# Female betta with mollies



## Siobhan (Nov 11, 2013)

I have a 10 gallon tank that houses two mollies, a dalmatian and a potbelly. They also had a female platy with them, but she died yesterday, leaving only the two of them. The platy was aggressive and picked on the mollies, but they're both pretty mild-mannered and I was watching them tonight and thought maybe I could put my female, Belle, in with them. Their heater works better than hers, and she was in a 2.5 gallon with a couple of snails for company. 

I moved her in and they were curious but not aggressive. She looked them over and they looked her over, but there didn't seem to be any problem other than a little posturing, so I left them overnight to see if they'd get along. Will this work, do you think? I have four tanks total, another 10 gallon with some black finned platies (mom, dad and two babies) and a 5 gallon with a male betta, in addition to this one and Belle's small tank, and it would really be nice to consolidate.


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## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

Most livebearers (including mollies) will do just fine with Betta male or female. You will want to watch for a few days and make sure there are no fin nipping but I would bet you won't find any.


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## Tattoo Tippy (Apr 13, 2015)

I have been wondering this myself thank you for posting. I have a 10 gallon community tank and every time I see these Bettas in those tiny cups (especially at my LFS?!) it breaks my heart and I want to save one so bad but I keep wondering if putting a betta in my community tank is a better home for the Betta? I have a few guppies, cories and a forktail blue-eyed rainbow in this tank. My goal for al my fish (including future fish) is that I provide a better home for them then what they are currently "stuck in" at the pet store. Any thoughts here are much appreciated


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## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

I keep all my Betta in community tanks. To me I think they are happier when they can swim and interact with other fish. My community tanks that have betta also have guppies, endlers, cory cats and plecos. Never had a issue with them. So if you see one that is really nice and you have room go for it add them to your community tank. 

Word of caution when the betta has been in the cup they are pretty weak, don't just throw them in a 55g community tank and wish them luck. You need to let them stay in a 10g for a few weeks to allow them to swim around and build up their strength. This will allow them to swim to the top of the tank easier and allow them to move around the tank safely. 

Don't want to get off topic but the Betta is one of the easiest fish I keep in my fish room. The "Betta attitude" is way over blown.My point is only you know your fish, watch them learn to tell what they like and want. This will allow you to know if you can keep your fish with others or if they need to alone.


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## Siobhan (Nov 11, 2013)

I've had Belle for a few months and she has recovered nicely from the tiny cup. Her color has deepened to almost a navy blue, with red highlights in her fins. She's quite gorgeous and my male would really like to get to know her. LOL But he's in his own tank and there he is going to stay. The girls seem to be getting along this morning, so I'll probably dismantle Belle's little tank after work, move her two snails into the same tank, and keep her little tank in case I need a hospital tank. With all four tanks occupied, I didn't have anything but a one-gallon bowl to use for a sickroom, and that's far from ideal.


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## InsertCheesecake (May 6, 2015)

Do fin nippers get along? because my little Nomi keeps getting nipped on by my (moms) group of pencil tetras. Nomi keeps in defense and hides behind a fern-looking plant as his home. But when he goes out he starts to flare and they try to hit and run or hit and nip. (no seriously they do hit each other.)


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## Tattoo Tippy (Apr 13, 2015)

Thank you both so much! I have a 10 gallon just perfect for a Betta Reading that they wouldn't swim well due to the cup makes this a must for me. The pet store had rigged them in even smaller cups then Walmart tortures them in and had a piece of airline in each 8ozs of water making some of them not be able to even be upright?! The image of those poor fish have been haunting me everyday  I am now on a mission  Hey who said this was addicting hahaha.......


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

10 gals are great for Bettas, however not so much for the mollies. Mollies grow up to 5 inches each, the regular ones at least, and so they need at least 20-30 gallons or space to swim in ideally. They also poop a crap-ton lol, seriously though, they do! So definitely make sure you're using your gravel vacuum to clean that gravel out thoroughly each week!

I'd like to point out that most Betta's do not spend a whole heck of a lot of time in those cups, yes, there are those couple few that do spend more time there than others if they aren't picked up right away. But most stores restock their shelves weekly or when they run out. The average "wait" time for a Betta in a cup is about a week, sometimes two weeks if the store isn't in a busy area. Prior to that, they do spend about 24-48 hours in small shipping bags, but before that, they are at the breeder's place and have a jar to swim around and are flared. They don't have huge muscle masses like river dwelling fish do, so you don't need to let them "build" up their muscle before letting them out in a big tank. Yes, don't put them in a river type tank with a huge filter on it! but they will do just fine in larger tanks if given plenty of plants to hide in and out of!

