# Completely non-aggressive male?



## Cez (Nov 13, 2012)

So I just got this boy Pastel in rough shape, and now that he's healing he's more active. I've just put him in a divided 10-gallon and he's loving it, but while the other fish notices him and flares he does absolutely NOTHING about it.

He just... disregards the other fish entirely. I can tell that he SEES the other fish, but there is zero interest other than to gaze at it for a bit before flitting off to gaze at a shrimp or something else.

Is it possible to have a completely complacent male betta?


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## Chuckee (Nov 17, 2012)

I have a boy who is exactly the same way!
He lives right next to a female, and he flirts with her constantly, showing every iota of fin he's got (which is a lot, but it's a nearly transparent brown) and dancing back and forth in front of her. But he's never flared at her.
When I had him in a divided tank with a male plakat, he cowered instead of flared back.
But the female next to him, who's also a coward, seems to like him back. Which almost tempts me to toss them together and see what happens, but neither is suitable breeding stock, they were both rescues.


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## Cez (Nov 13, 2012)

Aah, it's so bizarre! That's adorable though. They seem like they'd be a happy couple


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## Chuckee (Nov 17, 2012)

Cez said:


> Aah, it's so bizarre! That's adorable though. They seem like they'd be a happy couple


I know, right?
They're just so gentle, it's nuts! And they're both beggars like no fish I've ever seen! 
When I walk by them, they both come close and stare at me, occasionally darting up to look at the surface of the water, just in case they missed me feeding them, and then back to staring me down. I think they try to hypnotize me. 

Ah, well. Leave it to me to end up with nuts! All of my friends have been slightly off... I had a half-blind horse who hated men and loved sad songs, a Felix (cat) who thought that he was a dog, a dog that would chase birds up into the air and a dog that followed my school bus, waited outside, then followed it home. She would also sit and have rather lengthy conversations with me and refused to acknowledge any person who even jokingly insulted her.


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## Cez (Nov 13, 2012)

Ahahaha, quirky animals are the best. Sounds like you've had your fair share!


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## Chuckee (Nov 17, 2012)

Cez said:


> Ahahaha, quirky animals are the best. Sounds like you've had your fair share!


Yeah... I wasn't just talking about my animals, but I'd say that I've had more than my fair share. My mother had a rooster who only ever attacked me, because I was the one who took too long to feed him or something and my dad had a dog that would knock us on our butts when we were heading out to change irrigation pipes, because the slap-slap-slap of our rubber boots wigged her out. Often enough she'd sit on us until an adult came to tell her we were allowed up. My youngest brother had a cat who hated having her feet on the ground and my other younger brother slept with a steer when he was 3. We also had a horse that was forever climbing on things and a goat that would come running with the dogs when we whistled.
And the neighbor's dog that came to live with us one day, no matter how many times they tried to take him home... He would always, of his own accord, go home for special occasions. 

Heh... I have had many animals in my world


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## Cez (Nov 13, 2012)

Chuckee said:


> Heh... I have had many animals in my world


Awwww! Your world sounds like an enriched one :]


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## Chuckee (Nov 17, 2012)

Cez said:


> Awwww! Your world sounds like an enriched one :]


It very much was. I've known that for a very long time.
Of course, as it's impossible to have everything, I got to miss out on many things and deal with certain things, but I'd honestly never trade it.


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## Cez (Nov 13, 2012)

Chuckee said:


> It very much was. I've known that for a very long time.
> Of course, as it's impossible to have everything, I got to miss out on many things and deal with certain things, but I'd honestly never trade it.


Mmm, I feel much the same about mine :]]]


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## JadeSparrow (Nov 9, 2012)

We had a duck that though he was a jumbo Wisconsin quail, he hated water, and walked all the way across 30 acres to get back to "his" quail. It was kinda funny


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## Chuckee (Nov 17, 2012)

Cez said:


> Mmm, I feel much the same about mine :]]]


I'm glad!


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## Chuckee (Nov 17, 2012)

JadeSparrow said:


> We had a duck that though he was a jumbo Wisconsin quail, he hated water, and walked all the way across 30 acres to get back to "his" quail. It was kinda funny


Isn't it just the weirdest thing when they do that?!


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## JadeSparrow (Nov 9, 2012)

Chuckee said:


> Isn't it just the weirdest thing when they do that?!


especially since he was raised with other ducks and a few chickens yea. We even tried to put him with a different breed of quail and he freaked out lol


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## babystarz (Aug 3, 2012)

Tikibirds actually has a male in her sorority XD So yes, it does happen, possibly more often than you'd think!


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## horsyqueen (Nov 13, 2012)

I had a male like that. Even when a male was in a seperation tank from him he didnt even bother to flare up just swam past. 
He even had a female in with him and didnt do anything.


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## Cez (Nov 13, 2012)

I love hearing about all these other calm males!

I wonder if anyone's ever tried breeding a line of non- or less-aggressive bettas. Selective breeding for temperament, rather than aesthetic.


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## Chuckee (Nov 17, 2012)

Well, I did finally give in to curiosity and toss her into his bowl. And then I fidgeted nervously as I waited for them to tear each other apart.

