# 1 Male and 5 Females in 10 gal tank



## momof2girls (Apr 5, 2013)

Hi Everyone,
So my 13 year old daughter has had 1 male betta in a 1.5 gallon filtered tank for about 6 months now. We went to Petsmart this afternoon and were looking at possibly getting another betta and putting them in a larger divided tank. She started talking with one of the salespeople and asked about breeding bettas. The salesperson told her that she should get 5 females and put them in a 10 gallon tank with the male betta. So now we have 5 females and a 10 gallon tank. I've told her she needs to wait at least 24 hours from the time she sets up the 10 gallon tank before putting any of the fish in it. Now that I've read so more on the internet and this site about it, I am concerned that she may be in for serious disappointment and possible heartbreak when she combines the 5 ladies with the male betta. Should I tell her to just forget it and return them all to petsmart so that she does not have to witness a potential bloodbath. Or is there a possibility that the 5 ladies can peacefully coexist with the one male. I don't really think that any breeding will take place, I am more concerned that they just don't kill each other. BTW, my daughter has paid for all of this with her birthday money, I just don't want to see her waste her money and all of the fish end of dying in a massive fight. Can anyone give us some guidence here or has my daughter bitten off more than she can handle?

Thank you.

Cathy


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

the girls can live peacefully as a sorority, the male is fine in his 1.5. If you get a second tank like the 10 gal, that can be the spawning tank. OR! Get another 1.5 and take all but one of the girls back, and use your 10 as a spawning tank.

Male bettas are very territorial, and the male would harass the females while he tried to build a nest, then defend a small corner in a small space from 5 invaders that would be after the eggs and fry. The females would possibly gang up on him and kill him.


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## bettacrazygirl86 (Jan 21, 2013)

The salesperson was way wrong! I typically don't believe a word I'm told in Petsmart/Petco. I only partially believe the employees at my LFS. It's not safe to house one male with ANY females. They will likely kill each other. The girls are more likely to gang up on him and kill him than each other though.

Your options are either keeping him in his 1.5 gallon and putting the 5 girls in the 10 gallon together, or putting him in the 10 gallon ALONE (or divided with another male or divided with a female) and returning the girls.

Breeding bettas cannot be done in a 10 gallon. They may breed, but there's a special way of doing it, and it requires a lot of research. I love bettas, but I'm too afraid to try breeding, to be honest.

If she wants to keep the girls, just make it a sorority and put the five girls (NO other fish, other than the 5 girls) in the 10 gallon. The male can stay in the 1.5. If she really wants to put her boy in the 10 gallon, dividing it is the only way.


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## JacquelineAmber (Jan 30, 2013)

It doesn't sound like such a good idea. Breeding bettas is a long complex process than you think. The idea of having five females living in a tank together is realistic. Your ten gallon tank must be heavily planted though. This would be called a betta sorority. Putting in the male would be a "no no". He would most likely nip at the females and cause them enough stress where they could die. Even if you were to put them in and the male would spawn with one of the females. You know you'd have to take out all of the females and eventually the dad once the fry become free swimmers. So you'd need to rehome all of the fishes. 

When you breed bettas you need several things you can't get from your local petsmart. Such as a sponge filter, Indian almond leaves, and micro-worms to feed the fry since they are incapable of eating regular betta food. It's not even a good idea to breed bettas that haven't been properly conditioned. 

If your daughter really would still like to breed, and keep her bettas I'd suggest her looking up how to maintain a sorority first, and keeping her male betta in his own separate bowl. Then researching more on how to breed bettas and getting the proper betta equipment


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## valen1014 (Jan 20, 2013)

JacquelineAmber said:


> It doesn't sound like such a good idea. Breeding bettas is a long complex process than you think. The idea of having five females living in a tank together is realistic. Your ten gallon tank must be heavily planted though. This would be called a betta sorority. Putting in the male would be a "no no". He would most likely nip at the females and cause them enough stress where they could die. Even if you were to put them in and the male would spawn with one of the females. You know you'd have to take out all of the females and eventually the dad once the fry become free swimmers. So you'd need to rehome all of the fishes.
> 
> When you breed bettas you need several things you can't get from your local petsmart. Such as a sponge filter, Indian almond leaves, and micro-worms to feed the fry since they are incapable of eating regular betta food. It's not even a good idea to breed bettas that haven't been properly conditioned.
> 
> If your daughter really would still like to breed, and keep her bettas I'd suggest her looking up how to maintain a sorority first, and keeping her male betta in his own separate bowl. Then researching more on how to breed bettas and getting the proper betta equipment


Exactly what I was about to say =] Breeding bettas is a great experience but it also takes a lot of work and money. Getting them to breed is just half the battle, she will need to get a bigger tank for the babies to grow in and then need to separate all the males when they start attacking their siblings. Even if she only gets few offspring, 5 more males = 5 jars = 5 more water changes. Then she'll also have to worry about what she's going to do with them, how many she'll keep and whom will she give the rest to. I suggest she returns them for now (unless she wants to set up a sorority then she'll need lot of plants and covers), do research on all the things needed to breed bettas, and then decide if she really wants to do it or not. 

But please don't put the male in with all the females. Either the male will end up killing some females or the females will gang up on the male. It's just a no-win situation =[


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

As mentioned, that is a very unwise thing to do.. that salesperson was not thinking at all and had no knowledge of keeping bettas, let alone breeding them.

The 5 girls *may* be fine together.. or you may end up having to separate some into their own tanks at some point - whether be a few days or a few months - as females are just as aggressive as males and don't always like to live together.

Don't add in a male as it's just going to end up dead as the females will attack him and kill him. 

Make sure you set the tank up properly for multiple females - as females are aggressive as males (they aren't territorial like a male, which makes it more possible that some can co-exist together).. make sure the tank is heavily planted - want tall and mid sized plants front to back with at least 3 lines of sight broken - [ '.' ] to help females being chased get away. Sometimes you see pictures of people's sororities with little to no decorations/plants.. but that is just a bit risky and for a 13yr old, I would try to get the tank as close to perfect as possible to make keeping a sorority a much easier/smoother experience.

Make sure she is aware that with 5 girls her tank is pretty much stocked, adding any more fish your bettas will start to feel cramped/trapped and will lash out. 

It's doable, and I really wish her luck as owning a tank is great - my first ever tank I got when I was 11-12 and I'm thankful for it. Just in the future, take what you hear from Petco/PetSmart employees with a grain of salt.. and then come home and research before committing. Will save a lot of heartache in the future when it comes to keeping fish. 

You are welcome to ask any questions about keeping bettas.. we are happy to help


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