Rachel

Hi,
we have recently set up our aquarium, and after doing everything properly and acheiving good quality water we have been introducing our fish slowly. We have Neon Tetras and Albino Catfish in our tank and both are doing fine. Today we have been to a 'specialist tropical fish shop' to seek advice as to what fish to buy next. We saw the Siamese fighting fish and asked if it would be compatible with the fish we have in our tank, we were assured that it would be fully compatible and so purchased it. After looking the fish up on the internet we are now concerned that the new fish is not compatible with our neons. Should we be worried? Any advice appreciated.
Thanks Rachel

jri4

Welcome, Siamese Fighting Fish (AKA Bettas) are territorial when kept with each other, so you can only get one. Tetras are known as fin nippers, and should be kept in schools of 6 or more to reduce aggression. The Betta has long fins, which may induce biting from the tetras. Overall, it is not a safe combo.

Plus...

What size tank do you have, because the rule of thumb is 1 inch of mature fish for every gallon. If it is only a 10 gallon tank (like mine... ) then it is already fully stocked. Just some things to keep in mind! Welcome!

Rachel

Thanks for your speedy reply!! I'm really not impressed by the shop, and won't be going there again!! We'll keep an eye on things and certainly look things up before we seek advise from the 'specialists' again.

Rachel

genie

I would advise just keeping an eye on your fish. It really depends. I had one betta who lived a long life in a tank with tetras and other fish. I have a betta now who doesn't want anything in with him. Just watch the behavior. If you find the betta being picked on or picking on another fish, put him in a breeding net until you can get him a tank of his own. (But don't waste time, contrary to popular belief, bettas like room to swim)

Jim

I have 9 neon tetras and 10 serpae tetras living with 2 angelfish, which most would say is a bad combo, but I found that as long as the tetras are in a school (6 or more) they seem to behave... just keep an eye on them...

Neville

hi rachel,
welcome to fishlore, yeah tetras may cause trouble for your betta. do u have any back up plan for the betta, i'd suggest u keep it in a different 2.5 or 5 gallon tank because they love to live alone.

Rachel

Hi Everone. Thanks for all of your posts. Just letting you know so far so good (although I don't want to tempt fate). All fish are doing fine and the Betta and Tetras haven't seemed to notice each other. We're just hoping that it stays that way and are going to continue to keep a close eye on them.
Thanks again

Rachel

COBettaCouple

Yea, sounds like that store just wants to sell and you could ask them anything & they'd say yes if it meant more money in the bank. I'd agree with Neville about putting the Betta in his own tank but if you have a good-tempered Betta (like our Sora) it might work out. I guess you can watch the Bettas fins for little nips and the same for the other fish and see how it goes after a few weeks. What type & color is your Betta?

Jim

it also depends on how big your tank is... mine are in a 46 gallon, so there's lots of room for all of them. I'm thinking of getting a betta and seeing what happens...

Rachel

Hi
Our Betta is a blue and red. He's absolutely gorgeous and seems to have a placid nature. We're still having no problems, his colours are bright, he's eating well and his fins are fully in tact with no signs of any 'nips' so I'm presuming that means he's ok?

Rachel

COBettaCouple

Yea, are they hanging out in the same area or does the Betta have his area & the other fish stick to their area? No fin nips or missing fins on the other fish? No hiding among the other fish either?

Rachel

Hi

The other fish are fine, no nipped fins and all appear to be swimming around happily. The Betta (Sushi) does swim among them sometimes but he just acts as if they aren't there. When we purchased him from the LFS he was in a tank with neons and other fish so maybe he has been 'raised' with other fish and is used to them, I aren't sure but I'm happy to say all our fish seem happy and healthy.

Rachel

COBettaCouple

Great! Sounds like he's a lot like our Sora and very good natured.

Rachel

Hi,
Just a quick update. After finishing work today I noticed that our betta was attacking the other fish, he was really aggressive and kept trying to bite them. I have just donated him to another LFS (I didn't take him back to where we originally brought him as I didn't want them selling him to anyone else on the pretence that they sold him to us and causing the poor fella more stress). Feel guilty but as we have no where else to put him I could see no other option apart from our other fish ending up ill or worse. Guess I jinxed myself yesterday!! Thanks for all the advice on here, I will definately ask you guys before we buy any more.

Rachel

COBettaCouple

I'm sorry it didn't work out. I guess the Betta established an area as his turf and that was that. Kind of like when we had 4 females in 1 tank (at the advice of the pet store 'fish expert').. things went ok until they established territory and from then on it was war until we gave up & took 3 back.

I hope you'll be able to get a Betta soon - they really are wonderful fish, they just have a short list of reliably good tankmates.