On the subject of housing Betta's with other fish, it can almost always be done. Sometimes you'll get a Betta who is just too aggressive and he or she will actually kill off every fish you have, othertimes, you get fish who are too aggressive to your Betta. Like InsertCheesecake, it sounds like your Betta is getting bullied by those Pencilfish, I implore you to remove him from that tank before he get seriously hurt. If he's hiding all the time, then he's stressed out and that's not a good environment for him unfortunately. Do you have the bare minimum of 6 pencilfish? They are schoolers of course, schoolers always need at least 6 in their group or more to be healthy. But stress always leads to disease; regardless of the fish.

I don't mean to degrade anyone here, I just wanted to point some things out is all. Fish keeping is a big hobby!


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## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

I agree with lilnaugrim about the pencils tetra nipping the betta, you need to get that issue worked out because it will stress the betta out. Some times adding a few more fish will keep there aggression on their own kind but that doesn't always work. I would remove the betta, stress will cause a lot of issues including shorten life span. 

I also agree lilnaugrim fish keeping is a big hobby and we all need to make sure I fish are happy. Every fish it a little different and we need to make sure we learn to "listen" to what they are telling us so they are happy and healthy.


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## Siobhan (Nov 11, 2013)

I've had my mollies for longer than I've had Belle, and the dalmatian is less than 2 inches long, while the potbelly is about half that. They've grown a little since I got them, but not much. The tank has two big plants, a skull hidey, and a plastic cherry blossom tree with ample room in the top for hiding and and open bottom for playing hide and seek in, which the mollies like to do. I think the three of them can comfortably share the 10 gallon tank, but I agree heartily that you have to watch your fish and know them well enough to notice if they're unhappy or stressed, and fix whatever's upsetting them. We're all they have.


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## Tattoo Tippy (Apr 13, 2015)

Well I now have a Betta too Haha  He has a wonderful personality so far. I am very happy with my choice. After at least an hour of getting him acclimated to my tank water I put him in a breeder net to see his reaction to his new tank mates and he is doing awesome if you ask me. I put some plants in there with him and even got him to eat and he looks very happy, healthy and comfortable with his new home. Lets see how the release goes....I set up a 5 gallon on standby just incase he does not do well (another perfect reason to set up another tank) I never thought setting up "just one" tank would lead to this  It is a big hobby that's for sure I love it!!!


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yes, fish grow. You can look on any site and see that they grow 4-5 inches. I own a Dalmatian myself and he's huge, bigger than my Pearl Gourami. While you can raise them in a smaller tank, I sincerely implore you to either, buy a bigger tank, or find them a new home soon. While I realize that we're not made of money and rehoming a pet is never fun, you should do your best to provide your fish with the best care you can. That goes for anyone, not just you of course.

There are things you can do, like look on craigslist (USA) or kijiji (Canada) and sometimes free tanks pop up! Or kits that are cheaper than a brand new tank. You have to watch out for old and cracked tanks of course, but you can find some real good deals on there sometimes. Also, PetCo has their dollar per gallon sale three-four times a year, it just ended unfortunately but it will be back around come fall time.

And of course, there are plenty of fish that can thrive happily in a 10 gallon, there are a gajillion of microfish you can keep (I primarily keep microfish while my best friend tends to keep much larger fish, not quite Monster fish like Arowanas, but close!) and that will get along just fine with Betta fish. Again, just a general announcement to all, not directed any anyone in particular at the moment.


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## Siobhan (Nov 11, 2013)

I have a second 10 gallon that until this morning had two adult black finned platy fish and two babies who are about two months old. Would my male betta be okay in there? I wouldn't want him to bother the babies. The female platy has been poorly for about a week and died overnight, so now it's just the male and the babies.


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## Tattoo Tippy (Apr 13, 2015)

I just released my Betta into the community tank this morning and I am watching him like a hawk  I have a one month old female guppy in there and so far he had paid no mind to her. I just put up a new album in my profile called Community tank with Betta Check it out if you would like too and see his new tank mates. This is a first for me and as everyone said each Betta is different but so far I am thrilled! I do have a 5 gallon up and running incase this little hope of mine falls through.


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