Community tank with female betta

[BettaBabe94]

I have a female betta in my community tank. First time I’ve had a betta with other fish. She is a chunker, because she chows down with the rest of the community fish. Should I take her out for a bit and fast her?

 

Ignore the green water. I’m working on it lol

Edited September 24, 2022 by BettaBabe94
Better explanation

[Flumpweesel]

 She's smaller than my girl. Who is she in with ? I worry more about mine not getting enough food since I've moved her to the community tank ( she sulked not really moving round for weeks at first) so competing with the tetras will have been a challenge for her .

But back to your fish unless she is having issues I wouldn't put her through the stress of moving and fasting. 

Edited September 20, 2022 by Flumpweesel
Made it make better sense

[TheSwissAquarist]

As long as she isn’t being nipped or hasn’t got enough hiding places, she should be fine.

[BettaBabe94]

On 9/20/2022 at 2:47 AM, Flumpweesel said:

 She's smaller than my girl. Who is she in with ? I worry more about mine not getting enough food since I've moved her to the community tank ( she sulked not really moving round for weeks at first) so competing with the tetras will have been a challenge for her.

My girl is with neon tetras, but she’s feisty so the tetras aren’t a problem for her. As for your girl: Bettas are super smart. Both of my bettas (I have a male by himself) are trained to eat at a food ring.

When I first brought my girl home, it took her less than 10 minutes to figure it out. When I want to give her betta pellets she comes to the food ring and I give them to her. Then I feed everyone else. 

One of the pictures I posted shows her under a black “thing” that’s the floating feeding ring, I got it from Amazon. 

If you don’t have one already my bettas LOVE the zoomed floating betta logs, your girl might enjoy it too, gives a spot for herself  🙂 
 

Edited September 20, 2022 by BettaBabe94

[Robstar]

That's a really pretty fish and I like the ring idea. I will have to try it!

[Schuyler]

On 9/20/2022 at 3:43 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

As long as she isn’t being nipped or hasn’t got enough hiding places, she should be fine.

Was that a typo or is there a reason you don't want Bettas to hide?

Also what does fasting a fish do for them?

Just get them skinnier?

[AnimalNerd98]

The common wisdom for fasting fish is that it gives them an opportunity to clear out their digestive tracts, reset their metabolism, and improve digestive function. Basically, it’s like when people drink a detox smoothie, except the fish just don’t eat. Some people report that it helps to prevent cases of bloating and swim bladder issues. 

I often fast my fish whenever I’m too lazy to feed for the day or if I’m going on vacation (nothing more than 1 week). 
 

Also, your female is adorable. The chunkiness can also just come from her starting to develop lots of eggs. However, I would watch out for signs of dropsy, especially pineconing (the scales start to stick out, making the fish look like a pinecone). But your girl seems to match the term used by many ichthyologists: Big Old Fat Fertile Female (BOFFF), (meaning she is in prime condition to breed). 

Edited September 20, 2022 by AnimalNerd98

[BettaBabe94]

On 9/20/2022 at 10:22 AM, Schuyler said:

Was that a typo or is there a reason you don't want Bettas to hide?

Also what does fasting a fish do for them?

Just get them skinnier?

I was confused at first too but I after reading it a couple times, I think what @TheSwissAquarist was saying was: if the betta isn’t getting picked on and there are plenty of hiding spots then it should be fine. Which I think was referring to @Flumpweesel comment.

As for the fasting. I was always told that betta food intake needs to be monitored because they will eat without stopping and they are prone to constipation. So if she was eating too much, fasting her would force her to clear out her digestive tract before she ends up with bigger problems. 

[BettaBabe94]

On 9/20/2022 at 11:18 AM, AnimalNerd98 said:

Also, your female is adorable. The chunkiness can also just come from her starting to develop lots of eggs. However, I would watch out for signs of dropsy, especially pineconing (the scales start to stick out, making the fish look like a pinecone). But your girl seems to match the term used by many ichthyologists: Big Old Fat Fertile Female (BOFFF), (meaning she is in prime condition to breed). 

Thank you 🙂 

Besides never having had a betta in a community tank, this is also my first female. So didn’t even know about BOFFF 😂

[AnimalNerd98]

On 9/20/2022 at 5:19 PM, BettaBabe94 said:

Thank you 🙂 

Besides never having had a betta in a community tank, this is also my first female. So didn’t even know about BOFFF 😂

I learned this term from my marine biology class, haha! Enjoy your betta! 

[Willy Dibbert]

Although female bettas are not as common as males, they can do well in community aquariums. But provided that the tank has a capacity of more than 10 gallons. Because if your Betta lives in less of an environment, it won't be able to tolerate other fish, whatever they are. And although they don't fight like males, they can still be aggressive at times. If she's a decent person and nothing has happened, you probably don't need to move her out.

Edited September 29, 2022 by Willy Dibbert
add more infomation

[BettaBabe94]

On 9/21/2022 at 3:26 PM, Willy Dibbert said:

Although female bettas are not as common as males, they can do well in community aquariums. But provided that the tank has a capacity of more than 10 gallons. Because if your Betta lives in less of an environment, it won't be able to tolerate other fish, whatever they are. And although they don't fight like males, they can still be aggressive at times. If she's a decent person and nothing has happened, you probably don't need to move her out.

I was worried about digestive issues since she gets more food in the community tank then I would feed her if she were by herself