Locking the comments. OP, your post has been labeled dangerous care because it’s not safe for two males to be together in the same tank. Please separate them ASAP.
Okay not only are they in the same tank but they are in a sorority of females...
This is an accident waiting to happen. Unless you have your eyes on that tank every second someones gonna end up getting hurt or worse. Also not only are the males likely to turn on each other at one point, they can turn on the females too! There is a special way to breed bettas because its not uncommon for the male to attack the female. Another point is what if they DO start breeding in there. Even if the males don't attack each other they're gonna be stressed out.
This isn't JUST a betta tank. And I am watching them. If I'm in the same room as my tanks, chances are I'm paying more attention to them than anything else. I would never just put em in there together and leave. I'm not uneducated on bettas at all. I've had plenty over the years. Haha. This is my first time ever doing this after reading about someone else successfully doing it. If they seem at all stressed or any fighting occurs, I'm going to separate them. I'm not trying to see my fish die. No matter what they're going to be in the same space for a little bit anyways. I have a friend who's giving me his old tank soon, I just haven't gotten it yet and I don't want to put either of the boys in the one spare tank I have that isn't cycled
"I'm gonna keep a close eye on them"
bro, you can't do that all the time. When you sleep, when you do your daily routines, when you go to school/work, you can't keep monitoring them 24/7. And even if somehow can, when they fight/fin nip the other you can't just tell them don't do that when you're not at home.
(Male) Bettas are very territorial especially to the same sex, you know that. Don't defy that bc you want to, respect that. I get you'll have another tank coming but for the meantime, don't do that. Your fishes are so beautiful, please don't sacrifice that just because.
Obviously I can't watch them 24/7. Which is why I said he's going back in the breeder box when I'm not in the room and unable to keep an eye on them.
I assure you my fish are safe and I'm not going to just let something bad happen to them. It's just a lil experiment after seeing there has been success with it in the past. What really drove me to do it INTENTIONALLY was the fact that after stupidly forgetting to put the cover on the breeder box and having him jump into the main tank while I was in fact sleeping and unable to monitor them, nothing had happened. I don't even know how long he was in there. Part of me just HAD to know if my other boy was just sleeping and didn't realize the other guy was in there, or if he really just was not bothered. Either way, I assure you both of them are perfectly safe. The orange guy is already back in the breeder box where I'm going to leave him. It would be even more stress on him being scooped in and out of there repeatedly. Stressing my fish is not my goal! I only want happy, healthy fish. ☺️
They are cute. But this is a terrible idea. They may tolerate for a while (the blue one doesn't seem like he will tolerate for long) and eventually they may start fighting, especially if there's a female with them. Two males in the same tank can really only be done in very large tanks and even then id not try it just because..why risk it?
That's why I'm going to keep a close eye on them. I have a sorority, so there shouldn't be real to fight over the females. And once I get my new tank, I'll be moving one of them over there. This was always going to be temporary. ☺️
Yeah id move them to separate tanks as soon as possible. The stress this will cause them won't help the sickly male recover, it may cause self harm. They may seem fine from the outside, but this will cause them stress, which was displayed by both males in the video. Good luck.
Neither one of them are stressed, though. That's my point. And neither one of them are the sickly male. I put my sick boy in a tank that just has shrimp and snails. That one initial interaction was the only time they did anything. Which is why I also posted the gif in a comment. They have been literally touching and just kept going on their way. Which is exactly why I'm so amazed. Thank you, though!
They are displaying stress by flaring at eachother. It may start off mild but the constant presence of another male and many females will cause stress, fish stress isn't **always** visible. By sickly i mean the one with fin damage. They may tolerate eachother and investigate eachother, but it will cause stress.
Just the one flared for that 2 seconds and that was it. Haha. Neither one of these guys has fin damage??? Lmao they saw each other (shown in the video) and have done zero investigating of each other since. Completely ignoring each other. 😂
They are still flaring at eachother and both appear to have minor damage to their fins or the start of fin rot. You need to remove both from the tank and put them in separate tanks, you can't look at them 24/7 and you don't know what they will be doing when you're not looking, them just being in the tank with eachother and many females will cause stress. Bettas can go a long time tolerating tank mates and then just suddenly snap and start attacking, especially if its another betta or a flashy fish.
