Beta community tank?

Question

I have a female beta, only about one inch long. Can I place her in my 10 gallon tank with three goldfish (about one and a half inches in lenght), my one and a half inched spotted pleco, and my one and three/fourths inched fancy goldfish? Or should I keep her in her tank as she is? I'm afraid that she'll be pushed around by the other fish, and bitten at.

Answer 1

Goldfish are cold water fish and should not be kept with tropicals. There is no happy medium in the temp range. 60-65 for goldfish and 72-78 for the tropicals. If you adjust the temperature for one of them, you are stressing the other. Too much stress and the immune system is compromised. So you lose one or the other in the long run.

You should buy another tank and put your betta and pleco in it with a filter and a heater. The female will be fine with him.

Bettas come from southeast Asia and need temps around 78-80 degrees. Plecos are from south America and also live in water from 78-80 degrees. A new 10 gallon tank is only about $8-9 at the pet store. Filter $12, 25-50 watt heater $10-12.

BTW, it is spelled betta and pronounced bet-tah, not bay-tah. Beta is the second letter of the Greek alphabet.

Answer 2

I have 2 female bettas in a community tank, they're all fine together, even have a gourami in there. BUT, do not place them in a tank with goldfish. Goldfish shouldn't be mixed with community fish because 1. They're "cool" water fish, most community fish need a warmer temp 2. Goldfish put out a lot of ammonia.
Also, 10 gallons is too small for 4 goldfish and a pleco. Goldfish actually grow pretty large mine are over 6 inches, and depending on that type of pleco, mine's over 12 inches..........

Answer 3

This isn't a good idea at all. First off, Bettas are warm water fish, while Gold fish are gold water fish, so they have different needs. They also like their Ph and hardness levels different. Betta females tend to be less aggressive than males, but can still be very aggressive and likely will fight with the other fish.

The only fish you have that the Betta may not mess with is the Pleco since it tends to stay in the same spot for long amounts of time and hides in the day time and comes out at night, when Bettas tend to be inactive. When the Gold fish get bigger they will likely start picking on the Betta.

You already have to many fish in there, each fish needs at least one gallon of water for every inch they are, that's if you have a good filter, each one of these fish are going to get bigger. You also have to remember Gold fish create a lot more waste than most other fish, so they will need at least two gallons for every inch they are.

10 gallon isn't a good starting tank for a beginner anyway, you should get a 30 gallon or larger. Mistakes aren't as lethal in a tank with more water.

Answer 4

No...no....I know some people are telling you that betas can't be housed with other fish. This is not true. The main concern for beta owners when housing them with other fish is that the other fish may nip at the betas fins, resulting in illness and an overall unpleasant appearance. I've owned several betas and can tell you they're usually pretty calm and keep to themselves unless provoked. And that's males. Females are MUCH less aggressive and CAN be housed together. It's only the males that can't be kept together as they will fight to the death. You can even put several females in a tank with a male.

That being said, I missed the part about your tank only being 10 gallons, and I have NO experience owning goldfish since I don't much care for them. So listen to the others when it comes to the goldfish part.....but don't pay attention when people tell you that betas have to be solitary fish.

Answer 5

you should not put your female betta in that tank. you have already overstocked your 10 gallon tank with 3 goldfish, pleco, and fancy goldfish. i know they are small and look like they fit, but goldfish actually require much more water than many think. they are notorious for their gluttonous ways so they eat and eat. trouble is that they also poop most of it back out and fast since they are so small and the food goes right through them. the poop will have ammonia and that is very very very poisonous to fish. resulting in very poisonous water that they will be swimming in. they will basically eat and poop themselves to death. goldfish also grow very big. those goldfish you have are just babies. they can grow up to 8" easily and much bigger if they have lots of space. if you don't provide them with a large enough tank, they will NOT grow to size of their tank, but their bodies will be stunted while their insides grow until they die from hemmorraging.

also, goldfish are cold water fish. they like the water cold, and bettas like the water warmer. they should not be mixed. when goldfish get bigger, they will also pick on the betta since bettas only get up to ~2". i'd suggest you get yourself a nice 30 gallon tank and put all the goldfish in there. then use the 10 gallon tank for your betta. if all female you can have more than 1 in the tank unless they are aggressive. and/or you can use a divider to hold up to 3-4 bettas in the 10 gallon tank.

edit: ah, lady_crotalus beat me to it :P

Answer 6

First- Your tank is overstocked massively.
For baby-juvenile fancy goldfish its 10 gallons PER fish. (fantails, moors, ryukins, orandas ect)
For baby -juvenile long bodied goldfish its 10 gallons PER fish. (comets, commons, shubunkins)
Adults will need atleast 50 gallons PER fish. They need alot of filtration to help keep the water clean and to add oxygen into the water. They also need frequent partial waterchanges.

Second- Both bettas and plecos are warmwater tropicals, they should never be placed in with goldfish. Goldfish get large enough to EAT smaller fish. Goldfish also excrete ALOT of ammonia that tropical fish cant handle. Plecos ALSO excrete ALOT of ammonia. Plecos also develop a taste for the goldfish's slimecoat.

Third- Female bettas ARE NOT aggressive, they are only aggressive to male bettas and another female betta. Female bettas need to be kept 3 or more so they can establish a pecking order, if you only have 2 female bettas one will become dominant and kill the other one.

Answer 7

You have WAY to many fish there!!!! Each goldfish need 20 gallons of water when there fully grown!! Pleco's can get huge too!!!! Bettas will not kill your fish. I have a male betta, with gouramis, swoardtails, glass catfish, and a pleco. You should get a WAY bigger tank!!!!

Answer 8

i dont think its a good idea because although people say betas are aggressive fish they are only agressive towards eachother...i always had a beta in my community tank i just dont know how they would do with goldfish because they require different water temps and goldfish make a lot of ammonia

Answer 9

Female betta's aren't agressive. Goldfish and pleco's are generally passive fish as well, so depending on their size I'd say she'll be fine. Although, research it first and make sure the water parameters are OK for all species. A good resource is www.drfostersmith.com.

Answer 10

Well maybe you can test it and see if they get along under your constant watch. Or like i did with my beta you can put a clear separating board in the middle of the tank.