Bettas together and living Peacefully

Wow, so I don't know if anyone has ever done this before. But okay for awhile I've have my betta named Aurora in my big 55 gallon, and he absolutely just loves the huge tank. And I had another betta in a small tank. I noticed the other day that he was getting depressed and just not eating as much as he used to. So I thought...a huge 55 gallon tank, with lots of seperate areas to claim as your own..just maybe they'd be able to live in it together. So I put him in and watched of course for awhole day. And to my great surprise, they are living in it without fighting!:D

Once and awhile there were a few occassions where they met face to face and just flared their gills a little. But they never went after each other. And now its been way over a day and they are even going to the top and eating by each other without caring. Its amazing and awesome! I think they can do it because of how much space they have in the tank.

Please I hope no one bashes me or anything, but I tried it and so far its working brilliantly and they aren't fighting or trying to pick fights. They are just both living happily in there.

I'm really sorry but one day you will end up with hurt/dead betta or two. I would suggest that you keep the other male out and just get him a buddy in another bowl/tank to flare at if you think he needs company. I just don't want to see them get hurt. It might not be today or tomorrow it could be next week or even next month.

I'm afraid Christmas Hamster is correct. That's why they call them Siamese Fighting Fish.

Christmas Hamster is 100% correct.No matter how big the tank and how well they seem to get along.They will fight and both could end up hurt and/or died.Only female bettas can live together and even they will sometimes have fights.But alot of people on the betta forum I visit have great female comminty tanks.If I remember correctly Christmas Hamster is one of them.
If you think your other betta is mopey maybe you could put a mirror by his tank for a few mins.each day and let him have fun flaring or get him a new plant or decoration.

I also have a one male/multiple females community tank (Betta's really love to be in a big tank with lots of space!) and that works out great, although there is a lot of struggle between the girls...

I never have tried two males together but I don't think I will try. Maybe it's possible that you can divide the tank in two with a divider of some kind? That will still leave them with lots of space...don't think flaring all the day of getting stressed because there's another betta will help with the life-span either...

My friend has 2 male betta's living together,

They have been living together for like a year & a half now, they seem ok.

They are in a huge tank with a few golsfish, they do flare up but never fight.

I geuss you are taking a chance so maybe it is best to keep them apart.

It has been known to happen that two male bettas will get along ok but it's always a risk. They may even get along for several weeks or months, and then one day one will challenge another over territory, food or whatever, and that will be the end of it. They may never fight, or you may find them one day torn up and one or both fatally injured. It is up to you if you feel the risk is worthwhile, but it is a gamble.

Putting two bettas together is a really big risk. I know they might seem happy and peaceful, but one day one (or both) of your bettas are either going to be dead or hurt. Please seperate them...

Hope it works out. Ornamental bettas aren't bred to fight, so if you get two docile males in a big tank, it can be ok. If you get more community fish in the tank it will provide more distraction from each other as well.

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Originally Posted by IRescue452

Hope it works out. Ornamental bettas aren't bred to fight, so if you get two docile males in a big tank, it can be ok. If you get more community fish in the tank it will provide more distraction from each other as well.

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Thanks everyone for your comments and advice. And so far they are still in my tank and are doing great. It's not just them two alone in it of course, there are other goldfish which are friendly community fish in with them. The bettas swim past each other during the day and they don't even care about each other at all. So far it seems it will work out, the tank is just so big and they are so small that half the time they can't see each other anyway. But they have and they don't get mad at all. The goldfish probably help too.

Anyways I"ll keep watching them. IRescue by ornamental betta do you mean the pretty ones sold in the stores?

Bettas were bred to fight to the death. Even in sorority tanks with females, it's still iffy getting the group to get along. Heck, even when male and female are in the same tank to breed, it's still very risky (I've had a lot of close calls with spawn attempts). Personally, I wouldn't risk it as it's instinct to fight. They may be a little bit more docile in the beginning but in the end, they are still fighters and have that bred into them (whether they were bred to look pretty for a couple generations or not).

I can't find the link but while I was researching bettas when I was still breeding, I came across an article noting that when two male bettas were placed in a large open area, they still found each other and fought, as opposed to going off on their own and finding their own territory.

I wouldn't risk it, but if you decide to stick with it, I wish you the best of luck.

Why not purchase a tank separater so they can both live happily and safely in the larger tank?

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Originally Posted by IRescue452

Hope it works out. Ornamental bettas aren't bred to fight, so if you get two docile males in a big tank, it can be ok. If you get more community fish in the tank it will provide more distraction from each other as well.

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You are quite right.

Then again, Kay is right too. It is quite easy to buy a tank divider and if you post in your local paper looking for a cheap tank, someone is bound to have one!

Yes, ornamental bettas are the ones you find in American stores. One should never use them for fighting, though I suspect there a lot of ignorant people who buy two males to watch them fight. There are actually three species used in fighting. The fight methods are different for each. In a traditional fight, the fish are rarely injured severely. The fight lasts no more than one hour. Most of the fight is flaring and quick rushes at each other. Remember these fish are conditioned so they have very very hard scales. The winner is declared when one fish backs down. After an hour, if both fish are still sparing, the fight is declared a match game and the fish are removed. Yes, there are some people who want a big bad killer of a fish, but its not all that common.

Also bettas shouldn't be with goldfish. Gold fish are coldwater fish while bettas are tropical water fish. Goldfish need mass amounts of filtration while bettas usually hate strong currents.

two males can be housed together as long as it is heavily planted/decorated so each fish can have their territory.

I agree that gold fish and Betta's shouldn't be housed together, Betta's sometimes nip at the goldfishes long tails.

Yes my tank is very very well planted and decorated, there are caves and log caves and live plants and tall live plants.

As for being in with the goldfish. Just because there are goldfish in my tank does not mean it is full of ammonia. I check on the ammonia level frequently and it is always at 0. The tank is a 55 gallon so it has a giant filter for a 200 gallon. There is current flowing from the filter mainly in the middle. The corners and sides of the tank don't have that much current. The bettas love to hide in the leaves of the live plants and go in the caves too.

How many goldfish have you got in the tank? Goldfish are any water fish. They grow faster and healthier with warm water. The grow slower and not as healthy in cold water. Cold water is easier for people who aren't dedicated fish keepers because they fish need less maintenence. That only works out for the better of the fish because they suffer less from the lack of care when in cold water. I prefer to keep mine at 76-78F. I use little more than motorized sponge filters in my tanks. It provides biological filtration to keep ammonia at 0. It does not provide much mechanical filtration (aka: the dirt at the bottom of the tank). I take care of that myself with the syphon.

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Originally Posted by IRescue452

How many goldfish have you got in the tank? Goldfish are any water fish. They grow faster and healthier with warm water. The grow slower and not as healthy in cold water. Cold water is easier for people who aren't dedicated fish keepers because they fish need less maintenence. That only works out for the better of the fish because they suffer less from the lack of care when in cold water. I prefer to keep mine at 76-78F. I use little more than motorized sponge filters in my tanks. It provides biological filtration to keep ammonia at 0. It does not provide much mechanical filtration (aka: the dirt at the bottom of the tank). I take care of that myself with the syphon.

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There is Three goldfish and one catfish in the tank along with the bettas. (1 goldfish is a teenage Red cap oranda, he's not big yet. 1 is a assorted lionhead, and the other is a baby shubunkin...which won't grow for some reason) Other than that its them and the two bettas.

I usually keep my tank at 78, sometimes it ranges to 76 or 79 in the summer when I can't control the heat in my room.

Actually I find when I have the temperature at that for goldfish, that my goldfish are way more active.