Should I Get Bettas Or Goldfish?

Hello!
So I currently have a 20 gallon long running without fish right now (I rehomed the previous inhabitant, a comet goldfish, last week) but I have been putting flake food in the tank daily to keep my cycle going.
So my plan was to keep the 20 gallon cycled until I can get a 40 breeder next month, and then move a filter from the 20 to the 40 and well as purchase a new filter. I planned to put 2 butterfly telescope goldfish in the 40 breeder and already have one of two filters I need plus all the right food.
But the thing is I work at a pet store and a saw a betta today that literally took my breath away. I would love to make the 20 long his home and divide it in the future if I want another betta. I already have one betta in a 10 gallon, and therefore I have the food I'd need, but I'd need to buy a new filter and heater for the 20 long.
I've wanted butterfly telescope goldfish for a while now, and I finally have my chance to get some, but I love bettas too! And the betta I saw today has been on my mind all day!
This is the guy I saw today!



What would you do?
Edit: I am living in my mom's house and am only allowed to keep one more tank, so doing both is not an option. I would divide my 10 gallon and put him in there, but my current betta fully uses every inch of that tank and I'd hate to cut his space in half.

 

Hello!
So I currently have a 20 gallon long running without fish right now (I rehomed the previous inhabitant, a comet goldfish, last week) but I have been putting flake food in the tank daily to keep my cycle going.
So my plan was to keep the 20 gallon cycled until I can get a 40 breeder next month, and then move a filter from the 20 to the 40 and well as purchase a new filter. I planned to put 2 butterfly telescope goldfish in the 40 breeder and already have one of two filters I need plus all the right food.
But the thing is I work at a pet store and a saw a betta today that literally took my breath away. I would love to make the 20 long his home and divide it in the future if I want another betta. I already have one betta in a 10 gallon, and therefore I have the food I'd need, but I'd need to buy a new filter and heater for the 20 long.
I've wanted butterfly telescope goldfish for a while now, and I finally have my chance to get some, but I love bettas too! And the betta I saw today has been on my mind all day!
This is the guy I saw today!
View attachment 323056

What would you do?

Oh wow, he's beautiful.

I personally choose bettas over goldfish ten times out of ten. They're more intelligent, they have bigger, better personalities that I just love, they can live for 10+ years, they're prettier, they're cleaner and don't make as much waste... I mean, the list goes on.

But at the end of the day, it's your decision. You've got to do what's right for you.

 

they can live for 10+ years

I thought it was 3-5 years.

I would definitely choose the betta over goldfish.

 

I'm not a fan of telescopes, but if I were to choose between a fancy goldfish (of my choosing) or a betta, it would be the goldfish hands down. If you want a longer lived pet, a goldfish would be it. And honestly, a 20 gallon sounds like a big waste for a single betta.

 

I thought it was 3-5 years.

I would definitely choose the betta over goldfish.

No, 3-5 came from pet stores lying to customers about the care they require in order to make impulse buying of bettas more attractive. Put it in a 0.5 gallon unheated, unfiltered bowl and yeah, they won't live that long. Since the vast majority of betta owners unfortunately don't know the care they require,the vast majority of bettas die young.

And of course, the mass bred puppy-mill-equivalent bettas at the national chain pet stores aren't really bred for longevity either. But I've had pet store bettas live 5-7 years, and one pet store female lived 8.

The ones I've bought from breeders have always lived around the 8-10 year mark.

So I mean, it's a roll of the genetic dice with pet store bettas, but 3-5 is wayyyyy too short.

I've got a twin brother and sister in a divided 10 now, and they're hilarious together. She teases him all the time, and watching them interact is more entertaining than cable.

If it were me, I'd get the pretty betta and get him a lady friend and a tank divider.

Hello!
So I currently have a 20 gallon long running without fish right now (I rehomed the previous inhabitant, a comet goldfish, last week) but I have been putting flake food in the tank daily to keep my cycle going.
So my plan was to keep the 20 gallon cycled until I can get a 40 breeder next month, and then move a filter from the 20 to the 40 and well as purchase a new filter. I planned to put 2 butterfly telescope goldfish in the 40 breeder and already have one of two filters I need plus all the right food.
But the thing is I work at a pet store and a saw a betta today that literally took my breath away. I would love to make the 20 long his home and divide it in the future if I want another betta. I already have one betta in a 10 gallon, and therefore I have the food I'd need, but I'd need to buy a new filter and heater for the 20 long.
I've wanted butterfly telescope goldfish for a while now, and I finally have my chance to get some, but I love bettas too! And the betta I saw today has been on my mind all day!
This is the guy I saw today!
View attachment 323056

What would you do?
Edit: I am living in my mom's house and am only allowed to keep one more tank, so doing both is not an option. I would divide my 10 gallon and put him in there, but my current betta fully uses every inch of that tank and I'd hate to cut his space in half.

