15 Gallon Tank What can be housed with a Betta in a 15 gallon?

[ToOthleSS04]

Hey! I don't know what to put tigheter with Casper (my white Betta). He's very funny to watch actually, but I think some other fish shall deserve to share their space with him! I was thinking of rasboras.. but I don't know actually. What do you suggest?

 

[bettasXD]

There’s plenty of options, so what are you looking for?

Maybe a school of embers and a school of Pygmy cories?

 

[ToOthleSS04]

There’s plenty of options, so what are you looking for?

Maybe a school of embers and a school of Pygmy cories?

I don't know, since I was opting out for rasboras (i love them) but maybe there are better options? Or cooler fish out there?

 

[FoldedCheese]

It all depends on the betta's personality. Some will tolerate tankmates, but most will not. Bettas are a naturally aggressive and territorial fish so it's imperative that you have a backup tank/plan if things go south.

 

[bettasXD]

Definitely, you should have a backup tank or a divider just in case anything happens. You could get a school of harlequin rasboras instead of the ember tetras.

 

[ToOthleSS04]

Definitely, you should have a backup tank or a divider just in case anything happens. You could get a school of harlequin rasboras instead of the ember tetras.

I see, thanks!

 

[wateriswet]

Cherry Shrimp and a nerite snail

 

[ToOthleSS04]

Cherry Shrimp and a nerite snail

But will the Betta eat them?

Definitely, you should have a backup tank or a divider just in case anything happens. You could get a school of harlequin rasboras instead of the ember tetras.

I have a 31 gallon tank already with fish in there... So yeah, I have a back up plan basically

But will the Betta eat them?

I have a 31 gallon tank already with fish in there... So yeah, I have a back up plan basically

I was thinking of cherry barbs or lambchop rasboras

 

[WagglePets]

Think of a dog...some dogs love other dogs and some dogs will attack any dog in sight so depending on your betta there’s plenty of options!

 

[bettasXD]

Well the betta might attack the shrimp and the snail, but some won’t. Same goes for the lampchop rasboras, some people had problems with them. It’ll be better to stick to harlequin rasboras IMO. The success rate is higher. It just depends on how aggressive the betta is, how many hiding places there are and the tank size. Cherry barbs and a betta needs at least 20g.

For example, my betta can’t stand anything that’s alive.However, I had a betta before that only attacked its tank mates when I first added them. I have even heard of male bettas not are not aggressive to other male bettas.
So it really depends on the betta itself

 

[ToOthleSS04]

Well the betta might attack the shrimp and the snail, but some won’t. Same goes for the lampchop rasboras, some people had problems with them. It’ll be better to stick to harlequin rasboras IMO. The success rate is higher. It just depends on how aggressive the betta is, how many hiding places there are and the tank size. Cherry barbs and a betta needs at least 20g.

For example, my betta can’t stand anything that’s alive.However, I had a betta before that only attacked its tank mates when I first added them. I have even heard of male bettas not are not aggressive to other male bettas.
So it really depends on the betta itself

I have a nerite snail with him in the tank and he doesn't bother it at all

 

[bettasXD]

Still, a snail is a snail and not fish. It might only stand snails and not fish.

 

[VSA]

I found harlequins to be fin nippers. I had them with a docile male betta. After fin nipping he was not so docile and went ahead and started exacting revenge on the harlequins. I had to take him out and I felt bad because it was his home but I had to take him out of it because I had introduced other fish.

My personal experience is that I would never keep a betta with anything. But that’s just me and my experience. If you are going to stock a community tank them IMHO go for nano fish that have smaller mouths like CPDs, embers or neon greens. That should protect your bettas fins.

 

[TheBettaBabe]

For a 15 gallon I would put a snail.

 

[bettasXD]

Yeah I recommended embers at first but the OP wanted rasboras so I suggested harlequin rasboras. They’re worked fine with me. That’s why I said that a backup tank is necessary, just in case anything happens.

Yes, snails and shrimp will work but the tank will just look well empty so athts why I suggested fish(a school of embers and Pygmy cories at first)

 

[ToOthleSS04]

Yeah I recommended embers at first but the OP wanted rasboras so I suggested harlequin rasboras. They’re worked fine with me. That’s why I said that a backup tank is necessary, just in case anything happens.

Yes, snails and shrimp will work but the tank will just look well empty so athts why I suggested fish(a school of embers and Pygmy cories at first)

What about glowlight tetras?

 

[SuriahAnderson]

I've been keeping my betta with a small school of harlequin rasboras, some platys, as well as a snail, and in my experience, there has been little to no issue between them.

 

[IndusNoir]

Going to agree with everyone saying it depends on the betta. I've had some really tolerant ones that would live happily with guppies and cherry shrimp, and some that would attack anything on sight (including me!). Safest bet for fish might be a bottom dweller like the pygmy cories, since they wont cross paths too often. Still probably a good idea to have a backup tank in case the betta wont tolerate whatever you decide to put in there.

 

[bettasXD]

Actually Pygmy cories aren’t really bottom dwelling fish, the swim around quite a lot throughout the whole tank. Panda cories are the one that tend to stay at the bottom more.

Glolight tetras are very colourful and small so the betta can potentially hurt it. I would not recommend them with a betta.

 

[IndusNoir]

Actually Pygmy cories aren’t really bottom dwelling fish, the swim around quite a lot throughout the whole tank. Panda cories are the one that tend to stay at the bottom more.

This is true, but they wont hang out at the surface all day or bother a betta too much. It's mostly that I wouldn't put a larger cory species in a 15 gallon. I suppose panda don't get that big either but still about twice the size fully grown if I recall correctly.

 

[bettasXD]

Panda cories are 2 inches in length wherelse Pygmy cories are 1 inch in length.

 

[cdwag29]

Throw in another beta, they’ll be best friends! Jokes, obviously.

The others have mentioned some really good options. I personally feel like a small group of bottom dwellers or at least low level swimmers would be your best bet, OR a small school of peaceful non fin nippers. Lots of small fast moving fish can stress a beta out, and the tank isn’t super big so you don’t want to overwhelm him. If the tank was longer I would’ve recommended kuhlis. Keep in mind that this is your betas territory and he might not be too thrilled about anyone new joining his tank. I would rearrange the tank and even maybe take him out, add the school, and then him. That way he wont feel like he already has territory to defend. Remove the fish if you see any nipping.

 

[kansas]

Betta's have been bred to be violent and they are. It's a bad idea to put other fish with them, it frequently leads to suffering.