What other fish can I put in a 5 gallon with a male betta?

Question

Well I have half gallon now and I want to buy a 5 gallon tank
My betta shows no aggresiveness

Answer 1

Bettas tend to be territorial and aggressive. They are LIKELY to not get along with other fish, but it really depends on your betta. Some are more tolerant than others, some are even intimidated when in a tank with a lot of other fish. I see this all the time at fish stores, when they put the betta in a tank full of mollies or whatever. Some fish that won't work with a betta at all are any ones that resemble other male bettas, like guppies.

I have had bettas that wouldn't tolerate any other creature of any kind, attacking even snails and eating ghost shrimp, and I have had bettas which do well with almost anything.

I find you're most likely to be able to house another fish with a betta if that other fish is not an open water swimmer. Fish that stay to the bottom and sides of the tank are more likely to be tolerated- such as otocinclus (which is the best algae eater you can get for a small tank), or cories. A kuhli laoch would work too. I have even had African Dwarf Frogs in with bettas, but ADFs can be hard to feed when they are in with other animals because the food usually gets eaten before they can find it.

The best thing to do to reduce the likelihood of too much aggression is to place the other fish in the tank FIRST and let it get settled. This way your betta will not have established the entire tank as His Territory, and will be a "newcomer" to the territory.

I would recommend an oto or a small cory that won't grow too big (I think the pepper cories stay small), but only if you plan on a filtered tank and understand (RESEARCH) the nitrogen cycle first and are willing to keep the tank really well maintained. The addition of live plants to the tank will help with the bioload.

One last point- altho snails can certainly help with algae, they are big poopers. They do NOT "keep your tank clean". They DO help to keep it algae-free, but they will add to your bioload. Some snails will ignore algae and decimate live plants.

RESEARCH!

"unless you wanted to get a female for him to breed with"

NO, NO, NOOOOOO!

Male bettas are aggressive with all other bettas. This includes females!! The breeding of bettas is a tricky thing and should NEVER, EVER be attempted by the novice!
You can't just keep a male and female in the same tank and expect them to get along.

RESEARCH!!!!

Not all bettas are "quite peaceful". I fully suspect that if you have a "quite peaceful" betta in a tank with other fish, he is displaying stress stripes and hiding most of the time. If he isn't exploring the whole tank every day, he's not acting normally, and he's either not healthy, stressed/nervous, or he's an extremely odd betta.

I had a betta who HATED all open water swimmers. He would rip the fins and tail off anything that swam in the open water of HIS TANK, and this was a TEN GALLON tank. He "owned" the entire thing. He has killed neons and danios and marbles.

I had another betta that attempted to eat anything that moved.

Seriously folks, it is a trial and error deal based on the temperament of the specific betta involved. These fish are very much individuals and have personalities all their own. No blanket statements can be relied on in regards to them.

Try anything with him, but be prepared to have to house him separately or bring what you tried back to the fish store.

Answer 2

Of course the betta doesn't show aggresiveness, its in a half gallon and should be by its self, therefore has no where to show his aggression.

The only fish you could place in there are neon tetras(2 or 3), FEMALE guppies(1 or 2), or ghost shrimp. The shrimp will not only clean the tank VERY well, but they will add amusement. Really, in a 5 gal, there isn't much to put in there. With the "1 inch of fish per gal" rule, its hard to get a combination of fish to equal 5 inches >.< Plus, bettas protect a small part of a large tank from almost all fish. HOWEVER, betta are not aggresive towards everything, only other betta and other colorful fish(male guppies). Many fish will nip at the fins of a betta, so be careful. You'd be better off not getting fish (or snails) and getting some shrimp. Also, minnows(the white clouds) need a larger tank than a 5gal....

You could get 5 or 6 shrimp, since they "hardly" count as biological waste. Get a 10gal filter, and call it good. Thats what I have done in the past, it works out well. Word of Caution: Shrimp jump out, so have a secure top or not only will you have dead shrimp on your floor, you'll have a sharp pain in your foot. (I've stepped on them before, it hurts)

Answer 3

Hey Esmi

20 posts responded to you and it's almost exclusively misinformation.

Betta's can certainly live with other types of fish, but you must choose wisely.

Do not choose anything that is known to be fin nippers, since betta's have those flowing fins, and are quite slow and clumsy because of it. No barbs, no nippy tetra's like Serpaes.

Since Betta's are territorial, do not go with other territorial fish. No cichlids, or anything like that.

Since the 5 gallon is a tiny tank you really have no choice but to go with very small fish that aren't too active. Danio's may be small, but they're just too fast and active for this little tank. Consider small tetra's like neons, cardinals, head-tail light tetra's, etc. Keep a small group of about 6. Between them and the betta the tank will now be full.

