Betta Living

Question
Hello! I just ran across this website and was hoping that maybe you can give me some answers to the questions I need answered!

I have 3 betta; a beautiful male and 2 gorgeous females, all in separate tanks. I would like to combine the females into one tank. I asked an employee at PetsMart and she said that the two females would live peacefully together although they dont seem to like each other very well and fight often...

So I guess my main question is: When trying to have two female betta live in the same tank, are there any tricks to getting them to not fight? (or was the lady at petsmart not very knowledgeable?) I would greatly appreciate any help, hints, or ideas that you are able to give me! Thank you so much!!

Answer
Hello Chris,
It is indeed possible for a few females to co-exist peacefully. However, this is usually done in larger tanks (at least 20 gallons) and anything smaller may not work.
Picture it this way, fish have their "bubbles" just like people do. You don't want some stranger barging in to your room any more than anyone else, but different people will react in different ways. Peaceful people  - and fish - may simply learn to live with it or not care. However, more aggressive people - and fish - may get angry or even start fighting.
Every fish has a different "bubble" size, and territorial fish by nature tend to need much larger spaces all to themselves. Betta Splendens fit into this category, and when overcrowded in a small tank with other aggressive fish, the outlook is not pretty.
Females are usually slightly less aggressive then males, and can usually do just fine with other small tropical fish, but remember size DOES matter.