Male and Female Betta in the Same Tank

[gourami*girl]

Hello,

Asking a question for my little sister who's just starting college and wants something living (besides her roommate) to brighten her dorm room.

She's been admiring the fish tank I've been working to set up and she thinks she'd like to get a small beta tank (maybe 3-5 gallons). We stopped by the LFS store today and they had some really nice looking bettas and reasonably priced aquarium kits in the 3-5 gallon size range.

So she had a few questions maybe the folks here can answer.
1) Can a male and a female betta be kept in this size tank? If so what will happen to the fry? (ie. will the parents eat them or will 2 betta quickly become 50)
2) What other types of organisms could be kept in this size tank? Shrimps, snails, etc?
3) Would cycling be necessary? (I could give her some of my seasoned gravel once my tank finishes up cycling)
4) Any other considerations before we get her set up?

Thanks in advance!

[troy]

Males and females should only be kept together to breed and when the egg laying is done they should be separated. Just keep 1 betta in that tank.

[Kayla-Bug]

Males and females should only be kept together to breed and when the egg laying is done they should be separated. Just keep 1 betta in that tank.Yes. Never keep them together. Either the male or female could seriously injure the other, or possibly kill. I would only put 1 in there. And as for breeding, they would eat the babies. And if they were together in a small tank like that and you wanted them to breed, it probably wouldn't happen because they would be stressed out too much.

[gourami*girl]

Thanks for the answers, I didn't know this, but that's why I asked! I'll definitely give this information to my sister. Any answers to the other questions?

[justyn725]

Yes, cycling is necessary!

[gourami*girl]

Yes, cycling is necessary!

Alright, I was wondering b/c I had heard somewhere that small tanks don't really ever fully cycle b/c you need to do frequent water changes anyway. So should she do a fishless cycle with some pure ammonia and some seasoned gravel from my tank or would it be sufficient to add the seasoned gravel and the betta at the same time?

Thanks

[saurjusa]

You could add some neon tetras or other small tetra as long as you provide for plants and stuff for hiding...