community compatability?

[sticky_love]

Hey all

Did a similar thread in the shark forum and am wondering about male beta compatability with a community tank... i have neons and 3 fancy guppies which ive heard would get shredded by a beta?.. is this correct...

i have a 60 gall tank :-)

[Nick G]

Some people do keep betta's in community tanks, but in my opinion it isn't a good idea. Firstly it depends on the temperement of the Betta, and secondly on the tankmates. What works for a while can suddenly turn into a disaster with fish getting hurt. I wouldn't recommend it. Betta's do best in their own tanks, 5gals is generally considered to be a good size for a Betta. Theres a great article on the homepage about keeping Bettas, and their requirements.

[namehater]

i have a betta that has no problems in a community tank, but there are also no other fish in the community that look similar to a betta (your guppies). being that your tank is a mammoth, you may be alright keeping the betta with only 3 guppies, i know there is somebody here on the forums that keeps 2 male bettas in a 55g. with that size of tank its for them to retreat and hide, or establish their own territories so to speak.

id say be VERY cautious trying it out, has your betta ever been kept with other fish at all? does he seem to be ready to fight at any given time?

i have a betta that i wouldnt even consider keeping in a community, he flares at EVERYTHING that moves, the one that did live in a community has only flared 1 time that im aware of.

[sticky_love]

thanks name hater

i think i will give it a miss, i love the beta's but dont want to risk the guppies getting turned over...lol..

the beta's in the shop all seem to be with corys, tetras or other quick moving/bottom dwellers....so i think it would have been alright otherwise...

I think i will concentrate on getting a shark in that case, i am after just 1 specimen as my centre piece if you know what i mean

[Nick G]

A Gourami would do very well in a 60gal tall, and be an excellent Centerpiece fish. A Gourami would tend to stick to the top of the tank, whilst the Shark will tend to stay at the bottom. This way you could have 2 centrepiece fish!

[sticky_love]

I like your style of thinking Nick.....

[ABCDemily]

I agree with Nick!
I have an RTS and is brilliant at mooching around the bottom, she's the first one anyone mentions something about.
Gourami's are lovely fish, good luck! I'm sure it's gunna have an amazing outcome.

[Bad Wolf]

i have had many male and female bettas in community tanks with guppies, kuhlis, angels, gouramis etc. it's not impossible.

[namehater]

im gonna suggest a bristlenose pleco for a centerpiece, im in love with them now

[serissime]

bettas can certainly be kept with success in a large community tank; however, if you don't have a surefire backup plan and aren't dead set on a betta, I'd go with some more reliable centerpiece fish. A betta wouldn't be your centerpiece anyways... they are pretty shy in large communities.

[Bad Wolf]

i have had 3 male (not together) bettas in large communities and they were always out and about, they were as healthy as a horse. they loved it.

[coffeebean]

i have my betta in a community tank. fancy guppies are not compatible at all though.

[Bad Wolf]

not true about fancy guppies, coffeebean. i have had thoughs same 3 males with guppies, not a single scratch on the guppies. but it does depend on the attitude of the betta as well.

[Shawnie]

every fish is a gamble as far as compatability...what works for one, doesnt always work for another....so dont doubt what someone say has happened to them and their fish..they give their opinion from their experience and NO ONE should say that it is wrong...remember, what works for you , wont always work for another....and although bettas in community tanks is give or take, most of the time it DOESNT work...its in their nature not to be community fish .....and if it does, it doesnt mean the betta is thriving...although they can survive, theres a huge difference in surviving and thriving...bettas are fish that love one and one contact with humans and dont care for stress of other fish in their space because they will always be on guard...they cant relax and show their true personalities...males or females...just make sure if you do add a betta to a community tank, that you have a back up plan as MOST do not work...
I Have some guppies that are way more mean than bettas..but then I have a betta that will take on my rottie if I let him

[Bad Wolf]

quite right Shawnie.

quick story, i have had like 30 bettas in my entire fish keeping years and let me say this. Every betta i have had, except for my 5 most recent ones, live by them self. they were so unhappy in a small tank with nothing to do. when i started keeping them in community tank, which was 5 bettas ago, they were much happier because of all the space they had.

when i was a kid, as in like 8 years old, i used to keep them in tiny betta bowls without filtration and without heating. i regret it, so now when ever i have bettas i spoil them every day with good care and good food.