Yeah I wouldn't divide the 10. But you could divide the 20 into thirds and get three bettas. I'd get 2 males and a female and keep the female in the middle, but people have out males together in divided tanks with no issues, so it just depends on what you want and the personality of the fish.

 

Oh wow, he's beautiful.

I personally choose bettas over goldfish ten times out of ten. They're more intelligent, they have bigger, better personalities that I just love, they can live for 10+ years, they're prettier, they're cleaner and don't make as much waste... I mean, the list goes on.

But at the end of the day, it's your decision. You've got to do what's right for you.

what's makes Betta more intelligent then goldfish?

better personalities then fancy goldfish? I could hand feed my goldfish and pet them , they follow my fingers around the tank. Their extremely active swimmers with nothing but personality that you could almost see them smiling.

they're cleaner? goldfish are as clean as they come they'll eat anything and everything so there's never any leftovers.

there's no need to bring down a specie of fish just because you don't like them. I have 6 aquariums ranging from Betta, to small and large cichlids and community fish and my favorite is my 65g fancy goldfish tank.


all in all IMO fancy goldfish once you get that 40g. Great personalities, active swimmers , always getting along with eachother , interactive and fun to watch. That's how you state your opinion without bringing down another specie of fish by not comparing but by stating your experiences with them.

next time you get a Betta that lives for 10 years in home aquarium you should get in contact with the guinness world records since The record for oldest Betta is 10 years kept in lab conditions.

 

what's makes Betta more intelligent then goldfish?

better personalities then fancy goldfish? I could hand feed my goldfish and pet them , they follow my fingers around the tank. Their extremely active swimmers with nothing but personality that you could almost see them smiling.

they're cleaner? goldfish are as clean as they come they'll eat anything and everything so there's never any leftovers.

there's no need to bring down a specie of fish just because you don't like them. I have 6 aquariums ranging from Betta, to small and large cichlids and community fish and my favorite is my 65g fancy goldfish tank.


all in all IMO fancy goldfish once you get that 40g. Great personalities, active swimmers , always getting along with eachother , interactive and fun to watch. That's how you state your opinion without bringing down another specie of fish by not comparing but by stating your experiences with them.

next time you get a Betta that lives for 10 years in home aquarium you should get in contact with the guinness world records since The record for oldest Betta is 10 years kept in lab conditions.

I never once said I didn't like goldfish. And I never once "brought them down."

I mean, really?

Yeah, better personalities (subjective) and more intelligent (not subjective).

My bettas do everything you described (although I don't pet them often because it can interfere with the slime coat), plus I've had bettas I've taught to count to 3 (and understand the difference between 1, 2, and 3), I've trained them to fetch, swim through hoops, jump through hoops, identify and sort primary colors, move a target into a goal, and more. I'm uploading a series of videos showing how I do that at

Predators on average are more intelligent than prey. There are exceptions, pigs for example are among the most intelligent animals on the planet, and they are prey. But on the whole, especially once you get to smaller animals with smaller brains, that is true. Bettas also have incredible memories, they can problem solve, they can navigate through mazes and solve simple puzzles to reach food (they are very much food motivated), etc.

When I say cleaner, I mean the bioload. The bioload of a goldfish is much higher than a betta. Like, literally. This is a well known thing. It's not "bringing goldfish down" to acknowledge this fact.

Where on earth did you get the idea that the oldest known betta lived 10 years in lab conditions? Because a 30-second Google search shows quite a few people who have had bettas live 10 years. Or more. Do you have links to support this claim? That don't come from Yahoo answers?

Because I found literally that exact sentence you typed, word for word, on three different answer sites. But no links backing it up. Would you like me to show links (that's plural, as in more than one) supporting the fact that they do live that long?

This one doesn't say ten specifically but it does say that it's not unusual to reach 8.