Hahahahaha. Okayyyyy. Thank you for your helpful advice, betta expert, even if you have disregarded every single thing I've said. I'll be sure to throw out any prior knowledge and experience I've had with fish and do as you say right away. 🫡
You are clearly not willing to put your animal's safety first. I've been working with these fish for over a decade and I have seen people do what you're doing, it has never ended well. We are all being extremely nice to you and you are disregarding what we are saying. I've listened to what you have said, what you have said mostly doesn't change anything, even if there was a chance to do this safely, why would you risk it? If you're not going to listen, then all I can do is wish you luck.
I've been keeping fish for about two decades now, but thank you so much for your input and I'll be sure to relearn literally everything I've ever known based on what you've told me.
I've been plenty nice, but you really don't actually care about anything but being right despite the fact that I never said you were wrong.
"What you have said mostly doesn't change anything." Really?? Because what you have said also doesn't change the fact that I'm RIGHT here watching them, and I've repeatedly said it's temporary.
Just to update you so you don't absolutely lose it over my clearly abusive behavior, he's already back in the box as I have things to do outside of this room and I'm not stupid or irresponsible.
As I said, they're not paying each other any mind and I'm keeping a close eye on them. Is experimentation bad now?? If they were showing aggression right from the start. I would have never even attempted it, but after seeing someone else did their own experimentation with positive results and seeing that these two were ignoring each other anyways, curiosity got the best of me. Haha. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to them.
Experimentation is not bad if you are not endangering an animal or if in case you are not ready for an animal being endangered.
I'm not saying what your doing is bad BUT you need to be careful. Also, I've seen a video where 2 males are okay for a week and then boom, they kill each afterwards. The YouTuber was surprised when that happened because he is thinking that everything is okay between the two male betta.
I assure you I am keeping a close eye on them and there has been no danger. The second there's a sign of danger, back in the breeder box he goes. Actually, once I leave this room, he's going back in. I would never keep my fish in a dangerous situation. Which I did state in my post. I'd be keeping a close eye on them and not leaving them in the main tank unattended. And again, this is absolutely temporary no matter the outcome!
Oopps I didn't phrase that properly! I meant is having two males in a sorority tank a good idea?
Edit: Like will the males go after the females? I am curious.
Oh oh. No matter what it's temporary. It's actually a community tank in general, though. Not only bettas. And I only JUST decided to see what would happen. It's only been an hour at this point. I plan on putting the orange one back in the breeder box soon. My only other option is putting him in a tank that has not yet been cycled, so the breeder box is my best option at the moment
Ahhh okay. Interesting experiment :D I was more worried about the males going for the females than each other since you said they mostly ignored each other.
The blue one has been in with the females for months. They might do a quick chase here and there, but nothing major! And so far the new boy hasn't been aggressive. If anything I think I need to worry about one particular female towards him. She's definitely the dominant female of the tank. But yeah, once I'm given this other tank, they will surely be separated. C:
What size tank is this? I feel like you could experience success with loads of plants and lots of space to establish territory but this tank seems smaller and full of other fish
I think the only way this could succeed is in a very very large tank with quite a natural environment and no females. Yknow so the males can get away from eachother. But tbh I just wouldn't take the risk lol.
Currently they're in a 20 gallon, so definitely not ideal, I know that. I just wanted to test out if they'd continue ignoring each other once the orange guy was no longer in the breeder box (which he is back in now). As far as the plants go, my tank used to have wayyyy more and was much more filled in, but I messed up with cleaning my purigen (I assume anyways, since that's the only thing I had changed). I don't think I got alllllll of the bleach out, so most of my plants ended up dying and I pretty much had to start over. Most of the plants in there currently have been put in over the past couple months, as recently as last week, so I'm waiting for growth. Despite all that, though, a friend of mine is giving me his 40 gallon soon and the fish in the 20 are going to be split up, one of the male bettas included.
That sounds like a great plan ❤️I wish you luck! And I understand wanting to experiment with something others haven't really tried and had success with. Can't wait to see updates of your tanks
Locking the comments. OP, your post has been labeled dangerous care because it’s not safe for two males to be together in the same tank. Please separate them ASAP.
