If female bettas are kept in the same tank as a male betta, the chances are that over time the male betta may get it into his head to breed. He will begin to make a bubblenest and will become extremely aggressive toward any fish that comes anywhere near the bubblenest. Even a 20 or 30 gallon tank will suddenly become much too small for your male betta’s aggression – all his tank mates will be cowering behind plants at the other side of the tank if they want to keep their fins.

Many betta keepers do have both male and female betta fish together in larger community tanks; just be aware that if your male decides to breed, you’ll need to move him to his own space.

More than one female betta can be kept in a community tank. You can have as many female bettas together as you want, so long as you’re not overcrowding. The female bettas may squabble and may occasionally tear one another’s fans but their aggression will be significantly less than their male counterparts, and it’s highly unlikely any of them will ever suffer serious damage.

Pros and cons of a betta alone

One betta in a bowl is the easiest set up for an aquarium. Most of this book is focused the best conditions for having one male betta in-a-bowl. The pros of keeping a single male betta in a bowl (or tank) are:

1) you won’t need a filter

2) you can go away for up to a week without having anyone care for your betta – he can go on a one week fast with no problems

3) cleaning the bowl and doing water changes is much easier

4) the single betta bowl is likely to take up much less space than a community tank, so you can have one in an office or even the tiniest apartment

5) small one betta bowls are inexpensive to set up and maintain

6) silence. Single betta bowls don’t need filters, so you don’t have to put up with the noise of the pump and the gurgling water. If you’re working near your betta bowl on a regular basis, or if you’re sensitive to noise, having that silence may make the difference between wanting the fish and not wanting it.

Cons off having a single betta in a bowl are that

1) you can’t have any many fish (of course) and schooling fish can be fun and relaxing to watch,

2) a single betta in a bowl is not as luxurious as a full planted tank that’s significantly larger than your little 3 gallon setup

3) smaller tanks give your betta less room to move around

4) smaller tanks need to be cleaned more often

5) smaller tanks are more susceptible to sudden changes in temperature, which can stress your betta enough so that it gets sick.

Pros and cons of bettas in a community tank

The pros are that

1) you can get a bunch of different fish (keep reading for appropriate tank mates for bettas

2) you can get a larger tank, so your betta can have more room to move around

3) larger tanks need cleaning less often, and aren’t as suspectible to sudden temperature changes

4) larger planted tanks look nicer and may give you more of a sense of actually being underwater.

Cons of having a betta in a community tank are

1) you may need a second hospital or quarantine tank because if one fish gets sick its much easier to maintain the quarantine tank than treat all the fish in the tank at once. Many fish treatments will harm plants, and some will kill off all the bacteria in a tank, including the good bacteria you worked so hard to culture.

2) betta fins tend to get nipped, sometimes by even the most placid of fish, so your betta may get banged up a bit by the other fish in the tank

3) you will have more maintenance work to do with a larger tank

4) larger tanks are more expensive to setup and maintain

5) if you need to go away for a few days, you will have to ask someone to look after your fish.

Bettas are great pets for people who like to travel. Unless you’re going to be gone for over a week, you don’t need to give your betta a second thought before you leave (of course, you’ll clean their tank, right?). A betta will be fine if its not fed for a few days. Even up to 10 days is not a problem.

Bettas with live plants in their bowls will have it even easier than plantless bettas, as a betta will happily pick at the algae on the plant in their bowl for a little snack now and then.

When you get back, up to a week or so later, don’t overfeed your fish or you may make them very sick. Do a light feeding the first 1-3 days, then return them to their usual feeding schedule.

Think of the whole vacation as a fast for your fish.

Weekends & Long Weekends

Don’t worry about your betta. Check the heater before you leave to make sure your betta is warm. Also clean its tank. Don’t leave any of those “vacation feeder” blocks – they’ll make the tank an unholy mess, and probably overfeed & under-nourish your fish.

Short vacations – less than a week

Don’t feed at all. If you’re going away for less than ten days, your betta can just go on a long fast and be fine. If it has a live plant in its bowl, so much the better, as it will nibble a bit on the plant in the interim.

Long vacations – more than a week

For long vacations, have someone feed the fish at least every few days. Because your betta sitter is so likely to overfood your betta, it’s a good idea to measure out the appropriate portion for each days food in a little plastic baggie, or have specific instructions like “4 freeze dried blood worms a day- NO MORE”. That way there can be no confusion, and no guilt for your betta sitter. Again – definitely avoid the vacation fish food blocks offered at the pet stores – they will only make the tank dirty. The food in them is low quality and really won’t do a lot of good for your fish.