# Giant Plakat in Community Tank?



## SYBettas (Oct 30, 2020)

A very helpful user helped identify my Betta as a giant Plakat. 
Originally we thought it was a female Betta and he was in a community tank (with guppies, rasboras, danios and rainbow fish), he was very peaceful and never bothered the other fish. We realised he was male when he started mating with a female Betta (in the same community tank),, which surprised us as he showed no typical aggressive male Betta behaviour. He did become dominant after he built his bubble nest so we took him out and out him in a smaller tank on his own. I am now worried he will grow too big for the smaller tank (after reading he could reach 5 inches). 
My question is, if I take the female Bettas out the community tank and put him back in, is he likely to be peaceful (as giant plakats are meant to be) or should I keep him in a tank on his own? Sorry for the long post, just wanted to give some context as he was never aggressive before he mated with the female.


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## Moo Moo (Oct 29, 2020)

Probably better to keep him on his own


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

If you prefer to have him in the community tank I say go ahead if he seems like he is being aggressive you can put him back in his own tank. What are you planning to do with the female bettas though? Sounds like it was all well until the surprise mating lol. I’m guessing you don’t want 100 baby betta fish.... I’m not sure if all giants are gentle as a whole. I do know that all bettas have different personalities and not all have dispositions for tank mates. Sounds like a judgement call to me. The females probably do really well in the community tank because of all the other fish. You put females in a tank on their own without that community it will change their dynamic/territory/pecking order so you’ll have to keep an eye on your female tank. These are just my general thoughts. So I guess my advice is think about how you want your fish set up and the pros and cons of your set up ideas.


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## SYBettas (Oct 30, 2020)

Thanks for your suggestions. I think it might be best to keep him on his own in the smaller tank. It is 22 litres and well planted and I'll get some shrimp so hopefully he'll be happy there. He's already started building another bubble nest which apparently is a sign he is doing fine.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

A Giant must be _at least_ 2.5" or 6.35 cm. This is body-only; no fins. You cannot tell by sight alone although his body type would indicate he might be one. If he is he needs at least a 10 gallon/38 litre tank for his own.

What size is the current community tank? To comfortably house a Giant the minimum a 76 x 31 x 31 cm. They need a longer than tall aquariums.

I don't know you feeding schedule but Giants, especially, need to be fed several small meals as opposed to one or two per day. I fed mine 4-5. How many pellets depends on size of the pellet.


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## SYBettas (Oct 30, 2020)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> A Giant must be _at least_ 2.5" or 6.35 cm. This is body-only; no fins. You cannot tell by sight alone although his body type would indicate he might be one. If he is he needs at least a 10 gallon/38 litre tank for his own.
> 
> What size is the current community tank? To comfortably house a Giant the minimum a 76 x 31 x 31 cm. They need a longer than tall aquariums.
> 
> I don't know you feeding schedule but Giants, especially, need to be fed several small meals as opposed to one or two per day. I fed mine 4-5. How many pellets depends on size of the pellet.


Thanks for your advice. Our community tank is 85 litres, this is where he was before we took him out. We always just fed him the same as the other fish (1-2 times a day) because we didn't know he was a giant Plakat. I only have three tanks, the 85litre, the 22 litre and a 35 litre (currently housing a half-moon male Betta and neon tetras) - I will take on board your advice and have a think about what will be best for him.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

More meals are suggested because Giants are more prone to bloat than any other types except Double Tail (DT).

If you measure and he is not a Giant his current tank would be appropriate.

Whatever he is, he's one handsome fellow.


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