My 46 Gallon Tank

[Nynjawolf]

Okay so I think I posted on here several months ago about my tank, getting Cichlids. It unfortunately didn't work out, two of them died from stress due to the others bullying them.. one jumped out of the tank somehow and I sold the other so I could start over.

Anywho, since I am way more comfortable with mollies, platies and fish of that sort, I decided to stock my tank with those. However, I have always wanted a beta fish and despite the aggressive nature of them, I want a male betta.

I guess my question is if you think this setup could work:

1 male betta
2 male mollies (probably a Gold Dust or Dalmatian)
6 female mollies ^
2 male guppies
4 female guppies

In a 46 gallon bow-front aquarium with lots of hides and several fake plants

 

[charliebankston]

I just read your post on African cichlids. I wasn't on this forum in July, sorry you didn't get more input and it didn't work out. Just fyi if you ever want to try Africans again, go all male with zero caves

 

[charliebankston]

I can't help with your current wish list btw, I don't keep any of those fish

 

[Kuriuskitten]

In my experience, male bettas are only aggressive towards males of their own and fish that may look like them, ie. long flowing find.

Guppies could get nipped, but if tank was well planted and not overstocked, it could work.

 

[HannahJo]

I kept a male betta in my community tank (with mollies, platies, tetras) and it did not work out. The betta would bully the platies and mollies. This is a 72G so there was plenty of room for him to establish territory and for everybody to keep their space- but he was a total jerk. I would not recommend it. Bettas are unpredictable in this manner- you never know if they will get along or not. Some do and some don't- it's a guessing game. That's my opinion.

 

[charliebankston]

I've read about bettas killing the whole tank. But I've also seen and read where they get along fine with other fish. Like you said, I guess it's just a guessing game

 

[Kuriuskitten]

I wonder if bettas are really cichlids in disguise lol
They seem to be just as problematic. Guess that's why I've only had them twice.

 

[charliebankston]

I wonder if bettas are really cichlids in disguise lol
They seem to be just as problematic. Guess that's why I've only had them twice.

Haha! They def act like cichlids

 

[Gianna]

Definitely make sure there is a lot of hiding spaces and test the betta fish by other bettas before buying it. If it reacts badly keep trying others until they could care less about other bettas. I wouldn’t recommend the mollies, they can get big and are quite nippy, they can easily stress out the betta to the point of it dying. I think the guppies and betta would do well though, just not the mollies. Put the guppies in a few days before the betta and always put the betta last.

 

[HopeGR]

In my 10 gallon over the summer, I bought one of those neon tetras bettas that they keep in a bowel. I had guppies and platys at the time, about 5. The neon betta killed my platy in 2 days. I got into this over the summer, and I really wanted a tank of glo fish at the time. So the girl at the pet store said people usually buy these neon tetras to see if they like them, then get the glo fish. Let me just say, the neon tetra died four days later. Thank God I got my money back - it was $10, but still - and since, I was turned off to glo fish.

I have mollys and one platy at the moment in a 20 gallon and enjoy them immensely. The guppies die too quickly as well and turned me off. But the mollys seem to endure. I think they are hilarious with their aggressiveness - in the beginning I actually thought they would kill each other by morning! But I love them and their colors. I love breeding them and seeing the little ones with their little bellies bulging, they are just too cute and my favorite. Stick with those.