As I said before, and as a Google search will show, the lower life expectancy became common through the practice of putting bettas in small unheated, unfiltered bowls and vases. As breeding them for fighting fell out of popularity, and breeding them for color rose, the trend of using them as living decoration also rose in popularity.

Since the vast majority of people get bettas from national chain pet stores, they take the advice and trust the information given to them by the pet store employees, who were trained with this misinformation with the goal of making impulse buying more attractive.

Those betta cups are not meant to house the fish long term. The goal is to get them on the shelf and get them sold as soon as possible. In order to sell them quickly and appeal to a large audience, efforts to stop spreading misinformation are stymied.

Why else do you think national chain pet stores and big retailers like Wal-Mart still carry 1/2 gallon betta bowls? You think they don't know bettas need more? You think they don't get letters and emails, and they don't see the negative reviews on the small products?

Pretty much anyone who knows the species and knows the history of the species (both wild bettas and betta splendens... You do know they're different, right? And that betta splendens is not found in the wild, right?) knows that the lower lifespan is the product of mass breeding, lack of education among owners, and poor living conditions.

Personality is subjective. I equate goldfish to golden retrievers and bettas to wolves. If you've ever been around wolves, you know that they are mischievous, determined, crafty, in-your-face, and there does not exist that dependence and eagerness to please that you see in domestic dogs. If they like you, it's because they've made the conscious decision to trust you. They've appraised you, judge you, and decided to let you into their world.

Some people say the golden retriever personality is better, because it's friendlier. Some people say the wolf personality is better, for the reasons I described. I happen to prefer the wolf. And the betta.

That doesn't mean I don't like goldfish. And it doesn't mean I'm any less passionate about proper goldfish care, and how many commons suffer and die in tanks that are way too small for them because pet stores spread that same kind of misinformation.

So how about not hijacking a thread to get all condescending to me, mkay? This isn't about which is better. This is the OP asking people what they would do in that position and why. I answered what I would do in that situation and listed my reasons why. Nothing I said was meant to put goldfish down, and absolutely nothing I said even remotely implied I didn't like them.

So yeah, while you're not hijacking threads to get all condescending, let's also not hijack threads to put words in people's mouths. K?

Good talk.

 

I thought it was 3-5 years.

I would definitely choose the betta over goldfish.

Just putting it out there, the oldest known goldfish lived to be 43 years old. The oldest known betta lived to be 15. Goldfish are my personal preference, as they can taught to hand-feed and form strong bonds with their owners. There's even some that are trained to perform tricks!
Goldfish, in my opinion, are just buckets of sweetness and I recommend getting some.

 

I think you should get the goldfish. You've never had them before, and trying out a new species will be fun!
Also, I personally prefer the fancy varieties over bettas. They have so much personality.

 

I never once said I didn't like goldfish. And I never once "brought them down."

I mean, really?

Yeah, better personalities (subjective) and more intelligent (not subjective).

My bettas do everything you described (although I don't pet them often because it can interfere with the slime coat), plus I've had bettas I've taught to count to 3 (and understand the difference between 1, 2, and 3), I've trained them to fetch, swim through hoops, jump through hoops, identify and sort primary colors, move a target into a goal, and more. I'm uploading a series of videos showing how I do that at

Predators on average are more intelligent than prey. There are exceptions, pigs for example are among the most intelligent animals on the planet, and they are prey. But on the whole, especially once you get to smaller animals with smaller brains, that is true. Bettas also have incredible memories, they can problem solve, they can navigate through mazes and solve simple puzzles to reach food (they are very much food motivated), etc.

When I say cleaner, I mean the bioload. The bioload of a goldfish is much higher than a betta. Like, literally. This is a well known thing. It's not "bringing goldfish down" to acknowledge this fact.

Where on earth did you get the idea that the oldest known betta lived 10 years in lab conditions? Because a 30-second Google search shows quite a few people who have had bettas live 10 years. Or more. Do you have links to support this claim? That don't come from Yahoo answers?

Because I found literally that exact sentence you typed, word for word, on three different answer sites. But no links backing it up. Would you like me to show links (that's plural, as in more than one) supporting the fact that they do live that long?

This one doesn't say ten specifically but it does say that it's not unusual to reach 8.

