Can I house Rasboras With my Betta?

[BettaLoveForever]

Can I add Rasboras to my betta tank?

 

[airfix2]

yea, depends on the size of the tank and the temperment of the betta.

 

[JustAFishServant]

Absolutely! Many rasbora and betta splendens complex species live together in the wild. Remember though, domestic bettas were bred to be highly aggressive; females and males.

Your best bet is adding a school of rasboras first - this allows the tankmates to get comfortable in "their" territory. If you add a betta first, they think the whole tank is their territory and will try to kill any "intruders," whether they're really a threat or not.

(My first betta, a turquoise & royal blue roundtail female named Bluestar, wanted to kill a minnow, even though he wasn't a threat to her. But, by far, my most aggressive betta I've ever had within 11 years of keeping them was a long-finned rosetail galaxy koi female I named Aella the Huntress. She was an import from Thailand and came with 2 other girls, but no matter what I did, she always tried to kill EVERYONE.)

 

[Lucy]

Hi welcome to FishLore!

Sorry, I must disagree. The answer is not absolutely yes,.

The answer is maybe, maybe not. As said above, It depends on the temperament of the betta and tank size.

Even then, they could live together peacefully for a while but once the betta matures things could change.

If you decide to try, have another tank ready to separate them

 

[JustAFishServant]

Hi welcome to FishLore!

Sorry, I must disagree. The answer is not absolutely yes,.

The answer is maybe, maybe not. As said above, It depends on the temperament of the betta and tank size.

Even then, they could live together peacefully for a while but once the betta matures things could change.

If you decide to try, have another tank ready to separate them

The question is "Can I" vs "Should I?" Can rasboras be kept with bettas? Absolutely! As stated, many rasboras and species within the Betta splendens complex cohabit happily in the wild. The question: "Should BettaLoveForever keep rasboras with their betta?" It depends on the fish. I've rescued over 500 fish within 11 years; about 300 of which were bettas (about 100 females & 200 males.) I've had experience with likely every betta personality; shy, friendly, active, lazy, chill, stress-prone, loners, cravers, cool water lovers, warm water lovers, absolute murderesses, and so on. Heck, I once had 2 males and a female in a 12 gallon that not only got along, but became extremely stressed when I kept them alone.

What I'm saying, BettaLoveForever , is that all fish are different. Can and do rasboras and betta fish get along? Of course! Do they always? No...

As explained in my first post, you should add the rasboras first. This will, hopefully, prevent betta from wanting to protect their territory when it wasn't theirs to begin with. But, of course, as I know better than most, all bettas (and many fish for that matter) are different. You should always have a spare tank in case things go wrong...but it should double as a hospital tank, in case things go very wrong!

Hope this helps friend! Good luck

 

[Lucy]

The question is "Can I" vs "Should I?"

Semantics.

Can I jump off a bridge?
absolutely

Should I?
Maybe, maybe not. A lot depends on the situation.

 

[JustAFishServant]

Semantics.

Can I jump off a bridge?
absolutely

Should I?
Maybe, maybe not. A lot depends on the situation.

You could jump off a bridge any time you want! Skydiving into the ocean, bungee jumping, or... Just, y'know, try not to die :/

If you want, read my whole post. It explains more. Of course, you don't have to if you don't want. As long as BettaLoveForever reads it

That's actually a great analogy though. Bridge jumping, no matter the type, is dangerous. Just like keeping bettas with other fish. Yes, it's absolutely possible to do so, but as stated, it's not always ideal, especially with an aggressive fish. Territorial is different. You can keep tankmates with territorial fish, as long as they don't get aggressive.

 

[MasterPython]

I would not trust any of my Bettas with Chili Rasboras or similar sized fish. Harlequin Rasboras are from the same places and can get along fine with enough room.

 

[Lucy]

No one has asked what size tank this is

 

[JustAFishServant]

No one has asked what size tank this is

Wow, yeah, you're right! Okay BettaLoveForever - what size tank?

 

[BettaLoveForever]

It is twenty nine gallons. I only have one male betta.

 

[kansas]

I know these are only fish but I wouldn't risk it.