Holy cow people. It's not quantum physics, nor is it secret controversial knowledge..... Don't house bettas together! It's an accepted fact that they are aggressive with their own species. So why would you want to try to keep them together? What point does that serve? I don't doubt there are instances where people have "successfully" housed male/male & male/female bettas together. It is a widely accepted consensus that It generally never works! There's a case of a lioness caring for a baby gazelle, does that mean you'd let your pet in a lion enclosure? Since, hey, they could really hit it off...... In the wild, bettas have acres of rice paddies to hide and stay away from each other. In any size aquarium they are limited by their enclosed space with no escape. Trying to house bettas together serves no benefit to the fish. Attempting it shows you have no interest in the fishes happiness or well being. Experienced betta breeders will tell you, the only time males and females are kept together is for a very short period for breeding only. Then separated. It's very common for one or both to be injured during the process. You can keep a group of females together (usually odd numbers work best) but good luck. More times than not you'll have to deal with fighting since the females can be just as aggressive as the males.

A little late, but... If you want to try breeding your bettas, there's a couple things you need to do. First is to set up a breeding tank. Doesn't have to be very big, but should be mostly empty (no gravel, bubble bars, or filter). What should be in there are some easily removable things that the female will (once added) will be able to hide in or behind...maybe a clump of dense plants, a tube of some sort, that sort of stuff. The male should be in there alone first. I think at least a day, maybe a couple...he needs to have it be his territory. You'll also want to get yourself something that the male can make a nest in. I used a med sized styrofoam Dunkin Donuts cup, cut in half lengthwise, and taped it to the inside of the tank. The mouth of the cup should be against the glass (so you can see inside), the "body" of the cup making a tent of sorts on the top of the water, and the open/cut part should sit maybe a 1/2 inch below the water level, . This will give the nest, which is made of spit bubbles by the male, protection from agitation in the water and keep the enviroment humid as well. Then when you want to add the female, you'll need to put her in basically a glass tube - a chimmney from an oil lamp (washed and rinsed *very* well) works nicely. You place the glass tube in the middle of the tank, and drop the female down into it. Have her be there for a day or 2. The male will circle the female, flaring out his fins (he's just stunning!) and gills, and generally working himself into a tizzy of lust *L*. When you remove the glass, it begins. There will be a lot of chasing and hiding and that sort of thing...sometimes kinda brutal. But eventually they'll figure things out and start to mate, which is just amazing. They wrap themselves together, some fluids will be exchanged, and the eggs will fall. The female will likely faint dead away, floating to the top and hanging there on her side for a few minutes. While she's recovering, the male will pick up all the egs in his mouth and spit them up into the cup, each egg in a spit bubble, where they will float on the surface. Eventually they'll stop mating and you'll need to remove the female. The male will then attend the nest as needed until the fry start to hatch. Most eggs that fall will be picked up and replaced in the nest, and I think (but don't remember for sure) that he will also eat the bad/dead ones. Oh, and you shouldn't feed the fish during any of this either...they'll do fine for those few days. Once the eggs start to hatch, the male will need to be removed too. Ugh. I'm writing all this from memory from many years ago, and of course can't remember how to care for the fry. I think you'll still want some dense plant for them to hang out in, they don't appreciate moving water (they're not much for swimming right away), but you may be able to get away with a very weak air-powered sponge filter. Their food should be liquid, and the water will need frequent and very careful changing. I was never able to raise a batch - ended up having to move in the middle of it all and lost them - but it's definitely do-able. And again, very, very cool :)

Hi- I have what appears to be the same bluebird pair come back to nest in a different box in my yard this year. These two have always been together by coming to my feeder & when building their nest. However, I have seen him in the last few days, but not anywhere around her or the nest box. He'll come to my courtyard to get mealworms or drink from the bird bath, but then flies off somewhere else while she is either in the box or perched up in the tree where she can see the box. It's as if they broke up. I'm worried that she's being left alone to deal with the situation. He doesn't come around to feed her or attend to her at all & I never see him perched up in the tree nearby like he was before. I put up the sparrow spooker after the 2nd egg & I'm wondering if he doesn't like it as I didn't have it last year when they nested in the courtyard. I'm perplexed as to what is happening. Has anyone ever encountered this? Should I tie up the streamers on sparrow spooker or take it down to see if he returns? I'm just afraid that once the babies hatch, she'll be on her on. I keep thinking, "No, of course he'll be there with her, but why isn't he with her right now when he always has been?" Like I said, I saw him twice today, but completely ignoring her & the nesting site. Please help! Very concerned! Nicole

Hi- I have what appears to be the same bluebird pair come back to nest in a different box in my yard this year. These two have always been together by coming to my feeder & when building their nest. However, I have seen him in the last few days, but not anywhere around her or the nest box. He'll come to my courtyard to get mealworms or drink from the bird bath, but then flies off somewhere else while she is either in the box or perched up in the tree where she can see the box. It's as if they broke up. I'm worried that she's being left alone to deal with the situation. He doesn't come around to feed her or attend to her at all & I never see him perched up in the tree nearby like he was before. I put up the sparrow spooker after the 2nd egg & I'm wondering if he doesn't like it as I didn't have it last year when they nested in the courtyard. I'm perplexed as to what is happening. Has anyone ever encountered this? Should I tie up the streamers on sparrow spooker or take it down to see if he returns? I'm just afraid that once the babies hatch, she'll be on her on. I keep thinking, "No, of course he'll be there with her, but why isn't he with her right now when he always has been?" Like I said, I saw him twice today, but completely ignoring her & the nesting site. Please help! Very concerned! Nicole