As I said before, and as a Google search will show, the lower life expectancy became common through the practice of putting bettas in small unheated, unfiltered bowls and vases. As breeding them for fighting fell out of popularity, and breeding them for color rose, the trend of using them as living decoration also rose in popularity.

Since the vast majority of people get bettas from national chain pet stores, they take the advice and trust the information given to them by the pet store employees, who were trained with this misinformation with the goal of making impulse buying more attractive.

Those betta cups are not meant to house the fish long term. The goal is to get them on the shelf and get them sold as soon as possible. In order to sell them quickly and appeal to a large audience, efforts to stop spreading misinformation are stymied.

Why else do you think national chain pet stores and big retailers like Wal-Mart still carry 1/2 gallon betta bowls? You think they don't know bettas need more? You think they don't get letters and emails, and they don't see the negative reviews on the small products?

Pretty much anyone who knows the species and knows the history of the species (both wild bettas and betta splendens... You do know they're different, right? And that betta splendens is not found in the wild, right?) knows that the lower lifespan is the product of mass breeding, lack of education among owners, and poor living conditions.

Personality is subjective. I equate goldfish to golden retrievers and bettas to wolves. If you've ever been around wolves, you know that they are mischievous, determined, crafty, in-your-face, and there does not exist that dependence and eagerness to please that you see in domestic dogs. If they like you, it's because they've made the conscious decision to trust you. They've appraised you, judge you, and decided to let you into their world.

Some people say the golden retriever personality is better, because it's friendlier. Some people say the wolf personality is better, for the reasons I described. I happen to prefer the wolf. And the betta.

That doesn't mean I don't like goldfish. And it doesn't mean I'm any less passionate about proper goldfish care, and how many commons suffer and die in tanks that are way too small for them because pet stores spread that same kind of misinformation.

So how about not hijacking a thread to get all condescending to me, mkay? This isn't about which is better. This is the OP asking people what they would do in that position and why. I answered what I would do in that situation and listed my reasons why. Nothing I said was meant to put goldfish down, and absolutely nothing I said even remotely implied I didn't like them.

So yeah, while you're not hijacking threads to get all condescending, let's also not hijack threads to put words in people's mouths. K?

Good talk.

I'll pm you , instead of discussing on The OP thread.

 

I would choose bettas because bettas need less space but betta you can have them in a 10 gallon and even a 5 gallon tank but gold fish need alit more space

Gold fish are pretty cool fish but bettas are easier fish to take care off but if it's your devotion if u wanna try a gold fish that's good because u will learn about goldfish it's good to try new things

 

Get a betta. Fancies need 20 gallon very minimum - I prefer 30 gallons for one - and 10 gallons for the other ones, but goldfish are very sociable creatures (unlike bettas, those solitary little kids) and like a tank mates or two. You can't have two fancies in a 20 gallon, you'd need at least 30 - 40 more recommended.

 

I say you convince the people you live with to keep both tanks! I have both, and I love both of them. I like staring at my bettas, because they like to look at me as much as I like to look at them. Really. Sometimes I think they have a staring problem. I love the way they swim, and I like that I have a wider variety of plants I can put in the tanks, because they don't eat them.

Now, not to say my goldfish tanks don't have plants, because they do, and quite a few. They just have tougher varieties. And I LOVE my goldfish-like crazy cat lady kind of love, but with goldfish. They're so funny to watch, and they're always begging for food (and so are my bettas), but it is just the darned cutest thing to see them slopping around at the surface doing that wiggly little dance!!! They make me happy to watch them bumbling around the tank crashing into each other. They're kinda like drunk fish.

I know both fish can live a long time, so I feel like they're really members of the family. And I know my bettas are wayyyy smarter than my goldfish but I love them both, despite any presence or lack of intelligence. It's a different kind of enjoyment from each fish, and I can be found staring at either group any time of day. I just love fish, really. I also love my tropical fish, but I don't feel the same connection with them, because they're really more like a television show than an interactive pet. A really good TV show (because cories are hilarious), but they don't care about me unless I'm feeding them!

So..... Can you hide a tank in your closet??
Because both types of fish are really worth having.

