Bettas a.k.a. Betta splendens or the Siamese Fighting Fish are one of the more popular freshwater fish from the gourami family and are native to Thailand.
They were discovered in the still waters of canals, rice paddies and floodplains in Thailand’s Chao Phraya river basin and they have been kept and bred since the mid-19th century and are known for a few things.
For one, they are considered a designer fish and there is no doubt, they are very beautiful fish.
They are also anabantoids, which means they can breath atmospheric air as they have a unique organ called the labyrinth. This helped this fish thrive in low-oxygen water conditions.
Bettas are also known to be territorial and males attack each other and because of this, there are few who breed these fish for fighting. Similar to how some breed roosters to fight or dogs to fight (which is so messed up!) and there are those who do the same for fish.
Many will recommend to never have a betta together primarily due to aggression. And if you do have them together, primarily what you see on YouTube are all females aka betta sororities. But even, that’s not 100%.
But since I was in college, I have owned betta and I have had a male and female together in a 20 gallon tank with other fish. But back then, my goal was to breed Betta. So, I’ve have had a betta in a community tanks and now have them in my large Amazon tank.
I have had opportunities to observe what works, what doesn’t work and I’m going to tell you how I do it. How I do this, works for me. But it’s also not cheap and it does require commitment and personal responsibility and to care for these fish.
- Big Tank – I highly recommend a 36 gallon or more (I recommend more). The bigger the better!
- Water Changes – Providing good filtration and also weekly water changes are very important (granted, this is regardless if you have big or small community, water changes and good filtration is needed). I have a tank to allow this but I have three large sponge filters and in the center, I run a Marineland 400 Emperor. But water changes plays the most crucial part of having an aquarium, especially if you have a lot of fish in the tank. Also, having water test strips and ammonia test strips are important!
- A Lot of Live Plants – I have many live plants in my Amazon tank, and around the big stem plants like my Amazon Swords, I have a lot of Hornwort. The importance of plants is that they need to know that they can escape easily if they want. I have to say that the plants play the biggest role in having many Betta. There are some Betta who like to swim around but many who like to stay around the live plants. I have the live plants throughout the aquarium but the left and right is where the hornwort and Lucky Bamboo are in place. The Lucky Bamboo helps hold the hornwort in place without drifting. I also have a lot of Amazon frogdip. This helps prevent the light from being directly on the Betta areas but giving light to the plants.
- Great Lighting – If you own live plants, you will need great lighting to make sure the plants thrive. I run three lights to make sure the live plants thrive. Lighting is very important for the plants. But as Bettas prefer less light, this is where Hornwort and Amazon Sword Plants and other plants become important.
- Have Community Fish inside the Tank – Where Lake Malawi Cichlid Tank Owners overstock to reduce aggressiveness, what you need to do is use schooling fish and peaceful community fish to distract the Betta. I have Danios, Platy fish, Molly fish, Rasboras and Guppies (DO NOT add Dumbo Ear Guppies – I have many guppies, but I do know that in my experience, the main guppy that tends to get picked on by Bettas, especially female bettas are dumbo ear guppies) and you can add other schooling fish. The Danios will pretty much swim around like schooling fish towards the center, pregnant guppies and platys like to stay around the live plants. And thus they keep the Betta fish preoccupied. This is where you will see the behaviors of your Betta. Some who like to interact and swim with the other fish and those who prefer to stay inside the plant areas. The other is Corydoras. I have albino corydoras and panda corydoras and they are probably the only fish that will go in the Betta’s territory but never get messed with. And for those that are wondering, yes… shrimp are fine if you provide a lot of hiding places for it.
- Feeding the Fish – I believe feeding my fish different types of food. With the schooling fish, I will give them their food, but knowing the Bettas like to stay near the plants to chill, I then put Betta food, flakes or mini-pellets (that sink), as Bettas are not going to rush for the food as quickly as the schooling fish.
- Temperature – I keep my temperature of my aquarium set to 77-78F utilizing a heater. For Betta and many tropical fish, keeping that temperature works very well.
- Quarantine – Like with other fish….quarantining your fish is important. Because unlike regular fish, Bettas are kept in small containers, living in their own waste. You don’t know how long they been in there and have been suffering. I’ve been to pet stores where I feel I wanted to rescue a beautiful Betta but know enough, if the water is brownish and not clear, that Betta is not going to live long.
- Observation – A lot of observations on behavior is important when introducing Betta to the tank. I also take a lot of macro photos which will tell me if there has been any signs of nipping or injuries to the Betta. One of the things you will notice is Betta quickly letting one know who is the dominant Betta of the tank. I’ll have five male Bettas surrounding the dominant one, but each know their place of who is the boss and keeping a distance. In the beginning, there is gill flaring but after the alpha male is known, they stop flaring. They know who is the boss and try to co-exist with the Betta. Another observation is seeing if they are able to swim around the tank.My male and female bettas who are able to swim throughout the tank seem to do better than those who don’t. The ones I worry about the most are those who stay at the bottom versus those who stay at the top. Or those who have finrot the following day. This is very important to observe. Those you do have concern with…get them out into another tank.
- Not all Bettas are Equal/Prepare to have another Tank – Even if you have a large tank and have a lot of plants, you will notice there are some Betta who are active in searching for food or getting food. You will have a few Bettas who are more frightful and doesn’t like to swim around. You will need to prepare that if certain Betta is sluggish or too scared, then they will need to go to a different tank. Because this will affect them in the shortrun. I’ve learned that the ones that are thriving, are the halfmoons vs. the veiltail or crowntails.
Now for those who are wondering about the fish I get, there are only two fish which I was willing to pay a lot for. Others, I looked for Betta I wanted to rescue from their cup, Betta for their colors and Betta females that I can get cheap.
But overall, I have less than a dozen, male and female and for the most part, they are doing just fine in one big tank. It’s best to have them all in the tank at one time. With that being said, For what I’m doing, it’s something most people would not want to spend a whole lot of money or time on.
It’s not cheap, it’s not easy but it can be done.
Have I had to worry about aggression? Because my tank is heavily planted, the majority of them prefer to be around the Hornwort. If one gets close to Kekoa, he lets them know when he doesn’t want his space invaded and he follows, they leave. If they go into his area, he’ll come from behind and they leave.
In addition, if there was aggression, there is always a smaller fish that are in the area, primarily Neon Tetras, juvenile guppes, platy fish or corydoras swimming around and these fish may be nearby or right between them that their attention has changed towards another fish that they can’t really catch.
Which is easier a fraternity or sorority or both? You will view a lot of YouTube videos of people focusing on Betta sorority, I can easily tell you right now, have more male than female in my tank. The worry is aggression in a Betta tank that one will kill the other. But if you keep your tank heavily planted and have smaller schooling fish or community fish in the tank to distract them, it helps minimize the aggression. Also, not all Bettas are equal. Some are more aggressive, others are not.
In fact, I have a few Betta that are not like my other Betta that like to swim with the community fish. Snow, my white Betta and another
A female who hangs out with the Neon Tetras and swims like she is part of the school. It’s unusual but its really interesting when you see those things happen.
There is a video I do recommend because they actually give good advice as they are passionate about Betta and that’s KGTropicals. Please check out their video:
Do I recommend having a lot of them? No. But if you have the means to do it, it can be done. It requires a bit more work and you need to observe a lot and have a backup plan.
But for me, especially during these covid times, having an aquarium of things I love to watch and see, has brought happiness and calmness to my life and it’s all worth it!
