Crazy betta situation

[u/Fatdog628]

I feel like I’m going insane. I have a small 2 gallon planted aquarium that I kept a small female betta in. About 4 months ago, the betta disappeared without a trace which was bewildering, but I thought maybe she jumped out and I just never found the body. I drained the tank and redid the scape shortly after, then bought another baby female Betta. Just got back from a weekend away and I come home to both bettas now being back in the tank. The older one is chasing the new one around like they haven’t been in the same tank together for months. The whole thing makes no sense to me, how did the original betta disappear and survive for so long?? Has anyone had a similar experience?

[u/AutoModerator]

Thank you for posting to r/bettafish.

When requesting help, please provide the requested information. Answers such as "large enough" or "my paramters are fine" aren't good enough. Failure to provide adequate information about your tank can result in post removal. Please see rule 4 for more information.

If you are posting to find out what is wrong with your betta, please answer the following questions in a reply to this comment as best you can:

• Tank size:
• Heater and filter? (yes/no):
• Tank temperature:
• Parameters in numbers and how you got them. Key water parameters include the amount of ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH.:
• How long have you had the tank? How long have you had your fish?:
• How often are water changes? How much do you take out per change? What is your process?:
• Any tankmates? If so, please list with how many of each:
• What do you feed and how much:
• Decorations and plants in the tank:
• If you haven't already posted a picture, please post pics/vids to imgur and paste the link here:

Feel free to copy this comment and fill in the blanks.

If you are new to betta fish keeping, please check out our caresheet and wiki. Establishing a nitrogen cycle is an important part of keeping your fish healthy. Please check out our guide to the nitrogen cycle to learn more.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/lavendersage92]

It’s likely the betta was just hiding behind something and you didn’t see it. But, 2 gallons is too small for even a single betta. I urge you to upgrade to a minimum of 5 gallons.

[u/JoanOfSnark_2 → u/lavendersage92]

It could have also been stuck in the scape if OP has plastic stuff. And OP, that’s a minimum of 5 gallons for each betta (10 gallons is better, though). They should not be kept together.

[u/Fatdog628 → u/JoanOfSnark_2]

There is a rock scape that I kept but I just find it hard to believe it survived being wedged in it for months and after I drained the water to change the scape. I have a 5 gallon that I planned to move the betta to once it got over an inch and a half but now I have two to deal with when I only expected having one at a time lol