What fish go well with a betta?

[maxwellag]

I am getting a five gallon tank soon and am wondering what fish go well with a betta. I move my betta to it andmay add one or two more small fish, depending on the size. Are ghost shrimp ok? What about guppies? Please list the ones you can think of

 

[siva]

None in a 5 gal. A betta needs 5 gals minimum for himself. Guppies are 10 gal minimum. Also bettas generally can't be kept with fish that have flowing fins like guppies. Shrimp and snails are the only suitable tankmates in a 5 gal. My males all eat shrimp, but I keep a nerite snail with them to take care of any algae. The only other fish that are suitable for 5 gal tanks are nano fish like micro rasbora..and I wouldn't trust a betta with fish that small anyway.

 

[maxwellag]

Ok, so should I just get one or two snails? I dot know if my betta will eat shrimp or not. He has never seen another fish before in his life.

 

[Rosenweiss]

Snails'll be fine. And you can try ghost shrimp, in general bettas may not eat them because of their lack of bright color, compared to RCS. But it's up to you. Luckily ghost shrimp are cheap so if you buy them and they get eaten it won't hurt.

 

[firteen888]

Luckily ghost shrimp are cheap so if you buy them and they get eaten it won't hurt.

It'll hurt for the shrimp

 

[SteveChiller]

I have one crowntail betta with 1 nerite, 1 oto and 4 albino corys in a 14g. They seem to doing alright.

 

[Rosenweiss]

It'll hurt for the shrimp

Lol! Circle of life? But I understand if he doesn't want to take the chance!

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I am getting a five gallon tank soon and am wondering what fish go well with a betta. I move my betta to it andmay add one or two more small fish, depending on the size. Are ghost shrimp ok? What about guppies? Please list the ones you can think of

Ghost shrimp are great with Betta's. I have 6 with my Betta and he doesn't even notice them. They're great at clean up too and the nerite snail keeps the glass spotless.

 

[siva]

Albino cories easily reach 3" and are very active catfish. IMO they aren't suitable choices for anyting less than 29 gals.

1 nerite snail should be all you need to manage any algae a 5 gal should produce

 

[maxwellag]

My lfs doesn't have nerute snails. Will a mystery snail be ok?

 

[SteveChiller]

Albino cories easily reach 3" and are very active catfish. IMO they aren't suitable choices for anyting less than 29 gals.

1 nerite snail should be all you need to manage any algae a 5 gal should produce

I'll move them to my 40g when they get too big for the 14

 

[siva]

I'm not sure it will take care of algae the same way. Nerites are the big algae eaters. Some bettas won't work with mystery snails because they come too far out of their shells..I know atleast one of my male bettas would make a mystery snail miserable attacking it every time it came out of it's shell. They also get the size of an apricot and poop alot. Not my favorite choice for smaller tanks but it might be OK.

 

[maxwellag]

Well where do I et nerite snails then?

 

[Homedog98]

How about you just get a ten instead? You'd be amazed at just how much more you could fit in it!

 

[maxwellag]

My mom won't let me get another 10. I already have one anyways. I'm not a newbie.

 

[Homedog98]

Sorry... My bad. Well ya, a betta and some snails is about it. You can order merited online most of the time.

 

[maxwellag]

If I'm gonna order online I'm gonna wait until I have more room in my other tank too because shipping is expensive so I need to
get as much stuff that I need as I can.

 

[Homedog98]

Ya. That's the only downside of online ordering. So expensive!

 

[siva]

Yeah shipping inverts like snails is reasonable, but I wouldn't do it to just order one snail. I can usually get quite a few shrimp and snails shripped all together for around $15.

You don't have to have a nerite in there. I'm not sure if you have a Petco, but mine has been carrying them more and more lately. If you see a snail with a reddish shell with little black marks on it or one with zebra stripes, that's a nerite. They are more and more popular lately so just keep your eyes open for them in the lfs. In the meantime, try a couple shrimp with him and see if they become snacks

 

[maxwellag]

I live in Ankeny Iowa so I only have a petsmart here but I might go to DES moines soon sock will probably check it out... What sites can u get the snails and shrimps together for 15$?