# Baby Betta in my sorority turned out to be a boy



## NapoleonUWS (Apr 23, 2012)

Upgraded my sorority tank to a 29G last fall, had 5 girls in there and bought 3 babies late last fall and added to sorority... All is well, no fights, no nipping

Since then it appears that I have a male baby. He appears happy and is a member of the sorority family (he actually pals around with several females)

I know that I will have to separate him, but was wondering is there a certain "age" where they become aggressive? Nothing yet, obviously I'm watching him closely...

Anyone ever had this happen?

Never had a 'baby betta' from the pet store turn out to be a boy... always girls!


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## duskydolphin (Oct 30, 2013)

I'm curious if about the age thing too. 

A few months ago I purchased a baby that I was almost certain was female and added to my sorority. Everything was going well for about a month, until one day it was like a switch was flipped. Suddenly my little baby was pushing around my biggest female (twice his size!). Nobody was injured, all the girls could easily get away from the harassment, but my little male was unrelenting in chasing everyone down. Needless to say I removed him immediately. 

It's been a month since then and my little boy hasn't grown much, so I'm having a difficult time placing his age. When I got him he looked head heavy (as in his head was the widest part of his body), now his gut area and head are about equal size.

Look forward to hearing peoples' responses!


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## NapoleonUWS (Apr 23, 2012)

my tank is heavily planted, very easy for everyone to get away and hide...
looking forward to more responses as well!


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## panthers24 (Dec 31, 2013)

Since he has lived with them almost all of his life is there a chance that you would be able to leave him in there with them all since he has lived with them for most of his life?


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I had a situation very similar to yours where I got a group of young females and one of them turned out to be a male. 

He lived with that group for at least a year without any abnormal aggression shown towards the females. The females didn't seem to mind his presence or so I thought until one day I found him with all his fins torn off floating at the surface. He died in spite of my best efforts to get him to recover. 

I know there are very mixed opinions on keeping males in with groups of females. Some do it successfully and never have any issues, while for others like me it ends in disaster. Personally I would not ever risk my fish like that again. Bettas are just too unpredictable and you never know what is going to set them off. 

Also my tank was very heavily planted with enough space for fish to get away from each other. However, if you are a single male and a group of females are attacking you, you are going to end up the loser.


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## panthers24 (Dec 31, 2013)

How big of a tank do you need for a soriety of just bettas?


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

It depends on the number of females but I would say a 10 gallon minimum.


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## panthers24 (Dec 31, 2013)

And how many female bettas can be in a 10 gal?


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## Alphahelix (Dec 7, 2013)

^i would say a max of 10, though 6-8 is probably a better number


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

That happened to me and I never had any issues with him or the ladies so I just let them be. Although I dont recommend that.


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## NapoleonUWS (Apr 23, 2012)

UPDATE - 
I removed the boy to his own tank.
Didn't want to chance fighting or worse.


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