Mari

Hi, I have a 20 gallon tank with 6 cardinal tetras in it. I was thinking of adding some other fishies and went to Petsmart and saw these beautiful bettas. Can I put it in my tank? I am afraid that my carnals might nip the betta's fins or that my betta will kill my cardinals. Has anyone made this realtionship work? Please let me know. Thanks!

0morrokh

I personally wouldn't risk it. The tetras probably would nip the Betta's fins, which would cause him a lot of stress and could lead to infections. I think it's great if you want to get a Betta...just get him his own 5 gal tank, or a bigger tank with more compatable fish like Cories or Otos.

Phloxface

Tetras are usually not a good tank mate for Bettas because they are fin nippers. The Betta would not harm them and would see them as no threat so he is the one who would be getting nipped. Very few fish make good tankmates for Bettas and usually it is the other fish that will cause problems for the Betta, not the other way around.

Pepsi216

I currently have a 10 gal with five cardinals and Artemis, my female CT betta, and they've been living together very happily for several months now. What makes it work is that my cardinals seem to come from a shy lot, and Artemis is just agressive enough where she woun't put up with any harassment but won't create any harassment herself (until my fingers find their way into the tank ) As a result, they leave each other alone and I've never had any problems.

I had another betta, Polaris, who lived in there before Artemis. He was the most easy going betta I've ever seen, and also got along splendidly with the cardinals. However, I have Nightstar who is the opposite of Polaris and Artemis, as he is fairly agressive. I wouldn't put anything but the ottos I have now in with him because I would be worried for its health. For whatever reason, the ottos are invisible to him. Go figure.

If you do add a betta, watch very carefully how he/she interacts with the cardinals. The cardinals could start harassing the betta, or the betta could chase the cardinals. On the other hand, they could live just fine together. Definately have a backup plan ready where you could rescue the betta if need be.

Good luck!

~Kelly

Mari

This is great guys, thanks so much.... I will actually try it out and if it does not work out I will either get my betta a smaller tank or give him back and get a group of barbs.

You guys have been great!, especially Pepsi216 brought my hope back up!!! Thaaaaaaaaanks!!!!

COBettaCouple

I hope it works out & best of luck.. i would recommend stocking a med or 2 just in case.. something like trisulfa or rid-fungus.. and some vita-chem (from the DFS website) or other liquid vitamins. It would be good for healing any damaged fins if it didn't work out and if it does work out, at some point you might need the meds and liquid vitamins are always a good idea for any fish tank.

Carillon

Good advice ... and maybe have a plan or somewhere to put the betta if you have to remove him/her in a hurry!

0morrokh

Yes, if you're going to try it, have a separate tank on hand when you put in the Betta in case you have to take him out. It may work since you have a bigger tank, but just be prepared in case you get a more aggressive Betta or very nippy tetras.

Mari

Thanks guys! Actually I got my betta today and they seem to be doing fine. My betta seems to be a very shy little dude, and my tetras don't seem at all interested in him. I got two albino corys a couple days ago and god, are they active!!! They are everywhere, thought they would stay in the bottome of the tank but one of thme goes all the way up, seem to be everywhere. If it was a kid, it would be on ritalin!!! However, I am very worried because just today I noticed that my filter has algae, a lot of green inside it. What should I do? I got a new filter but haven't replaced it yet because all the good bacteria is in the old filter... not sure how to fix my problem any suggestions? will algae hurt my fish?

0morrokh

No, algae won't hurt your fish at all. If anything, they'll enjoy eating it if any of it gets into the tank. Don't replace your filter, since as you said you would lose the good bacteria, which would mean you'd have to re-cycle the tank. It's natural to get a bunch of "gunk" growing in your filter. If it is to the point of clogging the flow of the filter, you could swish the filter media and/or filter (depending on what kind of filter you have) in the old tank water after a water change.

chickadee

Of all the tetra family, the only ones that I would even consider putting in with a betta would be the cardinals. They have the reputation of being very peaceful and a very sweet fish. They are known to be a bit bigger and will school and ignore the betta and the betta will ignore them too. I would see no problem but as I have probably said too many times on this forum, it depends more on the temperment of the betta in this case. Since the tetras would be okay, the betta would need to be one who would accept tankmates. If you get a little stinker, you may need to have an emergency plan, as has been mentioned.

But the CARDINAL tetras as a tankmate for a betta, overall, is a good choice.

Rose

COBettaCouple

corys love to play and often seem to be super-hyper when first added to a new tank. i think it's their way of learning the new environment. the algae isn't a problem to the fish and you can clean it off the filter if you want, just remember that a LOT of the good bacteria is on the sponge in the filter.

Mari

Thanks for the advice guys! Actually they all seem to be happy together. My betta is happy, my corys look even more happy and my cardsinals are oblivious of who their tankmates are. I am happy

armadillo

Yeah, those pictures of them all together really look great. I am wondering if I could do the same. Get 5 neons or so, so they can school, and a betta and perhaps a cory. Do your cories eat algae? I keep forgetting. In a 13G.

COBettaCouple

no, cories prefer chocolate, but they'll settle for whatever leftover food they can find in the tank. the otos are your algae cleanup crew.

armadillo

I was hoping for some variety. I don't just want to have otos in every tank as algae eaters. Maybe I'll try shrimps? Oh no, that would never work with a betta.

COBettaCouple

lol.. it's not a high probability for success but it occasionally works.. mostly turns into a buffet though.

chickadee

Neons will not work...they are fin nippers. They ONLY tetras that will work are the Cardinals. Otherwise your betta fins are going to be nipped and infected. They (bettas) do not see them as threats and will let them go ahead and nip and then they end up finless and very sick. It is cardinal tetras or no tetras.

Sorry,

Rose

Mari

Actually... my corys eat algae! well... they eat algae wafers, the sinking kind. I got them a couple and they devoured them. What I thought was algae in my filter ended up being gunk growing on the carbon hehehe, so stupid of me. But yes, my corys eat algae wafers, actually they would eat anything I think, they seem to be looking for food 24 hours a day. I wonder if they ever sleep. My betta also eats a lot, its my cardinals that seem to be picky eaters. Oh well, nothing's perfect

COBettaCouple

funny how fish will eat algae wafers but not algae.