looking for help and advice

[nathanden]

I want to.start a 20 gal planted beta tank

my question is can I put a male and a.female in one 20gal tank?


also what else can live with them?

ideas for plants would be appreciated as well thanks

this.well be my first time.with betas I normal have cichlids

 

[Mebbid]

I would avoid putting a female betta in the tank. They can tend to beat the crap out of each other.

Potentially you can add just about any fish to the tank that doesn't have long flowing fins.

One fish that is commonly added with bettas is cory cats. Praecox rainbows would probably work as well as harlequin rasboras. Some fish I would avoid are known fin nippers, guppies, or gouramis.

 

[Aquamandan]

I would avoid putting a female betta in the tank. They can tend to beat the crap out of each other.

Potentially you can add just about any fish to the tank that doesn't have long flowing fins.

One fish that is commonly added with bettas is cory cats. Praecox rainbows would probably work as well as harlequin rasboras. Some fish I would avoid are known fin nippers, guppies, or gouramis.

Tiger barbs are also notorious fin nippers, not good for a betta.

 

[henningc]

Ditto on skirted tetras.

 

[jwh0818]

You CANT add a male and female just like said above. They will beat each other up. You can however do a female sorority. Minimum females being at least 3. The more the better but there are ways to add them so they establish a hierarchy. You'll have to do a bit if research if you wanna go the female sorority route but it is great to watch them!

 

[BlazedSaint]

Hey man im really really new to tanking but since everyone here has been so helpful i wanna try to help to : ) ive been using this chart from dr. foster and smith website(very good site) for my compatibilitys maybe it helps.

 

[BlazedSaint]

chart

comp chart

 

[BlazedSaint]

chart link

Compatibility Charts for Marine & Freshwater Aquatic Life

this is a link to that chart since it made the picture i put up so small

 

[Rivercats]

Betta's can often work in a community BUT it will depend upon the individual Betta's personality. So if you try be sure to have a backup plan in the event you need to remove the betta.

Fish I've kept with Betta, many right now as we have 5 Betta's total are:

Purple and Regular Harlequin Rasbora's
Threadfin Rainbows
Rummynose, Neon, and Cardinal Tetra's
Cory Cats
Oto's
Loaches (only in the 220g with 3 Bettas)
Angels (only in the 220g with 3 Betta's)

One thing that I have found that helps is having a well planted tank. Nippy fish like many tetras and barbs along with gourami's don't work with Betta's. Guppies don't usually work too well but I have a group of Endler males with one of the Betta's and he swims with them and has for over a year. There are also 10 neons with him. But again it just depends on each Betta's personality.

 

[nathanden]

thanks for the help