The Best Betta For A Community Tank

Hello, all! I just recently added a betta to my growing community tank and wanted to share my thoughts.

First off, I did this extremely carefully, with a net in the water at all times and closely monitoring for close to an hour. My betta has been almost perfectly docile towards my other fish (unless they swim too close, too fast or try to come in his log house), and the same has been true of the other fish towards him. Currently, its a few types of mollies and some dwarf gourami (yes, it worked with the gourami; they're very nice fish and he doesn't seem inclined to go after them).

Now, as for the reason this type of betta is the best for communities. I have a dumbo half-moon. Due to their massive pectoral fins in addition to everything else being 'extra', they are extremely derpy swimmers. Even on those rare occasions he's chased something, they are always far too fast for him and he gives up after about two inches. So long as you don't have fish that go after /him/, they're a very safe bet for communities.

I'll also brag on him a bit, because he's so pretty: He has a purple body with pink and blue irridescent streaks, and bit white fans shot through with pink and purple. He seems very healthy- full fans, no clamping, and shows no signs of stress except minor aggression when other fish try to enter his floating betta log and he's already inside. I named him Jar-Jar due to his clumsy swimming and big 'ears'.

 

I'll keep this in mind; I currently have a dumbo halfmoon.

Wouldn't betta imbellis (peaceful betta) still be better, as it shows no aggression in the first place?

 

Ha! I've never even heard of those before... I feel like I need about ten in my life lol

 

I'll keep this in mind; I currently have a dumbo halfmoon.

Wouldn't betta imbellis (peaceful betta) still be better, as it shows no aggression in the first place?

I currently have a betta in a community tank too and have kept MANY in community tanks but always small tanks specifically designed around the Betta.

That said.... imbellis are more ideal, these are wild caught bettas and not as colorful as the bettas you see in most pet stores BUT you can actually keep multiples in a tank (ideally an equal or greater number of females to males but not really a deal breaker). I had these a couple of years ago and was very tempted when I found out that my local fish shop now has them again.....

Another good choice (that I'm currently toying with too) is sparkling gouramis which actually look more like bettas than gouramis and are both tiny and very peaceful.

OP> As for your betta, my biggest concern would be stress. While he may not be able to catch the things he's chasing, I'm worried that the mollies and DG would be stressing him out. Make sure you do have a back up plan to pull him out of the tank if he does start loosing color at all or getting any wear and tear on his fins.

 

I've kept HM and HMPK with various friends and I agree it's eminently do-able so long as you are thoughtful in your choices and have the time to observe and abort mission if required.

The aggression can of course go both ways, with dumbos and HMs being more prone to fin nippers. I even had a weeny ember tetra turn fin nipper, so no guarantees in life

Cory from the Aquarium Co-op channel highly recommends bettas for mixed species tanks, but does acknowledge you can occasionally get a pure terror. There was a red one they were forced to sell in the cup which they hate doing because he couldn't be put in ANY of the store tanks. It was kind of funny, he was a character for sure.

My favourite thing was a big greedy half-moon that would lie on his side on top of the food so none of his tank mates could get it. I wish I had a photo. I was always too concerned he was ill, and then he'd swim off giving me the stink eye so no photos

 

Bettas is a community are always a risk. I never had success with a male in a community. I have had success with females, however. The thing is it's not aggression from the betta you have to worry about. They get bullied and can't swim fast enough to escape. A betta and a gourami together is asking for trouble. It may be fine now, but it can get ugly real fast. Dwarf gouramis can be very aggressive at times.
Anyway that's my 2 cents. I'm glad your currently having success. Please keep your thread updated? This has always been an interesting subject for me.

 

I currently have a betta in a community tank too and have kept MANY in community tanks but always small tanks specifically designed around the Betta.

That said.... imbellis are more ideal, these are wild caught bettas and not as colorful as the bettas you see in most pet stores BUT you can actually keep multiples in a tank (ideally an equal or greater number of females to males but not really a deal breaker). I had these a couple of years ago and was very tempted when I found out that my local fish shop now has them again.....

Another good choice (that I'm currently toying with too) is sparkling gouramis which actually look more like bettas than gouramis and are both tiny and very peaceful.

OP> As for your betta, my biggest concern would be stress. While he may not be able to catch the things he's chasing, I'm worried that the mollies and DG would be stressing him out. Make sure you do have a back up plan to pull him out of the tank if he does start loosing color at all or getting any wear and tear on his fins.

I'll be monitoring closely. If I notice that within two weeks, I'll just return him to the store. After that, I have a 5.5 that I was going to use for iso, but can use for him if need be.

So far, he's been very vibrant and floofy. My only concern is he sometimes tries the more turbulent waters under the filter. For the most part, if he swims over there, he stays under a bit of decor that breaks the flow and actually keeps the rest of the tank very idyllic, but sometimes he tries what I call 'the loop' with my other fish. In essence, the current from the filter goes down, loops around, then goes into the rest of the aquarium. The other fish seem to love it, but he struggles and it worries me. He always goes back to his own spot after, but he's so gorgeous I don't want him to get torn up.

 

Bettas is a community are always a risk. I never had success with a male in a community. I have had success with females, however. The thing is it's not aggression from the betta you have to worry about. They get bullied and can't swim fast enough to escape. A betta and a gourami together is asking for trouble. It may be fine now, but it can get ugly real fast. Dwarf gouramis can be very aggressive at times.
Anyway that's my 2 cents. I'm glad your currently having success. Please keep your thread updated? This has always been an interesting subject for me.

It's really a matter of being VERY thoughtful regarding tank mates.

