Moving betta to bigger tank, tank mates ideas?

[WhiteDingo]

Hi, I'm new to taking care of bigger tanks, I have a gentle male betta in a corner 2.5g tank past 9 months. I got a suggestion from a family member to move him an unused 10g tank today. I'm sure he'd love it and I started to set up and cycling the tank, but I want to know if 10g is big enough for tank mates other than snail and shrimp species, maybe other fish?

 

[GuppyGuy333]

I definitely agree with your family about upgrading his tank. I would say 10g is a minimum (most people say five.....which I don't agree with). I would say upgrade it more if it is a realistic option)

The bigger the tank the more stable the water parameters are. Also the more options of fish you could potentially add without your betta feeling too stressed or threatened (which will make them more aggressive)

just make sure you have a heater and a filter!

I just made a post about my betta in a community tank in general discussion. It is pretty in depth.

PM if you have any questions

 

[henningc]

Small Rasboras, Edlers(I'd suggest all males) Least Killies, Neon Tetras, some of the larger shrimp.

 

[bullyboy]

A couple of Amano shrimp are always a good idea for clean up and generally big enough that the betta wount eat them.

Rasbora are great as they are also wild companions...however the issue with them and any other schooling fish is that a minimum school of 6 makes 7 fish total.
thats quite the bio load for 10 gallons unless yer running some serious filter, at which point you may have a current that the betta finds stressful.
Also a betta is territorial which means that only 10gallons very well may lead to some issues either with aggressive behavior or stress.
I keep my betta in the 10 gallon alone with just shrimp and snails.
I have another betta with a school of Harlequin Rasbora in a 20 gallon and it works out great.

 

[WhiteDingo]

Small Rasboras, Edlers(I'd suggest all males) Least Killies, Neon Tetras, some of the larger shrimp.

thank you, just wondering are ember tetras a possibility?

 

[aseradyn]

With bettas in community tanks, every pairing seems to be "well, it depends" Two people can match up the exact same species in the same size tank and get different results.

But, for what it's worth, I have a 29 with a betta and a small school of Von Rio/Flame tetras, and they get on beautifully. I'd think embers would do as well. They've never struck me as particularly nippy or prone to chasing other fish; they just kind of hang around.

Both bettas and embers will appreciate a lot of plants and hidey holes, cover to make them feel safe. My gut feeling is that they're more likely to come to blows if they're arguing over who gets the one piece of shelter in a tank than if they can spread out and still feel safe.

But as ever with the betta question: YMMV.