putting a betta in a community tank

[BalloonBellies]

I have a 12 gallon with 5 neon tetras,2 nerite snails, and 2 platies now could I put a male betta to the tank? I'm afraid he will attack my other fish

 

[nshepler]

I've seen it done with no problems.

 

[Musicfreak]

There is always a possibility of it, although if there are plenty of hiding spots and things to help break up eye sight it could be possible. I've heard that as long as the other fish do not have long flowing tails you will be fine.

It all really depends on the temperament of the fish you get, if possible have a back up plan, have another tank ready for the betta if you can or a new home for him.

 

[Rivercats]

Betta's have individual temperaments so depending on the one you get it may or may not work. I have multiple betta's and all but one are in community tanks. The one has to have it's own tank as it attacks any type fish. So if you decide to get one have a back up plan in the event he won't tolerate other fish. You could also look into getting a brightly colored dwarf gourami instead. Just a thought.

 

[BalloonBellies]

Betta's have individual temperaments so depending on the one you get it may or may not work. I have multiple betta's and all but one are in community tanks. The one has to have it's own tank as it attacks any type fish. So if you decide to get one have a back up plan in the event he won't tolerate other fish. You could also look into getting a brightly colored dwarf gourami instead. Just a thought.

When picking out the betta should I choose the calmest one or an active one? If it has a super feisty personality I feel like it be more aggressive idk haha

 

[nshepler]

In my experience you can never really tell what the betta is gonna do around other fish until you put him with other fish. You can't tell much of a personality when they are stored in a tiny cup.

 

[nameless01]

I have it done but with a female betta not a male, I have her with angelfish, blue gourami, electric blue ram, danios. she has also been housed with guppies, dwarf gouramis, mollies. But like everyone else has stated, bettas all have their own and unique personality. So it's worth a shot but just keep in mind the possibility of an aggressive betta

 

[Mattyfelts]

They are all individuals so your risking it. I have had my betta with platys, platy fry, and currently with cherry barbs, a gbr, a DG, platys, and pleco.

 

[BalloonBellies]

Thanks for all the answers, I think ill take the risk and add a betta to the tank. If it starts being aggressive Ill remove it immediately

 

[t4runnr]

My daughter's new betta was temporarily in my 55 with an angel, Eb gbr, and a Bolivian ram with no issues. Now that we finally set up her tank, the betta is doing fine in the 20 along with 10 male endlers. No aggression issues. Of course it helped that the LFS near my house keeps their betta in larger tanks with other fish. One male per tank. All the bettas we've ever owned were purchased from the same LFS for that reason.

 

[Scottyhorse]

I have 5 tanks, and 4 have a betta in them. Three are community tanks.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

I put my blue crowntail in my community tank, instantly fought, then I put in my red one, not a problem
So it's something that could work, and couldn't work

 

[Cactuspixie]

I have a 12 gallon with 5 neon tetras,2 nerite snails, and 2 platies now could I put a male betta to the tank? I'm afraid he will attack my other fish

I put a beautiful calm crown tail betta in my 40g community tank. He never bothered my rcs and I never once saw him bothering my ember and rosy tetras. It was quite heavily planted and I thought I had a happy tank. Upon pruning back the plants and doing a bit of a re-scape, I discovered that my betta had decimated my tetra population, and the few remaining embers required euthanising.
I never once witnessed any aggression, and this tank is beside the couch I sit on every evening. I can only assume that the attacks occurred during the night.
I will never take that kind of risk again. He SEEMED a peaceful fish. He killed over 20 tetras in the short time I had him. I also keep my tank more lightly planted now, because I need to be able to see all my fish to be sure they are okay. It's like my betta cause post traumatic stress....

 

[Dreamroper]

I put a beautiful calm crown tail betta in my 40g community tank. He never bothered my rcs and I never once saw him bothering my ember and rosy tetras. It was quite heavily planted and I thought I had a happy tank. Upon pruning back the plants and doing a bit of a re-scape, I discovered that my betta had decimated my tetra population, and the few remaining embers required euthanising.
I never once witnessed any aggression, and this tank is beside the couch I sit on every evening. I can only assume that the attacks occurred during the night.
I will never take that kind of risk again. He SEEMED a peaceful fish. He killed over 20 tetras in the short time I had him. I also keep my tank more lightly planted now, because I need to be able to see all my fish to be sure they are okay. It's like my betta cause post traumatic stress....

This happened to me also. The male betta that I put in my community tank was very calm and quiet, but started picking off my tetras one by one. He's now in a 5 gal Chi tank alone. I really enjoyed watching him in my big tank, so it was very disappointing, but I caught him with a tetra in his mouth and out he came! Before that, I never saw any signs of aggression at all.