed in a lake, and instead of trying to swim away from each other, they proceded to attack each other, even though they had MORE than enough space to live happily.

Alexa
 

ArkyLady

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Jun 20, 2003
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#14
I think they have different temperments for certain as well. I have some males that will flare at a mirror within a second of seeing it and I have some that will sit there looking at it like "What do you want?" and rarely ever flare at it.

It's possible that you have two that are just very peaceful, but I agree that some day they'll snap. Perhaps once they reach sexual maturity if they're young or just for some unknown reason.
 

Jul 10, 2003
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#15
yeah i'm totally positive their both males...i would take everyone's advice and remove one or both bettas from the tank, and i believe everyone about the fact that the bettas may be nice now, but can later snap, but for now, they seem to be best buds. mine tends to show off to the other because mine has very bright colors and is a little larger, and the other one may be a little jealous or afraid, but they don't ever do anything to threaten or scare the other one. you may be right that they may still be young, but i will make sure to keep everyone's advice in mind, although for now, i am leaving them in the tank. i know that sounds somewhat mean, but until i see any trouble, i think their fine. but again, thanx to everyone for your advice, and i will keep it in mind!
 

Jul 10, 2003
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#17
no i don't want to see what happens, i just want to see how long they can live together peacefully..we add more fish to the tank all the time, so i want to see how they adapt to other fish, different kinds...they are in a room where we can constantly see them, so the second one snaps, we can remove him before he does any other damage...i know its a situation to be worried about, and every day we keep close watch on them, because this kind of thing has never happened before. but thank you for your concern, and i am really keeping your advice in mind. but basically, i posted this message to just, let people know that its weird that my bettas would be so nice to eachother( i first found the situation somewhat odd and funny), but it seems more people are more concerned about it than i am, which is odd considering no one else i have told about it seems this worried. I didn't mean to come off as rude at any point, and i didn't mean to give anyone the wrong impression if i did. but again, thank you for your advice.

Its almost as if they were meant to live together. When they were in seperate tanks, they hardly did anything, but now that they are together, they are more interesting to watch, and more fun to watch. So I think that maybe some bettas prefer to be together and some don't. Like, maybe younger ones prefer to be together or vice-versa. But like I said earlier, I'm sure that as they get older, that's when they'll probably snap. Again, Thank you for the advice, but this has turned out to be a bigger situation than I imagined. My family and I, honestly, have no reason to be concerned. If you could see the way these fish get along, you would understand what I mean.
 

Gomer

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Apr 25, 2003
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#18
no i don't want to see what happens, i just want to see how long they can live together peacefully..
I predict that on day when you are asleep at night, they will fight to the death...and you will realize what a bad idea it was and that you should have REALLY listened to the advice that was given over and over.

I don't get why newbies ignore the advice others....escpecially the experienced ones (which I am not).