betta male

Question
QUESTION: hi , i jusst bought a male betta . its my 1st time to have betta . i dont want to keep it alone so can i have an angel fish or goldfish  with it in 10 gals aquarium , it is making bubbles on the top water surface so can i put a female with it too.my other question is that i observed that my betta responses , like when i call it it comes to the surface. u say that u have bred betta so tell me if they fight with each other so how when do they mate.

ANSWER: Hi Wajid,
The betta is a loner, and is happy living alone.  You could add 3 little cory catfish, and 2 female platies or 3 little cory catfish and a school of neons, to your tank, but nothing will guarantee that he will accept them.  Betta are very clever, and all have different personalities.  Never put another male, or female in the tank, one would be killed.  If you do add platies, and coryfish, or catfish, and neons, this would be your limit in a ten gallon tank.  Never overstock your tank, as this would bring stress to fish, and stress fish get sick.  Bettas, and cichlids do not mix.  Angel fish and bettas should never be together in the same tank.  Goldfish is also a big NO NO.  Goldfish live in cool alkaline water, are messy, while the Betta who is a tropical fish should live in 80-82 degree neutral water.  Keep his water very clean, and do 25% water changes every week using a good water conditioner such as "Stress Coat" If your tank is not heated, you will need to buy a heater.  Bring the temperature up to 80 or 82 degrees very very slowly.  Bring it up one degree each day, as bringing it up too quickly would be deadly.
A betta needs a varied diet.  He should have betta pellets, betta flakes, Daphnia is very important as it helps the betta with his digestive system, bloodworms, now, and then, mealworms, glassworms, and frozen brine shrimp.  The more you vary the healthier he will be.  He should also have one frozen cooked pea with the outer layer removed once a week.  Cut the pea into small pieces, and feed it to your betta one piece at a time, making sure he eats it, and that it does not fall to the bottom of the tank.  This is so he can clean out his system, and avoid Swim Bladder Disease to which the Betta is prone.  On the day you choose to feed him the pea, feed him nothing else for the rest of the day.  Feed him small meals 2-3 times a day.  This is very important, small meals, and never big meals.  2 pellets, or 2 flakes for one meal.  His tummy is the size of his eye, and we must always remember this when feeding our bettas.
As for breeding bettas, this would be too long for me to explain this all to you here.  There are many books out on how to breed them, and also on the web, you may find some good information on how to breed bettas.  All I can tell you is that you must have a five gallon tank ready with lots of hiding places for the female.  The male, and female are put into this tank at the same time.  The male does not readily accept the female, so she must have lots of hiding places to hide from the male.  He will blow a nest, and when he is ready, he will give her a sign, and she will go to him.  He wraps himself around her squeezing the eggs out of her, and lets go.  She then returns to the bottom of the tank, and goes back.  This can go on anywhere from one to four hours.  You must never take your eyes off them, and be prepared to remove the female at anytime.  The betta can kill the female in no time flat, so be very prepared.  Once the spawn is over, the female will be very weak.  She must have good quality food to bring her back to health, and of course her own tank.  The male will stay with the spawn for about three days, then he should be removed, or he will eat the eggs.  You must have a culture of microworms ready for the fry once they are free swimming.  Breeding Bettas is lots, and lots of work, and when you are finished raising them which will take around 5-6 months (they are slow growing) you will get nothing for them, nothing to cover your cost.  Vendors buy them for 25 cents each, so you would never make any money with them.  I have stopped breeding them because of the cruelty I see each time I walk into a pet store.  Bettas are one of the most mistreated fish on the market.  Most vendors do not care, give wrong information, and the buyer who quickly gets attached to this clever little fish, will eventually be hurt by losing his pet, because of wrong information.
I hope this helps.
Lynda

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: 1-Can a male betta be trained .
2-what do u say that if i buy another betta and put it in other tank
where they could easily see each other.
3-i have seen people keeping a betta alone in a glass jar is that ok
4-And yes when i bought a betta the shopkeeper took a small plastic bag with a bit water in which betta was present. similarly were the other bettas in small plastic bags with a few water. why is the concept of selling betta like this in miserable conditions.

Answer
1)  What do you want your betta to do?  For a little fish, he is very intelligent, meaning he will recognize you, go up to see you, even play with pity for more food.  The betta is a glutton, and we sometimes are easily pulled into his game, by giving him more food than we should..lol  He is a smart little fish, we get attached to him quickly, but don't expect him to jump up for food, or do tricks.. He may, with lots of patience jump through a loop, but this takes patience, and not all bettas will do this.  Each have a different personality.  They do need toys in their tanks, and silk plants to lay on, so that he does not get bored.  Yes, Bettas do get bored!
2)  Bettas should never see each other.  When they do, it brings them stress, and sickness.  Why stress a fish, and make his life miserable?  In the betta's habitat, the betta has lots of places to hide, not so in an aquarium.  It is best that bettas never see each other.
3)  It is not okay to keep a fish, any fish, in a jar.  It is cruel.  Bettas may live in shallow water in their habitat, but they have lots of room to swim.  Keeping bettas in jars, small tanks, containers, is very wrong.  They should not be treated this way.  It would be like if I locked you up in a bathroom for the rest of your life.  It is very sad that some people do this to the betta.  It is because of lack of information, as I have mentioned to you, some vendors do not care.  They are there to sell their gadgets, etc.  The Betta is a money making machine, and it breaks my heart every time I walk into a pet store to see these fish in little cups.  This should not be, but unfortunately, there are no laws to protect fish.
4)  Some vendors take advantage of the betta, and put them in small bags.  They give no information, and sell the customer any little tank, gadgets etc.  They know, believe me they know, that sooner or later, the betta will get sick, then they will make money on medication.  Most of them don't even know what medication is good for the betta, and sell anything...The customer buys because he has grown so attached to this little fish, then the fish dies, the customer doesn't understand, so he goes back, buys another one, and so on...  The vendors make lots of money with the Betta.  It is heartbreaking.  Well kept bettas live a long time, sometimes up to 7 years, but they must be well kept.  In small containers etc, they won't last 6 months, maybe one year, but what a miserable life the poor fish had!  Fish have feelings.  They do feel, have needs like any other animal, and I can only hope that one day, people will realize this.
I hope  this answers your questions, and feel free to write me anytime concerning the betta, or any other fish.
Lynda