Good fish to go with a betta?

[Slow Cheetah]

I am going to get a male betta in my US9-10 gal. what are good fish to go with them in that size tank and how many? I know some of you might say only put a betta in, but i would like more then one fish.

Thx Newbiedude

[cocoa_pleco]

a few white clouds or 4 ghost shrimp work, and 3 dwarf frogs.

[Faith_at_Large]

It really depends upon the temperment of your Betta. Some Bettas are extremely territorial and will not share space with any other fish (my late Betta was a lone wolf). Others are great in a community tank. Watch for fast moving fin nippers. I hear that Zebra Danios will go after a Betta and nip at his fins. But, I have heard good things about Neon Tetras.

[Rue]

Platies should also be fine...cory cats, oto cats...

[cocoa_pleco]

whats good for a 2.5g? just a shrimp and betta?

[*Sarah*]

Really? Bettas can go in a community tank? I have Platys, Mollies, Guppies, and Neons, and a Betta could go in there???

[Lauren B.]

Earlier this week when I was at Petco I saw 2 male bettas in a double-betta tank (small acrylic tank with a plastic mesh/screen divider in the middle). I now know why they're called Japanese Fighting Fish because these two were trying to seriously kill eachother through the divider. They couldn't get to eachother at all (thank god), but the ferocity with which they were trying was almost scary!

[cocoa_pleco]

Earlier this week when I was at Petco I saw 2 male bettas in a double-betta tank (small acrylic tank with a plastic mesh/screen divider in the middle). I now know why they're called Japanese Fighting Fish because these two were trying to seriously kill eachother through the divider. They couldn't get to eachother at all (thank god), but the ferocity with which they were trying was almost scary!


i think theyre Vietnamese since they live in the rice patties. Koi are japanese.:1:

[Glasstapper]

i think theyre Vietnamese since they live in the rice patties. Koi are japanese.:1:

LOL! What?!......you crack me up.



I like the albino corys. If your betta is willing to have tankmates, try 5 cory cats. They have amazing personalities and are more fun to watch than the white clouds, in my opinion.

[cocoa_pleco]

LOL. they live in rice patty fields, not actually in the patties. bad wording. lol

[deckard_wa]

They are actually Siamese (which I believe is the modern day Thailand), though you can nowadays get Cambodian fighters too which are basically the same. As for tankmates, you need to make sure they are peaceful and not too fast swimmers. Also do not get anything with long fins, as they will see them as another betta. Gouramis are the WORST fish to get as tankmates for a betta

[deckard_wa]

In a 10g the bast tankmates IMO would be 4 females, they have great colours if they're healthy

[Slow Cheetah]

Ah I like the idea of the 1 male and 4 females. Does anyone have a problem or have had a bad experience with this idea because it looks good to me. also what does IMO mean?

Thx in advance
Newbiedude

[cocoa_pleco]

The betta idea works and IMO is in my opinion

[Wallyfish]

I'd go with a small school of panda cory catfish. They stay 1.5 inches full grown and are the smallest bottom feeder that I know of for aquariums. All the other species of cory catfish that I know of grow at least twice that size. They are very peaceful, schooling fish, that are relatively active.

[Slow Cheetah]

I will look out for some corys. If i can get get panda corys doi get 5 considering the size of tank or more? Also if i cant get panda corys i know a place that has Bronze corys that go to 3 inches. If i could get hose would i t be suitable to get 3 or so with the Betta.

And lol.... yes another question.... another thing i need to ask, is that all i hav in my tank are fake plnts a ornament and a barrel ornament. Will Corys require more hiding places?

Thx very much NEwbidude

[kimmers318]

IME it his hit or miss with betta in community tanks. One I had in an understocked 65 gal and the only fish he bothered was my dwarf gourami, but it was never biting, just following and flaring, and the sparkling gourami drove him nuts trying to sneak up on him and check him out. My other betta is in a 5 gal with 3 panda cory (who are adorable by the way) and he has been fine all along other than suddenly deciding the caves were fun to hang out in when he never used them before. The aquatic frog I tried with him didn't make it. Ghost shrimp were history.
For a 10 gal I would definitely stick to small cory, you will be surprised at just how much those seemingly placid bottom fish can get to zooming around there tanks.
Mixing female and male betta is something I have never tried, but I have always read that the only time you can do it is at breeding time, that they can't co-exist peacefully. It might be possible in a much larger tank, but I wouldn't try it in a 10gal.

