pinkfairy 0 #26 August 6, 2007 Quote Quote One tip. NEVER put two males in together. They will immediately try to KILL each other! .... Actually, putting two males together is not that bad. A friend of mine and some of his buddies got drunk one night, thought it would be an awesome idea to put two male bettas together to watch them "duke it out." About two hours later, they got bored watching them do nothing, so they put the other one back in his original tank. Quite uneventful to say the least. Well, the aquarium books say that two male bettas will kill each other pretty fast, but generally fish don't read books, and therefore can behave quite unpredictably. I have, however, lost a very pretty red veitail male betta to a couple of aggressive gouramis. If I'd researched better, that could have been avoided. If literature and other fish owners tell you that two male bettas in a small tank is a bad idea, it probably is. They may not kill each other immediatly, as observed above, but you generally want pets that lasts longer than 2 hours. Even if they don't rip each other apart at once, they can peck at each other's fins, and one will probably end up bothering the other to death. That's what happened to my betta. Better be safe than sorry. That's why I recommend a cover for the tank. Bettas jump. It is likely that he'll jump out at some point, even though the plant does help. I definetely recommend a tank. Not only because of the fish, but if you gave him, say a 2.5 or 5 gallons tank with a small filter, it will be a lot easier to maintain and keep clean. It looks better too. I have a 100 gallon tank at home, with only small fish in and a lot of plants, and it's no problem for me to go away for three weeks. The tank is clean and the fish are healthy when I return. Well a 5 gallon would require a little more maintenance the 100 gallon, but it's the same principle. The fact that your fish is spawning is a good sign. I hope you get to keep him for a long time. Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet. I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sharimcm 0 #27 August 6, 2007 I had some red tetras in a tank with a betta until I noticed the betta's fins were getting nipped at. I moved the tetras to a different tank and gave the betta his own 29-gal tank. He evenutally went to fishie heaven, but he was a happy, healthy fish for months after I moved the tetras. As for the betta I have now, he's in an enclosed tank with lots of room for swimming. He wasn't looking very well when I bought him (looked like he had ick), but after a few weeks of tank cleaning, he seems to be doing fine. I bought him in December, so I must be doing something right. "I had a dude tip his black cowboy hat to me after I provided him with a condom outside my hotel room at 3-something in the morning." -myself Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pinkfairy 0 #28 August 6, 2007 Last time I bought some fishies was 2 years ago. Not only do mine live long, they spawn, some of them successfully.Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet. I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
virgin-burner 1 #29 August 6, 2007 i have a friend that wants to get rid of his pack of piranhas? anyone interested?“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.” -Hunter S. Thompson "No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try." -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RkyMtnHigh 0 #30 August 6, 2007 Quote Quote I got a Beta Fish about a week ago and have been really careful to not over-feed him, check the water temp, and change and condition his water, but today I noticed excess bubbles in the top of his bowl next to the new philodendrum plant that I added to his bowl. I was worried that I had a sick fish on my hands, but found this article: http://www.nippyfish.net/bubblenests.html Looks like the bubble nests are a sign that Mr. Fishie is happy, healthy, and horny! Get him a mirror so he can check himself out from time to time. I tried the mirror idea today and he kept swimming away from it. Perhaps he's *shy* _________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #31 August 6, 2007 Quote Quote Quote Looks like the bubble nests are a sign that Mr. Fishie is happy, healthy, and horny! Get him a mirror so he can check himself out from time to time. I tried the mirror idea today and he kept swimming away from it. Perhaps he's *shy* I remember a co-worker who kept a beta fish in a tank on her desk. Another co-worker had a fake bass fish mounted on a plaque or something. Well he took that fake bass and held it right up to the beta fish tank, and that beta went apeshit! Funniest thing I've seen, even if it was a little mean! "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RkyMtnHigh 0 #32 August 6, 2007 Chris read somewhere that startling them isn't a good idea, therefore I try to move really slow and be gentle when changing his water. _________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