 

You can keep bettas with fish with small fins like mollies but you need a big tank and lots of hiding spots

 

I would definitely go with a betta. For starters, goldfish will quickly outgrow a 20 gallon tank, while betas usually max out at around 2-3 in. with their fins. Also with bettas you have much more flexibility on what to stock your tank with. Personally I would go with
1 Betta
3 Albino Cory Cats
2 Amano Shrimp
1 Mystery Snail

Hope the tank turns out well
- Sean

 

I would definitely go with a betta. For starters, goldfish will quickly outgrow a 20 gallon tank, while betas usually max out at around 2-3 in. with their fins. Also with bettas you have much more flexibility on what to stock your tank with. Personally I would go with
1 Betta
3 Albino Cory Cats
2 Amano Shrimp
1 Mystery Snail

Hope the tank turns out well
- Sean

Corys need to be in groups of 6+.






Btw I feel like everyone miss the part where the OP mentioned if they go with goldfish they will get a 40 gallon for them.

 

N

Corys need to be in groups of 6+.






Btw I feel like everyone miss the part where the OP mentioned if they go with goldfish they will get a 40 gallon for them.

No they do not. Shoals must be 3+ I have 3 albinos in my 25 gal and they've been living happily for 3 years

 

They're kinda like drunk fish.

I startled my kid from laughing so hard when I read this. It's so unbelievably true. As a teenager I won a common goldfish at a carnival and he was just the dumbest, clumsiest, most adorable thing in the world. I named him Hugo (the abominable snowman from the Looney Toons. The one who says, "I will name him George and I will hug him and pet him and squeeze him and pat him and pet him and rub him and caress him and.... hey! Which way did he go? Which way did he go?" The character's voice was a perfect match for the fish's personality).

Luckily when he outgrew my tank (I didn't know anything about them, thankfully I found a 10 gallon tank kit with a filter on clearance and decided to put him in that just on a whim. Lol, and I thought I was "spoiling" him with that size, I usually put 2 bettas in a 10 gallon), I found a plant nursery nearby with a pond that would take him. He's still there, almost 15 years later, hanging out and bumping into things and eating anything small enough to fit in his mouth. "Drunk fish" is the perfect way to describe him.

One of these days I'm going to get my own pond and fill it with goldfish, they're hilarious.

Hello!
So I currently have a 20 gallon long running without fish right now (I rehomed the previous inhabitant, a comet goldfish, last week) but I have been putting flake food in the tank daily to keep my cycle going.
So my plan was to keep the 20 gallon cycled until I can get a 40 breeder next month, and then move a filter from the 20 to the 40 and well as purchase a new filter. I planned to put 2 butterfly telescope goldfish in the 40 breeder and already have one of two filters I need plus all the right food.
But the thing is I work at a pet store and a saw a betta today that literally took my breath away. I would love to make the 20 long his home and divide it in the future if I want another betta. I already have one betta in a 10 gallon, and therefore I have the food I'd need, but I'd need to buy a new filter and heater for the 20 long.
I've wanted butterfly telescope goldfish for a while now, and I finally have my chance to get some, but I love bettas too! And the betta I saw today has been on my mind all day!
This is the guy I saw today!
View attachment 323056

What would you do?
Edit: I am living in my mom's house and am only allowed to keep one more tank, so doing both is not an option. I would divide my 10 gallon and put him in there, but my current betta fully uses every inch of that tank and I'd hate to cut his space in half.

What did you decide? Post pics of your new family member please!

 

I startled my kid from laughing so hard when I read this. It's so unbelievably true. As a teenager I won a common goldfish at a carnival and he was just the dumbest, clumsiest, most adorable thing in the world. I named him Hugo (the abominable snowman from the Looney Toons. The one who says, "I will name him George and I will hug him and pet him and squeeze him and pat him and pet him and rub him and caress him and.... hey! Which way did he go? Which way did he go?" The character's voice was a perfect match for the fish's personality).

Luckily when he outgrew my tank (I didn't know anything about them, thankfully I found a 10 gallon tank kit with a filter on clearance and decided to put him in that just on a whim. Lol, and I thought I was "spoiling" him with that size, I usually put 2 bettas in a 10 gallon), I found a plant nursery nearby with a pond that would take him. He's still there, almost 15 years later, hanging out and bumping into things and eating anything small enough to fit in his mouth. "Drunk fish" is the perfect way to describe him.

One of these days I'm going to get my own pond and fill it with goldfish, they're hilarious.



What did you decide? Post pics of your new family member please!

So far, I think I'm going to go with the goldfish, but I'm still unsure. Thank you all so much for your help!