[Shawnie]

Originally Posted by Bad Wolf

quite right Shawnie.

quick story, i have had like 30 bettas in my entire fish keeping years and let me say this. Every betta i have had, except for my 5 most recent ones, live by them self. they were so unhappy in a small tank with nothing to do. when i started keeping them in community tank, which was 5 bettas ago, they were much happier because of all the space they had.

when i was a kid, as in like 8 years old, i used to keep them in tiny betta bowls without filtration and without heating. i regret it, so now when ever i have bettas i spoil them every day with good care and good food.

no disrespect bad wolf, but your "fish keeping years" arent that long and to go through 30 bettas in that time, is alot...they probably werent happy because they were in bowls not because they werent with others and had room...they love a heated, filtered, 2.5 gals or more tank...some bettas even do worse with more space as they feel insecure and scared..but then some do well with bigger tanks..its all a gamble..im very glad yours are doing well together, but that is NOT the norm...

[Phinny12]

I have had Bettas in community tanks but always ended up seperating them out into thier own tanks where they were much happier..lets face it they are better in a place where they can be pampered and spoiled rotten!

[Bad Wolf]

Originally Posted by Shawnie

no disrespect bad wolf, but your "fish keeping years" arent that long and to go through 30 bettas in that time, is alot...they probably werent happy because they were in bowls not because they werent with others and had room...they love a heated, filtered, 2.5 gals or more tank...some bettas even do worse with more space as they feel insecure and scared..but then some do well with bigger tanks..its all a gamble..im very glad yours are doing well together, but that is NOT the norm...

no disrespect, Shawnie, but you don't know me, i had that many bettas because so many people in my family like my cousins would just dump them on me because they were "boring". i cared for them well, and i'm sorry they had less than a gallon of water and they weren't heated, but when one has so many bettas at a time, it's hard giving them a heater, a filter and a tank that's 5 gallons each. i'm not made of money and i was only like 8 back then, i wouldn't exactly have a job at 8.

[Nick G]

It's still not a good idea to give people advice saying that it's fine to keep Bettas in community tanks Bad Wolf. Although this may have worked for you, in 99% of cases it doesn't work well. I have a friend who has a 13inch Oscar
in a 75gallon tank with a school of Corys, and the Oscar totally ignores them, but I wouldn't give people advice saying it's ok to keep Oscars with Corys, as 99% of the time the Oscars would eat them.

[Bad Wolf]

i'm not saying you should be keeping them in community tanks, i'm saying that it is possible and many people has done it, like i said before it really does depend on the attitude of the fish itself.

your friend has an oscar in a tank with cory's? that's cool. i have a friend who keeps his 11 inch oscar with tiger barbs.

[xfish]

Actually I'm shocked that so many people have had this many bad experiences with bettas in community tanks that people are suggesting it's a bad idea in general. Just have a backup tank in case it doesn't work out, but personally I'm comfortable letting a betta hang with others.

First off, pretty much all of the guides I have read on fish say that the betta is a good community fish (being the only betta itself, of course) as long as you have peaceful tankmates without flowing fins so that the betta doesn't think it's another betta - and keep fin nippers to a minimum (hinting that the betta itself would be the target, not the aggressor).

I also had a good experience when I was younger with our 50g tank with a betta in the community tank - we had neons, cories, gouramis, otos, dwarf frogs, I think some zebra danios, and for a short time some kribensis. The betta pretty much got along with everyone - which I'm surprised at now that I've read that gouramis and bettas shouldn't mix, and that kribs were pretty territorial.

At the very least, I would say the small schooling fish like neons would be okay with bettas, and bottom feeders/algae eating wall suckers would be as well, like cories and otos. Just make sure there si enough space for all of them (i.e., I wouldn't put any tankmates with a betta in a 5g).

Bettas tend to stay on the top level, the other fish stay on the other levels, so there is enough space for each of them in a good sized tank, at least a 10g.