Betta with Zebra Danio?

hI Guys

My question is "what would happen if I was to put a Betta in my 10G tank with One Zebra Danio (Dan)"

Would there be any chance of harmonious living?
Or would one harrass the other?

I only have room for one tank at the moment (my 10G), it's had a zebra danio in it for 3 months now and I wanted to get him a tank mate

I would love a Betta but will not keep one in a bowl!

Thanks
Lily

 

Nope, sorry. Danios are fin nippers and too fast to be in with a slow moving betta.

 

The best companions for your danio are several more danios.

Don't combine one with a betta.

 

#1, thank you for not keeping a betta in a bowl.

There is a minute chance of peace, but I wouldn't bet on it at all. Bettas can be very jealous of their space, and danios can nip fins.

 

Since danios are schooling fish he would much rather have a couple more like himself than a betta for a friend
He would probably nip the bettas fins.
Carol

 

The odds are low of them getting along and most likely both would be unhappy. Danios are schooling fish and that little guy would be happiest if he had some Danio buddies.

 

I have a female Betta with eight zebra danios (four of them Glofish) in a 10 gal planted tank with seven Apple snails, plus one yet-unidentified snail, since... yesterday. It took me 12 days to cycle and add the first fish -Edda, the female betta. So far they seem quite happy with each other and water parameters quite stabilized.
I read somewhere -here probably- that bettas (male or female) could share a community tank with schools of other non-aggressive fishes, so I'm giving this idea a try. So far so good.
Pepe

 

Wow Pepe, that's a seriously overstocked tank. Half of the danios would stock that tank on their own. Nevermind the snails (huge waste producers) and the betta. You're going to find the water parameters spiraling out of control very quickly with that many fish. Your nitrate will be through the roof.

How did you get the tank to cycle so quickly? Did someone give you a bit of filter media or some substrate to cycle it?

 

OH my goodness....even one apple snail by itself is too much for a 10 gallon tank.

 

True, snails are huge waste producers and Danios are almost 100% of the time, bad tank mates for Bettas. I'd recommend a separate tank for the Betta and a larger tank for the other fish.

 

I have a male Betta in with two head/taillight tetras and a couple of ottos in a 10g. I know it is a bit overstocked, but frequent water changes and chemistry checks are performed. They are all getting along very well, and have been for the last 7 months.

 

I think the only bad part about having an overstock tank is keeping up with the water changes and sometimes the fish don't live as long (that's what i've heard).
plus i'm sure they much rather be in a tank that they don't have to be overstocked. it might look fine to us but to them is probably not so comfortable. I think that's why people feel bad when knowing that there is an overstocked tank.

 

Evelyn, you've got it exactly. There are the water changes, but the biggest thing is that, even in the most understocked tank, the fish are crammed in more tightly than they would be in nature. In an overstocked tank, we're likely triggering reflexes that nature has built in to most creatures who are crammed in a too-tight area (panic and aggression are the two most common).

 

I have a female Betta with eight zebra danios (four of them Glofish) in a 10 gal planted tank with seven Apple snails, plus one yet-unidentified snail, since... yesterday. It took me 12 days to cycle and add the first fish -Edda, the female betta. So far they seem quite happy with each other and water parameters quite stabilized.
I read somewhere -here probably- that bettas (male or female) could share a community tank with schools of other non-aggressive fishes, so I'm giving this idea a try. So far so good.
Pepe

Wow, I have 2 glo-danios in my 20 gallon tank, and those are some ACTIVE fish. They are really fun to watch when they play, but 8 of them in a 10g? Add in your decorations, plants, and rocks etc then it would be a bit cramped for them I think.

Put those 8 in a 20 gallon tall tank, with a bubble wall, and you will really see them have some fun

 

I have kept bettas successfully with other fish, but my experience has lead me to the conclusion that it is best to avoid it. You will notice I have nothing but cories and otos with my bettas now. And I agree with the prior posts, danios are not a smart choice with a betta in any case. Besides personality conflicts, if you are feeding the other fish flake food, the betta will end up eating it and get sick. I had a betta die this way, it isn't a pretty way to go.

 

HI sorry I didn't reply before.
I left May 20th to Chicago, and I can't wait to get back.
The catch is I ordered a 29gal (tall) and a 160gal, tanks the female betta is probably reaching adult size, but the danios are all quite small yet (arrived about a week prior to my purchase of them), so the overstocking will not be a long term problem. I did a fishless but planted cycle in 11 to 12 days (I posted a log of it in this forum: 10 gal Freshwater planted fishless cycle). I could cycle in so short time since I did a lot of research around and went patient. When the tank, planted and with 7 apple snails, could take care of added-ammonia in a matter of hours, and the NO2 Spike went down, 100% water change and rolling.
Now, before cycling the coming two tanks, I intend to establish one or two 5gal as quarantine tank(s) first.
I haven't (not yet) picked up any dangerous NO3 readings, but I did two gravel vacuum, and on May 19th performed a 20 to 25% water change. Someone I trust is doing the NO3readings for me as I'm away.
Thank you all for inspiring me back into fish keeping, and showing so much concern for these silent crazy creatures.

Old Newby
Pepe
PS No flakes, just pellets w/o overfeeding, and 2 days a week w/o any food at all.

 

Hi, guys! What are your thoughts on keeping Betta Fish with Zebra Danios?

