Tom

Would a betta, feeder guppies, and a ghost shrimp go well together? I have had the betta with the guppies in the same bowl when I change the water, and a ghost shrimp was with my betta in his little tank for about a month. I will try and have pics soon.
Tom

gammerus

congrats on your betta, he seems to be quite the mellow fellow.

kerryve

How long has your betta been with the guppies? Betta's generally don't like pretty fish with them, they quite obnoxious, and sensitive to the fact that the guppies have pretty fins, he might get jealous and nip at them and visa versa... but if they already know eachother well then i suppose its fine...

Butterfly

For short periods of time bettas and Guppies are ok. But if the Guppies have long flowey fins the betta will take it to be another betta and attack it. Also bettas usually don't like other fish to be in their personal space, thats why they do so well with otos and corys.
My Bettas always eventually killed any ghost shrimp I put in with them so thats just my experience
Now are you removing your fish to do water changes?
Carol

Tom

Butterfly- Ya I would have to because the bowl is about 1.5 gal and the tank with the betta is about 0.5 gal.

kerryve- The question is if a betta will go well with feeder guppies and a ghost shrimp. The only time the betta sees the guppies is when I do a water change for them.

Here is a pic of my betta.
Tom

Attached Images

Betta_edited.JPG (332.3 KB, 32 views)

chickadee

If you do not intend to get BIGGER containers for all the fish involved then NO they do not belong together. The betta should not be kept in anything any smaller than 2.5 gallons so he can be in heated water or you will soon have a constipated betta due to cool water slowing down his metabolism. I know everyone gets tired of hearing me say this but BETTAS DO NOT BELONG IN THESE LITTLE CONTAINERS. They are not little toys, but living beings that have needs and the needs cannot be met in that type of container.

They also do not like guppies and will nip and the guppies also nip them. They do not see the guppies as threats so they will allow them to do it and so end up with badly infected fins.

You can do as you please but be aware that your fish, especially the Betta will have a shortened lifespan and be unhealthy if he is expected to live in these conditions.

Rose

gammerus

I beg to differ, Guppies do not allways nip and bettas will not allways eat them. it isn't a set rule.

chickadee

No it does depend on the betta but the occurence happens often enough and the bettas do tend to become more aggressive the more crowded that they are. If they are in a small tank they are going to be less likely to want tankmates than if they had a decent amount of room to share. In the size of tanks that we are talking about here, it is not a good idea to mix any type of fish.

Rose

gammerus

True enough, room does matter

Tom

Thanks guys.
Tom

0morrokh

Guppies need 10 gallon tanks. If they are anything like mine were they will probably think Mr. Betta's fins are lunch.
Bettas should have 5 gallons although can live in a bit less, and may very well think the Guppy's fins are dinner.
Additional problems with keeping the two together include the fact that they like a different temp range and need a completely different type of diet.
As for they Ghosties they will probably become Betta lunch so by all means do not put them in with a Betta.
Sorry if I have just repeated stuff others have already said.

Oh also, why are you removing the fish when you do a water change? There is really no need to do so. How are you doing changes? Do you use a siphon/vacuum?

poefox

Apparently its a bowl. Its easier to just do a general water change with a bowl. They get dirty really quickly.

Tom

It is a bowl and it gets dirty really quickly.
Tom

Tom

If I got a 10 gallon tank, would I be able to put them both in there with some fake plants and have no problems?
Tom

chickadee

You can always put them in there but there is no gaurantee that there will be no problems. Guppies have been known to be fin nippers on Betta fins and the amount of water is not going to make a difference and if you have Guppy males with fancy tails, the Bettas have been known to go after them as if they were another Betta. I cannot keep you from it, no one can but we have advised you not to do it because it could be harmful for either of the fish. It does remain your choice, but we want you to know there are risks to be faced if you do.

You will have to keep a close eye on the health of all the fish because if there is nipping of any kind on any of the fish's part, there is going to be a good chance of infection setting in. Also there are medications that are appropriate for Guppies but you cannot use them on Bettas so if you need to medicate your Guppies now the Betta will need to be removed to another tank or the sick Guppies will.

It really is just a better idea to keep them seperated.

Rose

gammerus

You really can't have a more amusing tank than one with corys and snails..