picture_117
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Okay so I've heard different things about keeping Betta's with other fish.. through ya'lls experience, can they be kept with other fishes & if they can which ones?
Betta companions
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BigJim
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have male bettas in community tanks with the following fish:
- Balloon molly -29g
- Cherry barbs -29g
- Five-band barbs -29g
- Khuli loaches -29g
- Female bettas -29g
- Otos -29g
- Praecox rainbows -40B
- German blue rams -40B
- Pictus catfish -40B
- Raphael catfish -40B
One betta likes to flare at the rainbows, but I think he does it for his own entertainment. Otherwise I've seen no aggression at all. I seem to be lucky though. A lot of people here have had bad luck with bettas in community tanks.
- Balloon molly -29g
- Cherry barbs -29g
- Five-band barbs -29g
- Khuli loaches -29g
- Female bettas -29g
- Otos -29g
- Praecox rainbows -40B
- German blue rams -40B
- Pictus catfish -40B
- Raphael catfish -40B
One betta likes to flare at the rainbows, but I think he does it for his own entertainment. Otherwise I've seen no aggression at all. I seem to be lucky though. A lot of people here have had bad luck with bettas in community tanks.
Shetland James
Aquarium Advice Freak
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50 Gal:
Balloon mollies
Neon Tetra's
Male and Female guppies
Silver dollars
Cobalt tetra
Rummy nose tetra
Crabs
He flares at the Silver Dollars when he goes near them or they come near him but otherwise doesn't bother anyone but my cat. He likes to wind up my cat, I'm sure he knows what he's doing!
Balloon mollies
Neon Tetra's
Male and Female guppies
Silver dollars
Cobalt tetra
Rummy nose tetra
Crabs
He flares at the Silver Dollars when he goes near them or they come near him but otherwise doesn't bother anyone but my cat. He likes to wind up my cat, I'm sure he knows what he's doing!
Tim Wheatley
Aquarium Advice Addict
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Kept one in 10g with Cory cats
Shetland James
Aquarium Advice Freak
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Curiously, my LFS kept a male Betta with Bloon Mollies and they shreded his fins until he basically resembled a female - overnight! My LFS are quick to separate any fish in danger but this had happened overnight, poor fella.
I used to keep him with Bloons, SD's and Neons in a 29G and his fins were bitten. I think it was the SD because the tank was way-hay-hay too small for them. My one is relatively peaceful and now doesn't even seem to attack his own reflection in a hand-mirror.
subliminalanarchy
Aquarium Advice Activist
Bettas are aggressive to each other because they compete for territory. So basically you just have to avoid fish that might be mistaken for a betta, like fish with long showoffy fins. I think I agree with everything suggested so far except guppies. It can work but I wouldn't count on it. I'm kind of surprised balloon mollys work too but I guess they are a little too.. uhh... round to be mistaken for a betta.
I would stay away from: most fish that get bigger than 4"s, Almost all barbs (cherrys are probably fine), Guppys, most mollys, and gouramis.
That being said all fish have different personalities so you'll never get the same results twice.
I would stay away from: most fish that get bigger than 4"s, Almost all barbs (cherrys are probably fine), Guppys, most mollys, and gouramis.
That being said all fish have different personalities so you'll never get the same results twice.
success for a short time
We have a male betta in our 15 g community tank with 4 platy and 5 dainos. They were all fine for about 1.5 weeks then they started picking on each other. One Platy took some fin damage as did the betta. We moved him to his own 2.5 gallon tank.
Our nanny tried two cory cats in her 2.5 G tank with the betta and had the same issue with the betta attacking them after 2 weeks. She brought them to us to see who they would do in our small betta tank as the community tank was at capacity. It has been three weeks and everyone is getting along, and the corys whiskers are growing back nicely.
Think it really depends on the Bettas temperment.
We have a male betta in our 15 g community tank with 4 platy and 5 dainos. They were all fine for about 1.5 weeks then they started picking on each other. One Platy took some fin damage as did the betta. We moved him to his own 2.5 gallon tank.