When I was googling it, it seemed like a lot of people thought it would be a bad idea because of how fast and active Zebra Danios are compared to the slow-moving Betta. Would it make a difference if the Betta was a Plakat, or is it a definite no for having the two together? I'm thinking the Plakat might do better with the Danios as Plakats have shorter fins and will be able to move a bit faster.

I'm hoping to set up a 55 gallon freshwater tank with 1 Plakat Betta, 4 Swordtails, 5 Otos, and 5 Neon Tetras. It'd be awesome to add in 5 or 6 Zebra Danios, but I definitely don't want to stress out the Betta.

Would there be any other compatibility issues with the fish mentioned above?

 

Danios with bettas woild not be a good idea. As you have already said the danios are a lot faster and would stress out a betta.
Bettas in community tanks in general are not a good idea imo.

There are temperature incompatibilities in that plan.
Neons need 70-75f
Zebra danios need 66-75f
Bettas need 78-82f

I would do this
4 swordtails (just one gender)
8 Otos
10 panda cories
15 neons
12 zebra danios
1 dwarf gourami or 2-4 honey gouramis or 2 Bolivian rams

 

That's a really good idea! Thank you so much.

 

No problem! There are lots of fish you could swap in or whatever if you don't want to do that exact plan

 

Sorry to bug you, but what do you think of 4 Swordtails (2 male, 2 female), 6 Otos, 5 White Cloud Mountain Minnows, 5 Neon Tetras, and 5 Zebra Danios?

I'd prefer to keep the white clouds, neons, and danios in schools of 6 each, but when I trytells me "Warning: You should add more aquarium filtration capacity. Your aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is 93%"

Is this a minor thing that won't make a negative impact on my tank as long as weekly water changes are done, or should I go with doing five each instead of six?

 

4 words. Depends on the bettas. Some fish are known to not be good with bettas. I don't know about zebra danios but some of the previous replies are stating they are incompatible tempature wise and just in general. Try finding another fish you like.

 

Thank you! I might go with 6 neon tetras, 1 betta, 4 swordtails, 6 bloodfin tetras, and 6 otos- there seems to be a lot of debate on whether neon tetras prefer higher or lower temperatures. I may do cardinal tetras instead just to be safe. If I choose not to try out a betta, I'll do 4 Swordtails (2 male, 2 female), 6 Otos, 5 White Cloud Mountain Minnows, 5 Neon Tetras, and 5 Zebra Danios.

 

Goodluck.

 

Thanks!

 

I'd make the schools larger in a 55g.

 

Alright, thanks!

 

If I choose not to try out a betta, I'll do 4 Swordtails (2 male, 2 female), 6 Otos, 5 White Cloud Mountain Minnows, 5 Neon Tetras, and 5 Zebra Danios.

Swordtails are livebearers so they need to be kept in the livebearers ratio of at least 2 females for every male. Keep in mind that if you have both genders you may quickly be overrun with fry. If you want 4 then 1 male and 3 females would be best.

I agree with bizaliz, I would probably up the schools to 8 Otos, 10 WCMM, 10 neons and 8 danios

 

Awesome, thank you guys!

 

I really wouldn't put the Betta in this community tank. It would have to be a very unusual individual to be able to put up with all of these other fish. There are people on here who have kept Bettas with other fish for months only for them to go rogue and start killing their tank mates. Why stress out the Plakat? Just put him in a small tank of his own next to the community tank, so that he can get lots of entertainment without feeling the need to go postal.

 

Thank you, Endlercollector! I'm unable to have two tanks running like you suggested, and I don't have the plakat or the other fish as of now; I'm just trying to plan ahead.

I definitely understand your concerns about keeping the betta fish in a community tank. Do you mind me asking how common it is for a betta to thrive in a community tank, or if they almost always go rogue and/or get picked on by the other fish? I've been trying to pick out less nippy fish out of concern of them targeting or putting stress on the betta.

I'm currently considering keeping sterbaI cories, a betta fish, bloodfin tetras, otos, and cardinal tetras. If it'll be too risky and stressful for the betta and/or other fish in the community tank, I'll either add swordtails to the mix in exchange for the betta, or go with swordtails, panda cories, otos, white cloud mountain minnows, neon tetras, and zebra danios

 

I definitely understand your concerns about keeping the betta fish in a community tank. Do you mind me asking how common it is for a betta to in a community tank, or if they almost always go rogue and/or get picked on by the other fish? I've been trying to pick out less nippy fish out of concern of them targeting or putting stress on the betta

It's incredibly unlikely a betta would actually thrive in a community tank unless it was just a betta with maybe some cories, loaches or a clown pleco. A lot of bettas will attack tank mates or they will get nipped by tank mates. Even if none of these specific behaviours happen they may become shyer as they feel threatened. Sometimes bettas will appear to get along with their tank mates only to start oicking them off one by one a few months down the line. Bettas are very territorial and just don't do well in a community tank. You can try it but it's very likely it will be stressed. There are so many horror stories out there of bettas in community tanks I just don't see why someone would risk it. The safest way to keep bettas in community tanks would be by having them as they only mid dwellers / top dwellers and just having some non colourful bottom dwellers and maybe some shrimp and snails. Sorry but I think your tank would work a lot better without the betta.

 

It's just fine, I appreciate you telling me. I'll definitely look more into the successes and failures of community tanks with bettas and decide from there. I'd hate for the little guy to be stressed by the other fish or for the other fish to be attacked. Thank you for your warning!