If you are really good at maintenance on the tank, you can probably squeeze in some small bottom dwellers as well, like a small group of 4 corydora's, or perhaps a couple of amano shrimp.

For success, make sure you have a number of plants (fake is fine), since all of the fish suitable to this situation, including the betta, do best with the security of plants.

I currently keep a 15 gallon planted tank with a betta, cardinals, corydora's, amano shrimp, and a couple of guppies and I can assure you through experience that betta's can make good community tank specimens, when done right.

Answer 4

Your Betta will be fine with other fish that leave him alone. Bettas, contrary to what most people think, are not aggressive to all fish, just other Bettas. I have successfully kept Bettas in community tanks with no problems. In fact, your biggest problem will be other boisterous fish that pick on the slow moving Betta's fins. That being said, a five gallon is still a very small tank. If you are getting a five gallon I'd go for something small and peaceful (you don't want any fish that will pester your Betta and nip his fins). You might get a few White Cloud Mountain Fish (these will do great in an unheated tank although your Betta will be happier and live longer with a heater set to about 78 degrees F). With a heater, you get get a small school of neon tetras. A small school of Zebra Danios would probably work also. The key thing is to just get about 3-4 more VERY SMALL fish. If you overcrowd the tank it will be harder to keep the water quality stable. Don't get just one Cory catfish - he will be miserable by himself .They really do best in small groups.

Frankly, I'd go with at least a ten gallon tank. Ten gallon glass tanks are pretty inexpensive, about $10 in may area. This will give you a little more room to add fish. Bigger is better when it comes to fish tanks.

Answer 5

In a 5 gal tank, I would only put a couple of small ram's horn snails and about 3 ghost or cherry shrimp. The shrimp and snails can be the "clean-up" crew for your betta. The shrimp hang out at the bottom of the tank, and the betta will hang out primarily in the upper part. Be sure to have a hiding place for the shrimp - like a ceramic treasure chest or a terra cotta pot.

Be sure to have silk plants in the tank - find one with long, slender leaves. You may have to break off the silicone glue holding it to the plastic base and shorted it a little, but allow the tops of the leaves stick out above the water level. What this does, is give a surface for your betta's bubble nest to cling to. Then he'll hang out resting on the leaves under the nest "protecting" his imaginary fry. It's a nice natural behavior, and very cute.

You should see your betta patrol his territory, investigate the hiding places, observe the shrimp and snails, blow bubble nests (especially when the water is freshly cleaned, the water temp toasty, and for my betta, Claude, right before a storm), and rest on the leaves like an underwater butterfly. He'll also do a happy dance when he sees you with the food packet in your hands, too. Then you'll know you have a healthy, happy fishie. :)

Answer 6

a 5 gallon is really too small to add other fish, but big enough to a heater and filter, putting you betta in there would be a great change from a 1/2gallon. instead why not get a 10gallon, most pet stores sell them for about $10. then you can add 4 or 5 schooling fish, aim for calm, peaceful tropicals, like these:

moons/platies
mollies
tetras
cory cats (I love these with bettas!)

Answer 7

you shouldn't put any other fish with the male Betta in a 5 gallon tank even if it was a more passive fish 5 gallons is too small for more than one fish. try putting snails in it if you really want to put something in. Snails will also help clean the the tank a little bit.

For all of you giving me thumbs down I have raised fish I know what I am talking about plus if you put a Betta with other fish the Betta will kill them. It is not an exact science but an easy way to determine how many fish to put in a tank is for every inch the fish will grow too that is how man gallons you should use but this doesn't count for the size of the fish like angel fish need a lot bigger tank than their full grown length. say a fsih will get to 6 inches they need to be in a least a 6 gallon tank. the only other exceptionis gold fish they grow to the size of their environment but personally I think a Gold fish would be better in a pond they can get over a foot long.

Answer 8

I have a male betta in a 5g tank with 2 guppies and 2 ghost shrimp. I figure my betta is an exception to the rule.

Answer 9

I have a 5 gallon hex bought at walmart. it has one male betta, one oto catfish, and 2 ghost shrimp. the betta is always happy. the happiest one ive ever had. he loves all the room. the shrimp sometimes become his lunch but usually last at least a few months and are only 28 cents each. the oto eats the algae.. vaccum gravel and siphon out 1 gallon every week.

Answer 10

I find that male betta's are best kept on their own a tank of about 30 to 35 cm is ideal, unless you wanted to get a female betta for him to breed with, these are not school fish such as tetras, and even though they are not aggressive to most fish they do prefer their own space so I wouldn't worry about it or if you want to buy a larger tank it might pay to look around in the pet shops and ask about what types of fish would be more suitable to keep together in an aquarium.