Beta fish who can they share a tank with?

Question

I know that Beta fish can be in a tank with other fish. What are the other fish that can eb in the tank? Can they be in a tank with Goldfish?

I have seen them in tanks at the pet store with other fish. I know they can't be with eachother.

Answer 1

I can't believe how many people don't know that goldfish are coldwater fish and bettas (pronounced bet-tah, not bay-tah) are tropical fish and require 76-80 degree water. Beta is the second letter of the Greek alphabet and has nothing to do with fish.

You can put them together, but one of them is going to suffer. If you keep the water cold (even room temp), it will be the betta, if you heat the water for the betta, the goldfish will suffer. Many people wonder why their bettas only live for a few months... it is usually the water temp and quality. Their normal lifespan is 2-3 years, but who knows how old they are when you buy them in the stores....

Whichever fish is suffering, his immune system is going to be compromised from keeping him in water that is too cold or too warm. Eventually he will sicken and die and then we will have another "why did my fish die" question.

Fish that can be kept with bettas are neons, cardinals, zebra danios, white clouds, black skirt tetras.

Answer 2

They can be in a tank with any non-agressive freshwater fish. Beta and Goldfish can share a tank. If the goldfish has a big beautiful the beta might bother it some, but not a lot.

We had a beta and a guppy once. They fought alot. But the guppy's tail was bigger than most.

We have a beta in our tank right now. We also have 5 other fish. The beta doesn't bother them at all. As long as the beta is the biggest and the most beautiful fish he will leave the others alone.

It's only the male beta that fight.. You can have more than one female beta fish in a tank.

Answer 3

Any peaceful fish that isn't a slow swimmer, or looks like a betta. Goldfish are bad as they are cold water fish, get really big, and many breeds are too slow to evade an irrate male betta.

Also remember bettas are territorial so if he's in a 5 gallon or smaller tank. He won't put up with new fish in his tank. (Removing him for a week, and putting him back in a week later may or may not help.) 10+ gallon tanks are generally big enough that the betta can stake out his own area, and provide room for other fish to out run or hide.

Honestly with a big tank it's more likely fin nippers like barbs and large tetras will pick in him.

Answer 4

Bettas can be housed with many species of peaceful, tropical, community fish. The type of fish you choose depends on your aquarium set-up and water parameters. You should test your water and research the type of fish you are interested in. I find that in a small 10 gallon set up you can keep a betta with a few otos and an apple snail or possibly some small coridora species and some ghost shrimp. In a larger tank you can try some small schooling fish like tetras or white clouds. Goldfish are not compatible with Bettas because they are cold water fish while bettas are true tropical fish and require much warmer temperatures to remain healthy.

Answer 5

FROM LINK 1:
- white cloud minnow
- tetras
- danios
- angelfish
- livebearers *except mollies, which benefit from brackish water
I also don't know that I'd put a betta in with fancy guppies, as it might confuse them with another betta.
- rasboras

LINK2:Angels, the smaller Gouramis, livebearers like Swords, Mollies, Platies (though eating the latter groups young with gusto).

Link3: Platies, mollies, some of the slower tetras (neons, cardinals, rummy nose), cherry barbs and cory cats are likely tankmates, as are angelfish in larger aquariums.

Link4: It is strongly recommended that bettas given tankmates should be housed in a tank that is at least 35 litres (10 US gallons) with plenty of hiding places. Anything smaller will stress the Betta. Common tankmates include mollies, catfish, or loaches. However, care should be taken when choosing tankmates, as certain species of fish attack the long fins of the male betta. The key is that the respective species is not aggressive and will not spurn a betta's aggression as well as thriving in similiar set-ups. For instance, apple snails should not be kept with bettas because the water condition will cause the detoriation of a snail's shell and snails are sometimes known to latch onto a betta's fins causing damage.


Saying that, ours lived with 2 corries, 10 neons, 5 glowlights, and even some tigerbarbs before a massive Ph issue killed off him and quite a bit of the tank. It depends on your fish's personality.

They can NOT go with goldfish, betta's are tropical and like warm water, goldfish do not like warm water. Gold fish get to a foot long, and love to swim fast, where bettas stay small and move about slowly at their own pace. The two should never ever EVER be mixed. I have seen many goldfish eat bettas because people thought they would be fine together as most are kept in bowls (which is also wrong)

Answer 6

Have you ever noticed tanks that display a large variety of fish have a large area for the fish to swim in and develope territories? Unless your tank is big enough for dis-similar fish to establish territories you will have problems with several varieties in the same tank. Male bettas should be kept separate from other fish, in long compartments in display tanks, if displayed together. Females are not as agressive so can do better in with other similar tropicals.
...jj

Answer 7

Bettas are only aggressive towards other bettas. They can be kept with just about any other fish, but don't keep them with fin-nipping fish, like goldfish. Right now I have 3 female bettas set up together (the females can live together, they fight a little for the first week to establish a pecking order, but after that they tend to be fine unless you have a paritcularly aggressive one.) I personally like the females together, mine all get along really well, and if you look hard enough you can fine females with colors as pretty as teh males. I have a turquoise female, a blue/red female, and a bright red female.

Answer 8

I have seen them in many tanks with other fish. (just dont put them with another betta) They should not be with goldfish, because goldfish have an extra slime coat on them and could cause problems with the betta.
If you have a large enough tank, they have little show cases where you can display multiple betta's side by side inside your other tank at the water line.
Bettas are used to living in small amounts of water... They are origionally found in the rice fields.
It is best to keep them in their own bowl and put something nice in the other tank!

Answer 9

I have a male beta in an aquarium with Neon tetra's and black mollies. I also have a platy. I was told that I should alway have placid fish with my beta and no fish that have long fins as the bata's will attack. I've had this aquarium for about five years now and all my fish seem really happy.

Hope this helps.

Answer 10

Beta can go in with goldfish. They may fight a little...But if you would like to put two beta fishes in the same tank you have to buy a divider, so they can not see each other...They sell them at Wal*Mart.