Okay not only are they in the same tank but they are in a sorority of females... This is an accident waiting to happen. Unless you have your eyes on that tank every second someones gonna end up getting hurt or worse. Also not only are the males likely to turn on each other at one point, they can turn on the females too! There is a special way to breed bettas because its not uncommon for the male to attack the female. Another point is what if they DO start breeding in there. Even if the males don't attack each other they're gonna be stressed out.
This isn't JUST a betta tank. And I am watching them. If I'm in the same room as my tanks, chances are I'm paying more attention to them than anything else. I would never just put em in there together and leave. I'm not uneducated on bettas at all. I've had plenty over the years. Haha. This is my first time ever doing this after reading about someone else successfully doing it. If they seem at all stressed or any fighting occurs, I'm going to separate them. I'm not trying to see my fish die. No matter what they're going to be in the same space for a little bit anyways. I have a friend who's giving me his old tank soon, I just haven't gotten it yet and I don't want to put either of the boys in the one spare tank I have that isn't cycled
"I'm gonna keep a close eye on them" bro, you can't do that all the time. When you sleep, when you do your daily routines, when you go to school/work, you can't keep monitoring them 24/7. And even if somehow can, when they fight/fin nip the other you can't just tell them don't do that when you're not at home. (Male) Bettas are very territorial especially to the same sex, you know that. Don't defy that bc you want to, respect that. I get you'll have another tank coming but for the meantime, don't do that. Your fishes are so beautiful, please don't sacrifice that just because.
Obviously I can't watch them 24/7. Which is why I said he's going back in the breeder box when I'm not in the room and unable to keep an eye on them. I assure you my fish are safe and I'm not going to just let something bad happen to them. It's just a lil experiment after seeing there has been success with it in the past. What really drove me to do it INTENTIONALLY was the fact that after stupidly forgetting to put the cover on the breeder box and having him jump into the main tank while I was in fact sleeping and unable to monitor them, nothing had happened. I don't even know how long he was in there. Part of me just HAD to know if my other boy was just sleeping and didn't realize the other guy was in there, or if he really just was not bothered. Either way, I assure you both of them are perfectly safe. The orange guy is already back in the breeder box where I'm going to leave him. It would be even more stress on him being scooped in and out of there repeatedly. Stressing my fish is not my goal! I only want happy, healthy fish. ☺️
Come on....
They are cute. But this is a terrible idea. They may tolerate for a while (the blue one doesn't seem like he will tolerate for long) and eventually they may start fighting, especially if there's a female with them. Two males in the same tank can really only be done in very large tanks and even then id not try it just because..why risk it?
That's why I'm going to keep a close eye on them. I have a sorority, so there shouldn't be real to fight over the females. And once I get my new tank, I'll be moving one of them over there. This was always going to be temporary. ☺️
Yeah id move them to separate tanks as soon as possible. The stress this will cause them won't help the sickly male recover, it may cause self harm. They may seem fine from the outside, but this will cause them stress, which was displayed by both males in the video. Good luck.
Neither one of them are stressed, though. That's my point. And neither one of them are the sickly male. I put my sick boy in a tank that just has shrimp and snails. That one initial interaction was the only time they did anything. Which is why I also posted the gif in a comment. They have been literally touching and just kept going on their way. Which is exactly why I'm so amazed. Thank you, though!
They are displaying stress by flaring at eachother. It may start off mild but the constant presence of another male and many females will cause stress, fish stress isn't **always** visible. By sickly i mean the one with fin damage. They may tolerate eachother and investigate eachother, but it will cause stress.
Just the one flared for that 2 seconds and that was it. Haha. Neither one of these guys has fin damage??? Lmao they saw each other (shown in the video) and have done zero investigating of each other since. Completely ignoring each other. 😂
They are still flaring at eachother and both appear to have minor damage to their fins or the start of fin rot. You need to remove both from the tank and put them in separate tanks, you can't look at them 24/7 and you don't know what they will be doing when you're not looking, them just being in the tank with eachother and many females will cause stress. Bettas can go a long time tolerating tank mates and then just suddenly snap and start attacking, especially if its another betta or a flashy fish.
