The Betta. Community fish?

[Balashark]

Every place i have looked sells betta fish as solitary fish. Yet i have read various books that say the betta fish is a community fish and is peacefull with all fish, except guppys. (and other male bettas of course!) do you guys know anything about it?

 

[Balashark]

If so i wish to add one in a 90 gallon tank with other peacefull fish.

 

[Aces11]

It all depends on the betta. Some do great in community tanks while others won't tolerate any kind of fish and must be kept solitary. Each betta is different. I would try it, but have a back up plan just in case it doesn't work.

 

[Balashark]

That sounds good. Thanks. I have 4 tanks, so itll be ok

 

[Samzter]

They tend to do best in 5g tanks.

 

[maestromad]

My betta is great with his tank mates of chilli rasboras but I know some just don't play nice. I don't agree they do best in a 5g I think the larger the better personally!

 

[chuito69]

Hi I just joint this community love reading the forums. I have a question I did have my male and female beta in a small 20 gallons community tank. I transfer all of them to a 55 gallons tank. They were doing great even with the guppies. But I got some floating hyacinths plants and they die within two days. Are this plants poisonous to betas? I'm very sad because I had them for 2 months already and love his big fins swimming in the tank. Any help please let me know.

 

[Andy Sager]

Every place i have looked sells betta fish as solitary fish. Yet i have read various books that say the betta fish is a community fish and is peacefull with all fish, except guppys. (and other male bettas of course!) do you guys know anything about it?

It has been my experience that Bettas are victims more often than perpetraitors. They should not be placed in tanks that have known fin nipping fishes such as most Tetras and Barbs as well as most cichlids,etc. Conversely, Bettas seem to be highly aggressive towards fish of bright colors and flashy colors such as Guppies and other Bettas. As mentioned, this is not always the case and not every Bettas acts the same way.

Here is something to think about in regards to putting your Betta in a large tank: over the course of time, Bettas have been developed to have long flowing fins or extremely large fins or in the case of the crowntails, ornate fins. What these shapes have done is make it more difficult for the fish to swim with these fins. Since they are air breathing fish, the need to get to the surface is paramount. By nature, these fish (in their wild state) swim in very shallow, slow moving water. Today's Bettas, with their "disfunctional" fins, will have to struggle to breathe in deep tanks with fast water movement. If you do choose to put a Betta in your 90 gal, be mindful of the tail shape and the fish's ability to swim.

Hope this helps...

 

[Andy Sager]

My betta is great with his tank mates of chilli rasboras but I know some just don't play nice. I don't agree they do best in a 5g I think the larger the better personally!

As mentioned above, Bettas, in their wild state, come from shallow, slow moving water. They tend to stake out a very small area and defend it and breed in it. Today's domesticated Bettas are not too different than their wild ancestors and more often than not, don't do well in large tanks with fast moving water.

So in reality, it's so much the the gallonage of the tank but the dimensions of the tank that matters most.

 

[shellieca]

As others have said it's up to the Betta whether he or she wants to be social. My males are in individual 10g tanks & each have a Mystery snail. I thought all was good but I think Simon is still picking on his snail so I'm thinking I need to remove the snail; Berry could care less about his. My females are in a community tank & there is a definite hierarchy, Rosie is large & in charge. You just have to be cautiously optimistic & have a back up plan just in case. Bettas can be bullies & they can be bullied.

 

[thedavinator]

I've had a male Beta in my 29 gallon tank for about a month now. He shares the tank with 2 mollies, 3 platys, a mystery snail, 7 molly fry and 2 platy fry. They all get along just fine.

Tony (the beta) generally likes to hang out in the corner near the filter. I have a little plastic leaf that attaches to the side of the tank that you place an inch or two below the water. Just enough for him to rest on and get some air. I recommend one of these. As long as your beta has an area in the tank he can call his own, I think he will be just fine.

He's got long flowing fins, but the other fish really don't pay much attention. I've never seen him get nipped. He was a little aggressive the first two or three days. He often had his gills out and would chase the fry a lot. He has since stopped both of these actions. So I guess if they are aggressive for the first few days that's probably normal. Also, try feeding your beta brine shrimp. Mine loves it so much more than those little beta pellets.

 

[Balashark]

You guys have all been helpfull. The tank i want to put him in has all peacefull fish. So it will be fine there.

 

[Wiggles24]

In my experience bettas do just fine with other fish, it's the other fish you need to worry about they are usually shy in a community tank and can easily become victims of bullying.

 

[chuito69]

Thank you everybody great advise. I figure out what is the problem in my tank , I notice more fish die and the gills look like damage . I'm going to buy meds today . When I put the plants in it from my friend pond something in them made my fish sick. Plus I got fish from this new petshop and all of them have die cover in ick, and gills problems.