Betta Tank Mate

[Hampton]

Hi I have recently started up a 190 litre aquarium and I am 4 weeks in with no problems what so ever. I have got 6 Neon Tetras, 4 Red Barbed Tetras, 2 Pleco's, 3 Small Catfish, 2 Bala Sharks, 2 Assasin Snails, 1 Shrimp and a beautiful Half Moon Betta. My tank is so peaceful there is no fighting what so ever and it seems as all the tank mates are living in harmony. I want to add more to my tank but wondered what other fish I could add with my betta as I don't want to ruin the nice peaceful atmosphere in the aquarium also I don't want to over crowd my tank. Any advice on some nice colourful lively yet peaceful non nippy tank mates??




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[Ulmina]

Nice fish with my male Betta are the Vietnamese White Cloud (Mountain Minnow) I got 8 days ago. No nipping at all. Suggested number is 9-10 animals, as they are a schooling fish (minimum would be 6 but I have 9). Will be good for your tank if the top level of the water column has real estate available, which I believe you do have with your animals ~ right? They swim a little in mid-column, but mostly upper 1/3, and few specimens (if any) will do any browsing on the tank floor for leftovers. They will take flake food but really love frozen bloodworms. Will take a small amount of frozen daphnia & brine shrimp if in the mood, but you likely feed bloodwoms with the Betta. They will not take Betta pellets or any sinking foods. Also, do not bother with the freeze dried 'insect foods', IMO. My Bettas won't eat them. They're mostly empty exo-skin (whatever the outside of the worm is). Cheap Chinese crap. ;p

Good products for adding animals and/or slightly crowded tanks (and/or a bit of over-feeding) are Seachem's Stability and Prime. Per the 1" of fish per gallon rule, both my 5g nano tanks are 'over-crowded'. Perfect water in the older one, and have turned the corner on cycling the newest one finally. Got the Prime near the end of the process & wish I found it for sale sooner because the 2X/day water changes were a slight pain, but worth it for the animals. The VWCMM's are 'forgiving' fish, but I don't want my animals to suffer.

Have fun!

 

[Hampton]

Great reply man thanks.


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[Ulmina]

You're welcome! I was scared to put animals with my male, but after seeing some at pet shops that way, I got braver and now I'm so happy about it.

 

[Pseudomugil]

I kept 2 male betas together in a 10 gallon. Everyone's probably like

 

[absolutangel04]

Before you add to much more, I suggest looking into what types of plecos and catfish you have since common plecos get HUGE. Also, just to give you a heads up, Bala sharks reach over a foot and will need a bigger tank, and more balas preferably. They also won't necessarily stay so docile as they get older and larger. Sorry for being the bearer of potentially bad news. If you are planning on upgrading or also getting a bigger tank, then you will be just fine.
As for betta tankmates, I would start with more neons. Larger shoals are always great to watch and they tend to sometimes stick together more. Another fish to look into is the harlequin rasbora or the espei rasbora. They are very pretty, and peaceful. They also swim a bit higher up than the neons do, so it helps your tank look a bit more full. Another fun one to look at is the corydoras catfish (that might be the small catfish you already have though). They do great in groups and very peaceful fish. Plus, they are rather active and a lot of fun to watch in the tank.