[Lauren B.]

They are actually Siamese (which I believe is the modern day Thailand)

Okay then, let's not get too nitpicky when it comes to our Far Eastern fish. Let's make them all feel accepted by simply saying they are "asian" fighting fish.

We don't want to offend all the asian people on this forum (all both of them). thumbs2:

[gm72]

I had a betta in a tank with serpae and high fin tetras. No problems.

[deckard_wa]

[
Mixing female and male betta is something I have never tried, but I have always read that the only time you can do it is at breeding time, that they can't co-exist peacefully. It might be possible in a much larger tank, but I wouldn't try it in a 10gal.[/QUOTE]


My wife has kept and bred bettas for years and I've never heard that males and females cant go together. She currently has 5 10g tanks with males and females together and no problems at all. If it was only one tank you could say it could be a fluke but for it to work in 5 out of 5 you'd have to say that's good evidence

[Lauren B.]

Mixing female and male betta is something I have never tried, but I have always read that the only time you can do it is at breeding time, that they can't co-exist peacefully. It might be possible in a much larger tank, but I wouldn't try it in a 10gal.

I heard the same. I thought about getting bettas, but every single store I went to told me that I had two puny options:

- One male betta, all alone

- Several female bettas

They told me female-to-female was the only way you could have more than one in the same tank. I was also told that after breeding, the female will fight and kill the male.

Talk about your black widow!

[diamond_dog]

I have a community tank. I have 4 neon teras, 4 platys, 2 zebra danios and yesterday i just added a Betta. Are you telling me this is a bad idea. Last night they all seemed to be getting on OK. The Betta would stick to itself but i could not see any fighting. Do you think that this mix of fish is a bad idea.

by the way i have a 15g tank.

[Willyleigh]

I have a community tank. I have 4 neon teras, 4 platys, 2 zebra danios and yesterday i just added a Betta. Are you telling me this is a bad idea. Last night they all seemed to be getting on OK. The Betta would stick to itself but i could not see any fighting. Do you think that this mix of fish is a bad idea.

by the way i have a 15g tank.

I think the main worry here would be that the Danios may bite the Bettas fins rather that the other way around as they can be quite nippy.

[Willyleigh]

Danios can be especially nippy if kept in a small group, so it may be a good idea to get more than 2 Danios.

[diamond_dog]

I used to have just one zebra and he used to chase the neon tetras. Since i got him another buddy he doesn't seem to bother them as much. He seems more content just following the other zebra. I will look to see if he starts harrasing the Betta.

thanks for the info.

[kimmers318]

Well, Deckard, I stand corrected, thank you for being able to give us actual experience of having males and females together! I had never tried it, was just going on what I had read.
What types of betta has your wife been breeding? I would love to see pics.

In the end, I think it all boils down to whether you want to try it, R@ni (did I do that right???), and whether you would be willing to return or set up a separate tank if things didn't work out. Most of us that try these sort of things have spare tanks that we can easily plunk a problem or sick child into and jumpstart a cycle with media from another tank until we make a decision. I have 3 10 gallon tanks in the shed that I keep stored in plastic bags so that if I need them I can get an extra tank running in about an hour. That makes me not scared if I decide to try something that may not workthumbs2:
Let us know what you ended up doing so we can share the joy of your tank with you!

[cocoa_pleco]

what about a betta in my 20g under my sig?(not the toad one)

[Glasstapper]

what about a betta in my 20g under my sig?(not the toad one)

your honey gourami might get harassed, and I don't know about black sharks. Otherwise, technically it should work. Maybe give it a try and be prepared to rescue anyone if need be.

[cocoa_pleco]

Thats the one thing. a month later, the gourami never got picked on.
The tetras leave him alone and he can swim anywhere and not get picked on.
Its like my cichlid tank. Mixing a krib, auratus, and lamp. brichardi. everything gets along.