Our nanny tried two cory cats in her 2.5 G tank with the betta and had the same issue with the betta attacking them after 2 weeks. She brought them to us to see who they would do in our small betta tank as the community tank was at capacity. It has been three weeks and everyone is getting along, and the corys whiskers are growing back nicely.
Think it really depends on the Bettas temperment.
A lot rides on the betta's personality, and how big the tank is. In a bigger tank, even a rowdy betta might be ok as long as nothing really invades its territory too much, but in smaller tanks like 5g and 10g tanks, I've never had any luck. My betta would fight anything and everything that entered.
Bettababe1011
Aquarium Advice Addict
I agree with most of what has been said. As long as the tank is big enough, and the Betta isn't overly aggressive, it could work. Just make sure to watch very carefully until you know for sure if the Betta is going to fit peacefully into the community, or if he is going to be a rowdy little troublemaking devil of a fish!! A lot rides on the personality of the fish. If the Betta were calm enough, it might work in a very small tank, such as a five gallon. I would NEVER recommend such a thing though, caution must be taken and the territoriality of the Betta( is that grammatically correct?) must be taken into consideration. Okay, now I'm done. I just realized that my quick answer turned into a semi-long winded speech!! But please be cautious, and make sure the tank size and temperament of the specific fish are both taken into consideration.
fishyfriend5
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
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at first i had a male and girl beta together in 5gal..he chased her all the time and she never came out of hiding.so i put her in 29gal tank and i had 2 mollys.the beta faught with the bigger one.not much though just nibbles. but now i have glofish,african dwarf frog,bristlenose pleco, and guppys in there so i put beta in 1 1/2 gal tank....she never swims around just hides and comes up for food.. 
i think she's sad in new tank but i dont want her to kill my other fish!any suggestions?
i think she's sad in new tank but i dont want her to kill my other fish!any suggestions?My male betta hated my dwarf gourami! Was advised they would be fine but clearly wasn't. He then started on my danio's and even chased the tetra's which was bizarre!!
He was so angry at everything in the 135L (I think this is 34 US gallons) tank so I had to return him to the aquatics shop that I got him from! He was put back into quarantine and was sold again pretty quick!
It was such a shame as he was so beautiful but he certainly wasn't happy!!
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He was so angry at everything in the 135L (I think this is 34 US gallons) tank so I had to return him to the aquatics shop that I got him from! He was put back into quarantine and was sold again pretty quick!
It was such a shame as he was so beautiful but he certainly wasn't happy!!
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Attachments
BigJim
Aquarium Advice Addict
Bettas and gouramis are both from the anabantid family. They really shouldn't be kept together.
Bettababe1011
Aquarium Advice Addict
Wow. The nerve of people. They don't know anything about the fish so they make stuff up to tell you. I know thats not the case with all people at the stores, but it's just too common.
fishyfriend5
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
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- Messages
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yea i was told i could put girl in with a boy,just not 2 males...WRONG!
severum mama
Aquarium Advice Addict
Caveat emptor...
At some point the hobbyist has to take some personal responsibility to do research on his or her own. We can blame store personnel all we want to but in the end they are there to sell fish. Some don't know any better, and some don't care, so knowing that's the way it is, it all comes down to doing your own research and avoiding impulse buys.
Tim Wheatley
Aquarium Advice Addict
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Indeed. Walk onto a car lot and they'll tell you their cars are the best. You wouldn't dream of buying without doing your own research though...
What you buy is your responsibility, really is. I know you expect the person behind the checkout to know what they're talking about, but that's just not real life.
RamCichlidLover
Aquarium Advice FINatic
usually risk is to the betta because other fish will nip at its fins
Bettababe1011
Aquarium Advice Addict
Tim Wheatley said:
Which is why I am doing lots, no tons, of research before I get my new aquarium. I won't be losing any fish from ill information. If I do lose any fish, it will be because it was inevitable, not because I didn't do my research. I understand what you're saying, and now I take back what I said about the nerve of people. It is too common, but some employees don't know better, or don't really care enough for the fish. There are plenty of reasons that people will give you incorrect info, but yes, that is your job to correct it yourself, and don't follow it.
