betta and a cat fish?

[uglygoat]

specifically, i've got a spotted raphael catfish in a ten gallon tank. can i add a betta, or bad idea?

thanks.

tim

 

[HeathB]

Ime, my betta didn't even care to share space with a eetsy beetsy ghost shrimp, but I've heard of some betta that are a bit more charitable.

 

[uglygoat]

my thought is if the betta wants a bite of the spikes than moer power etc... i don't see the cat getting bullied, but i don't want to kill the betta. i've not got a betta, just curious what i can put in the tank.

thanks

tim

 

[HeathB]

How big is your cat? You could always try something cheap and colorful like guppies to see how he handles company, maybe?

 

[BigJim]

A betta and a raphael will get along fine. I will caution you that a raphael gets pretty big for a 10g. I have one in my 29g and he's really too big for that. He's 16 years old and about 8.5" long. Raphaels pretty much leave anything they can't eat alone.

 

[uglygoat]

i was reading about the raphy online, and getting the usual conflicting and poorly copy and pasted advice on some questionable websites. cool to know they can live that long, he's still pretty small, less than three inches. he'll eventually go into a big community tank when we buck up some cash for it. guppies look like they'd fit right into his mouth when they're sleeping on the bottom...

 

[BigJim]

It's possible. I have a few male guppies in my 29g with my cats and none have disappeared yet. Maybe they're too big, maybe he's too well-fed to bother. I'll just about guarantee my raphael eats fry when he gets a chance. I'm pretty sure he survived on guppies alone when I was in college.

 

[uglygoat]

we've put two that were being bullied in our guppy tank into the tank with the raphy. he is a rescue from my brothers stupid friend.

 

[uglygoat]

ok... one guppy dead, the other taken out of the tank with the raphy. guess we know his temperament now... he'll get solitary till i can get him in a larger tank.

 

[BigJim]

I doubt the raphael killed a guppy that he didn't eat. Raphaels are know for being peaceful community fish. They just eat what they can fit in their mouths. However, their mouths are rather small for a fish of that size.