In my early fish keeping days when I didn't know better I managed to some how keep 2 females AND a male with a school of black skirts in a 29G for 6 months with not a single issue, everything was lovely and perfect and fine. I thought I was a fish whisperer when I did learn this wasn't okay - my fish had always been fine! And then the black skirts one night murdered and ate chunks of the male and the females both got so stressed they both died within a week. (Also lesson learned, large bodied tetras are viscious mofos when they get bigger, they killed everything but the pleco I put in there after that, we ended up naming them all after serial killers)

Now I know, 10G or bigger, tiny rasboras, small bodied tetras, cories, and other EXTREMELY peaceful fish that will never grow even close to the size of the betta. Always planted (fake or real) always planned for water current, escape places, hiding spots. As long as I've followed those rules I've always been successful.

 

It's really a matter of being VERY thoughtful regarding tank mates.

In my early fish keeping days when I didn't know better I managed to some how keep 2 females AND a male with a school of black skirts in a 29G for 6 months with not a single issue, everything was lovely and perfect and fine. I thought I was a fish whisperer when I did learn this wasn't okay - my fish had always been fine! And then the black skirts one night murdered and ate chunks of the male and the females both got so stressed they both died within a week. (Also lesson learned, large bodied tetras are viscious mofos when they get bigger, they killed everything but the pleco I put in there after that, we ended up naming them all after serial killers)

Now I know, 10G or bigger, tiny rasboras, small bodied tetras, cories, and other EXTREMELY peaceful fish that will never grow even close to the size of the betta. Always planted (fake or real) always planned for water current, escape places, hiding spots. As long as I've followed those rules I've always been successful.

Haha... named after serial killers. I'm getting some serious giggles

 

It's really a matter of being VERY thoughtful regarding tank mates.

In my early fish keeping days when I didn't know better I managed to some how keep 2 females AND a male with a school of black skirts in a 29G for 6 months with not a single issue, everything was lovely and perfect and fine. I thought I was a fish whisperer when I did learn this wasn't okay - my fish had always been fine! And then the black skirts one night murdered and ate chunks of the male and the females both got so stressed they both died within a week. (Also lesson learned, large bodied tetras are viscious mofos when they get bigger, they killed everything but the pleco I put in there after that, we ended up naming them all after serial killers)

Now I know, 10G or bigger, tiny rasboras, small bodied tetras, cories, and other EXTREMELY peaceful fish that will never grow even close to the size of the betta. Always planted (fake or real) always planned for water current, escape places, hiding spots. As long as I've followed those rules I've always been successful.

Exactly. Tank mates are key. A dwarf gourami and a betta is what we have here. Not a good combo.

 

I can't do a betta in my community tank because my skirts shredded his fins when I tried it last November. Of course, now I definitely can't because of the angel.

 

I can't do a betta in my community tank because my skirts shredded his fins when I tried it last November. Of course, now I definitely can't because of the angel.

I've had a female betta in my 125 with 12 skirt tetras and 2 angels for the last 2 years. Never any problems. A male may not work though.

 

I've had a female betta in my 125 with 12 skirt tetras and 2 angels for the last 2 years. Never any problems. A male may not work though.

My skirts are... special. There's only two left, but the bigger one has always been a monster. The other 6 would leave him alone, but she always went after his fins and eventually I was forced to take him out. I would have taken her out instead, but I get too much enjoyment out of watching her devour an entire shrimp pellet before it hits the bottom of the tank

 

My skirts are... special. There's only two left, but the bigger one has always been a monster. The other 6 would leave him alone, but she always went after his fins and eventually I was forced to take him out. I would have taken her out instead, but I get too much enjoyment out of watching her devour an entire shrimp pellet before it hits the bottom of the tank

Mine love shrimp pellets too. It's funny they spit them out and suck them in. They swim all around the tank with it sticking out there mouth. As if there a dog with a bone. When it softens up enough that's when they swallow it.

 

Mine love shrimp pellets too. It's funny they spit them out and suck them in. They swim all around the tank with it sticking out there mouth. As if there a dog with a bone. When it softens up enough that's when they swallow it.

It's so crazy! And entertaining

 

Ah I knew this was some where:

 

Betta has lots of escape and hiding places. He has a sort of kelp field that he hides in- everything but the black molly stays out. The gourami are all the most peaceful fish in the tank: the balloon bellies are rambunctious and the black molly is sometimes mean to everyone (but seems scared of the betta), but the gourami avoid everyone else. I'm planning on (eventually) doubling the amount from four to eight: I have four powder-blues. I want two red and two striped. My only other plans are a few rainbows and bottom feeders, plus one creamcicle lyretail.

 

I've only ever had one issue with a Betta in a community it was the 2nd. He was such a good baby but when he got bigger he went after everything Killed a Neon Tetra I had to move him into an old quarantine tank eventually I added a Snail but he rammed it off the glass so it went back into one of the other tanks one day my friend gave me some of his feeder Ghost shrimp because I liked them and to see if they'd be able to survive with him I added two ten minutes in one made the mistake of standing it's ground on the moss ball the other one he gave up on after four months she lived another 11 months he didn't even get her I found her in her hiding place one morning.

 

I've only ever had one issue with a Betta in a community it was the 2nd. He was such a good baby but when he got bigger he went after everything Killed a Neon Tetra I had to move him into an old quarantine tank eventually I added a Snail but he rammed it off the glass so it went back into one of the other tanks one day my friend gave me some of his feeder Ghost shrimp because I liked them and to see if they'd be able to survive with him I added two ten minutes in one made the mistake of standing it's ground on the moss ball the other one he gave up on after four months she lived another 11 months he didn't even get her I found her in her hiding place one morning.

Shrimp and snails usually do well with a betta. Bettas are so unpredictable Lol.