[Rue]

Okay...I'm on week 5 of my 'betta community tank experiment'.

I added 3 female and 1 male betta to the 25g tank.

In the tank I have:

mollies
platies
corys
rosy tetras
oto cats
zebra danios
neon (one only)

...so far I have had NO fighting or issues of any kind...

I also have plants...and esp. added the floating hornwort for the bettas....

The female hang out with each other during meals...otherwise they each have their area of the tank...the male is busy patrolling the front of the tank...he occaisionally flares at the other fish if they get a bit too close, but it's nothing serious...

So far...it's all good! I'll let you know if anything changes...

[cocoa_pleco]

Hmmmmmmm, maybe i'l plop my betta in my 20g

Think he'l be happy?

[cocoa_pleco]

do bettas peck at the bottom of the tank for food?

[cocoa_pleco]

screw it. here goes! i'l report back

[Rue]

20 g...I think that will be great...

Mine poke around the bottom...well, at least the girls do...can't say that I've seen the male down there...

Give him heat and plants!

[cocoa_pleco]

took this long to catch him, but all is good.
He's got a 20g with lots of fake plants, and live java moss and java fern, and 75f temperature.

[Rue]

Cool! Now humour us and post a picture!

[cocoa_pleco]

okay, pics on the way, Funny thing, the bettas minding its own buisness cruising around, and mr. hunny gourami is curious george. One flare from the betta and the gourami leant a lesson.

[cocoa_pleco]

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[Rue]

Excellent! I'm certain he'll be a very happy camper!!!

[cocoa_pleco]

hes the happiest camper around:1:

[cocoa_pleco]

Think its worth puting my 20 for TOTM?

[cocoa_pleco]

WTF, my stupid platys are biting my bettas fins

[cocoa_pleco]

will my betta 100% get fin rot?

[Chrona]

No, my cardinal and angelfish have gotten plenty of nips without getting finrot. I guess it's just the condition they are in when they get bit.

[cocoa_pleco]

mine didnt get severely niped, just a little trim.

i did a 100% water change on the 2.5g and melafix

Why the hell would a platy attack him? tons of websites say theyre compatable.

[Rue]

I have no idea! Mine haven't shown any interest in any of the bettas!!! :shock:

[cocoa_pleco]

its puzzling. platys are always so peaceful

[deckard_wa]

I always see Bettas as having a bit of a fragile personality. I wouldn't personally put them in with anything other than VERY placid fish. She had had a couple in the early days before she new better that have basically hidden away and died due to who they were housed with, and this to a large degree has affected the way we think now. For us the Betta is the main fish in the tank, so why risk putting something in with him that MIGHT work? Some are even affected by placid fish that swim fast, and some aren't, but like I said, why take the risk? Apart from females the most success we have had has been with cories and BN plecos. I'm sure there's someone out there who's had fantastic success with all kinds of weird and wonderful combinations, I bet someone has housed one successfully with a Red Devil somewhere, or claims to have, but as for playing the percentages, you have to be very careful with Bettas. Sorry to ramble on so much but Betta treatment is a bit of sore point with me, they seem to be the most mistreated fish out there alongside Oscars, as well as being arguably the most beautiful. Now......don't get me started on Oscars :ezpi_wink1:

[kimmers318]

Very good point Deckard, if you want to have a betta with other fish, consider the betta the center of attraction and structure the tank around him. My experiences with bettas and cory is great, the one that I rescued and put in my large community tank was fine also, but it was understocked at the time allowing so much more room for each individual personality. He did flare quite a bit, but never a nip from anyone, so he got to live out his life in a 65 gallon tank.

[cocoa_pleco]

oscars and bettas are mistreated lots.

[ArmanS]

my betta, loves all the fish in my tank ^^ I have a 10 gal with :
1 Betta
1 Rainbow Shark
2 Red Eye Tetras
1 Blue Guorami
1 Chinese Algea Eater
1 Gold Tetra
1 Gold Guoramis
1 Fancy Mollie
2 Guppies

they all love e/o :D