Mike

Question from: D via email:

Hello, I was wondering what fish are good tank mates for Bettas. And if it makes a difference if it is a female or a male.


Hi D.
I don't think it will make a difference if it is male or female. If you have a heater in your aquarium, some good tank mates for Bettas are Plecos, Corydoras and Neon Tetras. I would not recommend Angelfish, Gouramis, Silver Dollars, and some of the larger Tetras. Also, don't have more than one betta in your tank, otherwise they will fight constantly.

Susie

My betta lives in an Eclipse 6 by hisself. He is somewhat shy so I have left him solo. I could be wrong about this, I've only kept fish for a year.

Miss Mouse

Hiya,
I've had a betta,called Taro, since April and he was in such a bad state when I got him - all ripped up by other fish from the pet shop. He now lives on his very own bi-orb. I tried to introduce a pleco, called Slurp, to keep him company but Taro just chased him round and round so now Slurp lives with an equally aggressive gourami (who will strangely only tolerate Slurp!)
The only thing Taro tolerates is small snails - he nibbles big ones! Maybe he's french heehee
Taro has become very tame - he will swim through my fingers and always comes up to the side of the tank to wave hello : He's sooo sweet!

Mike

Hi Miss Mouse, welcome to the forum.

Miss Mouse

Tank you

SharkLover

they seem to do fine with dwarf gouramis (females though)

fletch

Mike:Also, don't have more than one Betta in your tank, otherwise they will fight constantly.
I thought that bettas were very well known for being peacfull?

Miss Mouse

I think it depends on your betta really - some will tolerate some fish, others wont. I think if they have more space they're more likely to be peaceful but you have to watch the other fish because they tend to nip the bettas fins (although in my case it's the other way round!)

0morrokh

The females can live with each other, as long as they have plenty of space & hiding places. Also, don't keep males with other fish with long fins(Guppies, etc.) because he'll see the fins, think the fish is a Betta, and you can say so long to the fishie :P

Gunnie

I have kept male and female bettas in community tanks with opaline gouramis, cory cats, and yo yo loaches. You definately only want 1 betta in the tank if it's a male, and the females may get along, but sometimes the females can be as aggressive as the males, so it's a gamble. I wouldn't put a betta in a tank with nippy fish like tiger barbs or danios. And I would add a heater. I know that a lot of folks have their bettas in a betta bowl, but they are actually tropical fish, and need heated water.

Craig

siamese fightin fish!!!!!!! sorry had 2 say it sumtime in here we have this advert in northern ireland with a small boy and his grandad have a tank and the grandad walks in and says- "Is that a siamese fightin fish?" then the boy says, "Aye grandad!" "they fight with all the other fish dont they?" "No grandad just the other males?" "Oh is that why hes all alone!"

But u c the point of it is they boy walks in at the start and his mum says 2 the grandad hes only got in2 another fight at skool u c best advert ever!!!

Gunnie

hydreloy

I used to have 3 males living in my community tank with my guppies,tetras, danios, and gouamis(dwarf, and a powder blue). The males weren't aggressive towards each other, but were aggressive towards the gouramis. It was strange because when I had two of them in solitairy cups, beside each other they wouldn't fan out and try to scare the others. So, I tried a little experiment, because I was just a kid, and you know how when someone says "Don't", you always end up doing what they told you not to do anyways..I put two in one cup...I had them in the same cup for three days, and nothing was wrong with them(no fins ripped, no scales missing and no aggression)...Me, being the idiot thinking my other 12 bettas were like that, I put them together. And it didn't work like the first two..but i notice one other wasn't very aggressive so I up it in with the other two and they didn't fight.?? But, out of all of these experiments....I noticed the different aggresions.|RED|(really aggressive),|Bright Blue|(not that aggressive),|Dark Blue|(really aggressive),|Dark Green|(aggressive),|Red and Dark Blue{purplish colour}|(really aggressive),|Purple and Dark Green|(aggressive), and the rest of the colours are a mystery. I still want to find a orangy-coloured betta.


Well, I just wanted to add that...I thought that it was unbelievable, myself about the three males.