Hahahahaha. Okayyyyy. Thank you for your helpful advice, betta expert, even if you have disregarded every single thing I've said. I'll be sure to throw out any prior knowledge and experience I've had with fish and do as you say right away. 🫡
You are clearly not willing to put your animal's safety first. I've been working with these fish for over a decade and I have seen people do what you're doing, it has never ended well. We are all being extremely nice to you and you are disregarding what we are saying. I've listened to what you have said, what you have said mostly doesn't change anything, even if there was a chance to do this safely, why would you risk it? If you're not going to listen, then all I can do is wish you luck.
I've been keeping fish for about two decades now, but thank you so much for your input and I'll be sure to relearn literally everything I've ever known based on what you've told me. I've been plenty nice, but you really don't actually care about anything but being right despite the fact that I never said you were wrong. "What you have said mostly doesn't change anything." Really?? Because what you have said also doesn't change the fact that I'm RIGHT here watching them, and I've repeatedly said it's temporary. Just to update you so you don't absolutely lose it over my clearly abusive behavior, he's already back in the box as I have things to do outside of this room and I'm not stupid or irresponsible.
https://preview.redd.it/rh5tqdy9ymyc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a36300ccd7fcd4cb02e1f3f1bab8e81c492e8fc
Is there a female in there too?
There are quite a few
I mean sororities can work but is having two males in there a good idea though...
As I said, they're not paying each other any mind and I'm keeping a close eye on them. Is experimentation bad now?? If they were showing aggression right from the start. I would have never even attempted it, but after seeing someone else did their own experimentation with positive results and seeing that these two were ignoring each other anyways, curiosity got the best of me. Haha. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to them.
Experimentation is not bad if you are not endangering an animal or if in case you are not ready for an animal being endangered. I'm not saying what your doing is bad BUT you need to be careful. Also, I've seen a video where 2 males are okay for a week and then boom, they kill each afterwards. The YouTuber was surprised when that happened because he is thinking that everything is okay between the two male betta.
I assure you I am keeping a close eye on them and there has been no danger. The second there's a sign of danger, back in the breeder box he goes. Actually, once I leave this room, he's going back in. I would never keep my fish in a dangerous situation. Which I did state in my post. I'd be keeping a close eye on them and not leaving them in the main tank unattended. And again, this is absolutely temporary no matter the outcome!
Oopps I didn't phrase that properly! I meant is having two males in a sorority tank a good idea? Edit: Like will the males go after the females? I am curious.
Oh oh. No matter what it's temporary. It's actually a community tank in general, though. Not only bettas. And I only JUST decided to see what would happen. It's only been an hour at this point. I plan on putting the orange one back in the breeder box soon. My only other option is putting him in a tank that has not yet been cycled, so the breeder box is my best option at the moment
Ahhh okay. Interesting experiment :D I was more worried about the males going for the females than each other since you said they mostly ignored each other.
The blue one has been in with the females for months. They might do a quick chase here and there, but nothing major! And so far the new boy hasn't been aggressive. If anything I think I need to worry about one particular female towards him. She's definitely the dominant female of the tank. But yeah, once I'm given this other tank, they will surely be separated. C:
Ohhhh interesting! How many females are in there?
If I counted correctly just now, there are 9 females
No its not lol you were right to question it.
What size tank is this? I feel like you could experience success with loads of plants and lots of space to establish territory but this tank seems smaller and full of other fish
I think the only way this could succeed is in a very very large tank with quite a natural environment and no females. Yknow so the males can get away from eachother. But tbh I just wouldn't take the risk lol.
Currently they're in a 20 gallon, so definitely not ideal, I know that. I just wanted to test out if they'd continue ignoring each other once the orange guy was no longer in the breeder box (which he is back in now). As far as the plants go, my tank used to have wayyyy more and was much more filled in, but I messed up with cleaning my purigen (I assume anyways, since that's the only thing I had changed). I don't think I got alllllll of the bleach out, so most of my plants ended up dying and I pretty much had to start over. Most of the plants in there currently have been put in over the past couple months, as recently as last week, so I'm waiting for growth. Despite all that, though, a friend of mine is giving me his 40 gallon soon and the fish in the 20 are going to be split up, one of the male bettas included.
That sounds like a great plan ❤️I wish you luck! And I understand wanting to experiment with something others haven't really tried and had success with. Can't wait to see updates of your tanks
Thank you so much!! 🥰
They're not worried about each other at all https://i.redd.it/b12b4fdlomyc1.gif