First, she explored the new surroundings, as he kinda floated around in apparent confusion. _"Something's not right... what's going on?"_
Then she swam up to him and flared right at him, and he kind of "jumped" a little, but she swam off right away, so he swam after her and flared at her (he has such full fins, it's a pity they're not brighter) and then hurried up to the water surface and started blowing himself a nest!
Every so often, she'd drift over and check it out, but he'd shoo her away and keep blowing and rearranging bubbles. It was a pretty good nest, albeit a small one... Short notice, I suppose.
Then they did their chase around, and they each got a nip in the fin. Then he went back to his nest and I decided that if I'm going to breed them as a pair, they will need an adequate tank.

I haven't decided yet what to do about it... :|


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## Chuckee (Nov 17, 2012)

babystarz said:


> Tikibirds actually has a male in her sorority XD So yes, it does happen, possibly more often than you'd think!


One of our local petcos had one, too. Apparently, they came in together as fry, and one was mis-sexed. They were all reds, or the fish kid might have sold me on them. Red only appeals to me when there's lot's of black with it


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## Chuckee (Nov 17, 2012)

JadeSparrow said:


> especially since he was raised with other ducks and a few chickens yea. We even tried to put him with a different breed of quail and he freaked out lol


I think that some kinds of ducks are like llamas, because my older brother had a Daffy (my other brothers had females) and he would herd his two ladies -and- all of the chickens into the coop at night. I never really thought about it until your stories, and remembering the way that llamas lord over their sheeps, I can't help but wonder if maybe it all makes sense in the grand scheme of Nature, and we've just removed ourselves too completely from it to understand why we ourselves feel the need to dote upon, and often humanize our pets


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## Chuckee (Nov 17, 2012)

horsyqueen said:


> I had a male like that. Even when a male was in a separation tank from him he didn't even bother to flare up just swam past.
> He even had a female in with him and didn't do anything.


Didn't do anything at all?
No flirting whatsoever?


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## asukabetta (Oct 2, 2012)

Chuckee said:


> I know, right?
> They're just so gentle, it's nuts! And they're both beggars like no fish I've ever seen!
> When I walk by them, they both come close and stare at me, occasionally darting up to look at the surface of the water, just in case they missed me feeding them, and then back to staring me down. I think they try to hypnotize me.
> 
> Ah, well. Leave it to me to end up with nuts! All of my friends have been slightly off... I had a half-blind horse who hated men and loved sad songs, a Felix (cat) who thought that he was a dog, a dog that would chase birds up into the air and a dog that followed my school bus, waited outside, then followed it home. She would also sit and have rather lengthy conversations with me and refused to acknowledge any person who even jokingly insulted her.


awesome, what tank are they in?? I'm curious because I was wondering if I could house sibling bettas, female and male XD


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

You can house siblings of different sexes as long as they are divided/separated.. it takes many years and generations to keep males/females together in very large tanks (speak to Oldfishlady as she successfully keeps them that way). But just buying a sibling pair won't mean they will be fine - ask any breeder and they will tell you just how long keeping siblings together lasts.. that usually tends to last a short while before needing to be separated. 

Some are more gentle when they feel secure in knowing their neighbor can't get to them.. so they don't feel the need to show off or fight for their territory. I have some that are very gentle like that, yet others who will flare at shadows. Got two sibling males yesterday from a breeder who won't stop flaring at one another. 

So it's a toss up on what personality you get.. but you can bet that putting two males together in a tank without a divider, regardless of relations, you're going to end up with two injured, unhappy, stressed fish.


Sorry.. seen a few posts today so far about putting sibling males together and it worries me that some think it will be fine - truth is, there are certain circumstances where you can attempt it, but even with the best set up it's not guaranteed and not worth the risk, imo. And I will never say it's a good idea to place males/females together unless they are divided. Again, under certain settings one can attempt this, but for the average keeper and in anything under 55g, it's highly not recommended. 

Think for the safety of the fish, and their natural instincts rather than what we would like them to be. If they were like any other fish that can live peacefully together, then they may not be the personable fish that we came to fall in love with. Would be like all other fish who don't pay us no mind.


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## asukabetta (Oct 2, 2012)

Myates said:


> You can house siblings of different sexes as long as they are divided/separated.. it takes many years and generations to keep males/females together in very large tanks (speak to Oldfishlady as she successfully keeps them that way). But just buying a sibling pair won't mean they will be fine - ask any breeder and they will tell you just how long keeping siblings together lasts.. that usually tends to last a short while before needing to be separated.
> 
> Some are more gentle when they feel secure in knowing their neighbor can't get to them.. so they don't feel the need to show off or fight for their territory. I have some that are very gentle like that, yet others who will flare at shadows. Got two sibling males yesterday from a breeder who won't stop flaring at one another.
> 
> ...


No worries XD though I find it cool that two bettas can live peacefuly, I'm not one to experiment like that. I am curious, because it¡s interesting and rare but of course as I said above. And please do not fret. I always research and ask before doing anything, I just wonder because I know someone who is breeding some lovely plakats , I have one of them.


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