How about an all Betta fish pond?

ZEROPILOT

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Years ago I placed one Male and three female Bettas into a small pond that I wasn't using. It had become a mosquito hang out.
My wife spotted some much unloved Bettas at a pet store. So I bought them instead of guppies.
Fast forward a few months and my wife is now laying in the dirt, scooping up beautiful little baby Bettas with a net. Dozens of them.
Eventually we gave the adults and babies away.
I was always under the belief that the males MUST BE removed at once or they'll fight to death.
Now I know that that simply isn't the case. Not with ample room.
Now I have a 1,750 gallon pond that will be vacant this Sunday and I want to raise and keep Bettas out there.
Have any of you done this?.
I'll have very little surface agitation and a lot of shade.
I'm thinking I'll need a lot of plants?
I really don't know.
Thanks for your thoughts.
 

method89

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sounds like you have a solid plan, but with bigger ponds come bigger problems... How will/do you prevent birds and other predators from snatching them up?
 

wellington

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The males will fight and is the reason they will not sell more then one Male to a person.
However, you have to take in account most people are putting them in a bowl or aquarium. Where they come from in the wild they live in shallow water like streams, rice paddies, and ponds and of course there will be more then one Male. However it's not a small confined space like an aquarium. Lots of plants for hiding will help to keep the males from easily finding each other. I would however try to keep the number of males down when possible.
 

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The males will fight and is the reason they will not sell more then one Male to a person.
However, you have to take in account most people are putting them in a bowl or aquarium. Where they come from in the wild they live in shallow water like streams, rice paddies, and ponds and of course there will be more then one Male. However it's not a small confined space like an aquarium. Lots of plants for hiding will help to keep the males from easily finding each other. I would however try to keep the number of males down when possible.
I'm enthusiastic now that I've watched some Betta farming YOUTUBE videos.
 

ZEROPILOT

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Aw heck. I love the look of them. Are they vicious to other fish?
This one is.
I think it's just a large Cichlid thing.
What separates the Jaguar is it has cat like teeth and razor sharp gill plates.
Not an easy fish to handle.
 

Moozillion

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I'm enthusiastic now that I've watched some Betta farming YOUTUBE videos.
I love bettas!

I hope (secretly plan) to have one of my 20 gal long tanks repurposed for a betta, lots of live plants and maybe some shrimp or bottom feeding fish that the betta won't care about!
 

SummerMagpie31

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How is this working out? I used to keep bettas in “condos” (divided aquaria) in college, males and females both. I love their personalities.
 

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How is this working out? I used to keep bettas in “condos” (divided aquaria) in college, males and females both. I love their personalities.
This is a kind of old post.
But I just found a home for that Jaguar a few weeks ago.....
And the pond is vacant.
But I've had back surgery and haven't done much lately.
 

Maro2Bear

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I love bettas!

I hope (secretly plan) to have one of my 20 gal long tanks repurposed for a betta, lots of live plants and maybe some shrimp or bottom feeding fish that the betta won't care about!


I had our Betta in with two coryodoras, and about 5 neon tetras for the longest time. They all did their own thing, and this was a 10 gallon tank with lots of live plants. All lived peacefully. The betta was the largest fish among them, so maybe that helped!
 

SummerMagpie31

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I had our Betta in with two coryodoras, and about 5 neon tetras for the longest time. They all did their own thing, and this was a 10 gallon tank with lots of live plants. All lived peacefully. The betta was the largest fish among them, so maybe that helped!

He’d have been fine even if he wasn’t the largest fish in the tank, as long as none of the other fish tried to eat him.

Male bettas that are the only one of their kind in the tank are pretty chill fish, very peaceful, as long as none of their tankmates look like another male betta. Much more common is other fish picking on the betta. Those long lovely fins means he isn’t an agile swimmer, and if he’s kept with nippy fish (like tiger barbs) his tankmates will nip until those fins are gone.
 

Okapizebra

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I hope you do end up giving this a try. I think this is an awesome idea! I'm sure 1750 gallons is plenty of space for males to establish their own territory.

Do you heat your pond in winter? Bettas don't do well in cooler temperatures.
 

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I hope you do end up giving this a try. I think this is an awesome idea! I'm sure 1750 gallons is plenty of space for males to establish their own territory.

Do you heat your pond in winter? Bettas don't do well in cooler temperatures.
None of my ponds are heated.
But I've been experimenting with a second water return and a 100 foot coiled, black garden hose that would in theory soak up some heat in the sun.
We haven't had a REAL cold spell here in over 10 years. (Below 50-55)
 

Okapizebra

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Being a large pond I'm not sure how much the temperature would drop, but I think a few nights in the 50s may be all it takes to lose some of the bettas. They are not very cold hardy.
 

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