Female bettas

FreshyFresh

Superstar Fish
Jan 11, 2013
1,337
23
38
East Aurora, NY
#1
I think I've got a new favorite fish! Had to take a detour yesterday into Petsmart for cat food and of course had to peek at the fish. I hate to promote the "fish in a cup" phenomenon , but I couldn't resist a little red/grey female betta for $2.99.

What a great fish! She's loving her new home in my 55 with a few tank mates. Very funny to watch her cruising all around. Nice thing about the females is you can add is many as you want as far as I know.
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#2
I agree - they are great fish! BUT remember they can be territorial and so you need to watch them carefully when you add more. If you search carefully you will find they do come in many colors - my best source was Wal-mart - and cheaper too. I have found them in red, white, yellow, blue and kind of shades of black or brown. At the moment I only have two - a blue and a red and I had to separate them - one to a tank, but I am sure I will try again. I think it might work better getting 3 or 4 at a time, but then I never have seen that many at once that I want.
 

FreshyFresh

Superstar Fish
Jan 11, 2013
1,337
23
38
East Aurora, NY
#4
Stopped into Petsmart again tonight for furry critter supplies.

Uh-oh! Female bettas on sale for $0.99!!!

3 of them came home with me for the 55. The little red female betta that's been in there is doing great with her tank mates. So far so good with 3 more of her kind in there too.

I've got a purple/blue one a white-orange one and a white-red one. They are TINY compared to the red one I've had for just under a month.
 

FreshyFresh

Superstar Fish
Jan 11, 2013
1,337
23
38
East Aurora, NY
#6
I'll try to get some pics. The darn platys and mollies swarm you right at the camera, FEED ME... FEED ME.

So far OK with the 4 female bettas in this community 55g. The (larger) female that's been in there for awhile is being territorial to the other 3, but they've all got places to get away from each other.
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#7
Sounds like a great group! Just keep an eye on them (as I know you will) in case they start ganging up on one. It would be neat to have a whole group in one tank because there are so many different colors and some are kind of iridescent. There is a very short period on sunny days when the sun and the betta are in exactly the right place my red betta just seems to jump out and glow!
 

FreshyFresh

Superstar Fish
Jan 11, 2013
1,337
23
38
East Aurora, NY
#11
Just an update...

So far the 3 new female bettas have settled in nicely to their 55g habitat. They're a lot of fun to watch. Each has a different personality and each of the 4 has kind of staked out their own rest area in the tank. The female that's been in the tank for weeks can be the most aggressive (she is the largest), but they all deal with each other with little drama.

The tiny honey gourami is very mild mannered and has absolutely no issues with them. Just another fish to the gourami. This in contrary to many folk's suggestions over at another site.

Here's my stocking list in the 55g:

4 zebra danios
2 mickey mouse platys
2 mollies
1 honey gourami
4 female bettas
3 siamese algae eaters
1 koi angel
2 mystery snails and some ghost shrimp.
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#12
I had always heard a lot of negative info on the female bettas also, but I agree with you. Enough room is probably the biggest thing - after all - they definitely aren't schooling fish. I think male bettas get a bad rap too because so many people call them Siamese Fighting fish or just "Fighters". I am sure if you have them in a small tank and put another fish in - they will fight to protect their territory, but given the room they just go with the flow.

After being on this forum this long I have noticed there can be aggressive individuals in almost any of the species that people return, rehome, or separate. You just need to pay attention.
 

FreshyFresh

Superstar Fish
Jan 11, 2013
1,337
23
38
East Aurora, NY
#13
My stocking is complete in my 55g, so I hope the betta girls remain a happy family. I hate to jinx myself, but they're all super polite to one another so far. They are an absolute delight to watch, are colorful and not really a fish you see every day in groups or community tanks.

The other thing you read about online is people complaining their betta wont eat this, or wont eat that, doesn't like flow in the tank, etc.. I've not experienced ANY of that. Sure they're a little awkward in the tank at first, going from the cup to a tank, but w/in a day or two, these fish are totally transformed into a much better critter. They gobble anything that drops into the tank, just like their tank mates and they will become strong and fast swimmers.
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#14
I totally agree with you Joel. I had heard that mirrors wouldn't work either, but I have had mirrors on two of my tanks - with bettas - and never had any of the bettas flare. Actually I have had a couple of mollies that for a couple of days be attracted to the mirrors but they soon got over it and I have seen the bettas enjoy playing in the bubbles, in fact they seem to enjoy when I am changing water to get in the thick of the current. IME the important thing is to have enough room in the tank for the type of fish and just the shape of the tank can make a difference - long vs high.
 

Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#15
The other thing you read about online is people complaining ... doesn't like flow in the tank
Exactly right, FreshyFresh! Its like one of us being a couch potato and then not being able to keep up with jogging in the park with experienced joggers. Little exercise (small cup) and they don't have the ability to swim well AT FIRST. But given time, they will get stronger!