Do male betas attack other fish or just eachother?

Question

I have a male beta but my husband and I just got a big tank, I know male beta will fight eachother but I have seen them mixed with other breeds in stores occasionally. I want to put him in the big tank but not if there is a chance he will attack the other fish.

Answer 1

It is true that male Betas will fight with other males. But they WILL NOT attack fish of different breeds. I have a 55 gallon tank in my living room with African cichlids and put in my male Beta for over a week, he did not try to harm the other fish, actually seemed timid. You can definitely put the fish together. (Unless you have aggressive fish who feed off of smaller fish.)

Answer 2

Male bettas will try to attack anything that looks remotely like another betta. Even female bettas are quite notorious for fighting with each other (in an all-female tank).

However, if he's the only betta in the tank, a fight will not occur because you need another male betta to fight back.
Most other fish will dark off once he gets too close. If you keep the long-fin variety then they generally move quite slowly and wil not be able to keep up the chase for long.

After the initial excitement, the betta generally calms down and almost ignores all the other fish altogether.

Betta love to eat fry so if you're going to livebreeders like platy and mollies as tankmates be prepared to lose almost all of them. They can seek them out even in the foliage and suck the fry in.

Just make sure the current in the tank is not too strong (big tank = strong filter) because their long fins will cause them to get swept away or make it difficult for them to surface for air.

They also tend to swim around investigating little sections of the tank at a time. They are not built to cover distance. So during feeding times they may not realise the other fish have finished everything already. So you need to try and attract his attention or wait for him to be at a particular area where he will notice the food.

Lastly, ensure you do not purchase other fish like tiger barbs and mini puffer fish which are notorious fin-nippers and will harrass your betta constantly.

Answer 3

Yes,normally they will only attack another of its kind. My suggestion is when you go to the pet store ask for one of the big bags you bring your fish home in. When you are ready to add your fish put him in the bag with water and watch his reaction to the other fish swimming by the bag or you can also get a tank devider and place in the tank where he can be kept a safe distance from the other fish. A 55 gallon is a big tank if you do not over crowd it they should be fine, give each fish pleanty of space. Rule of thumb when i worked in a pet shop was 1 fish to every 5 gallons of water. Of course your tank would look empty if you followed that rule. Also keep in mind the size of the new fish when full grown. Sticking with community fish is your best bet.

Answer 4

From what I heard, male Beta fish will fight and kill other male Beta fish and will do so wih female Beta fish after they are done breeding with them BUT they are fine with other fish that are NOT agressive. If a Beta fish is placed with another type of fish with aggressive tendencies (such as a gourami) they will actually attack the Beta! They will tear at the Beta's fins, chase him and ultimately kill him.

Answer 5

Yes male bettas can and will attack other breeds. So other kinds of fish can co-exist peacefully with male bettas, such as Mollies, Platties, Corydoras, all of the algea eaters, White Clouds, and Danios (not the ones with the longer fins though). Almost anything without long, flowing fins will be alright with male Bettas. The tetras without long fins will also be good. As long as you don't overcrowd and you don't have more than three kinds of fish, they should be fine. However, nothing is guaranteed, some Bettas are more aggressive than others. If you do get larger kinds of fish, then they may gang up and pick on the Betta. Never ever put females in with the male though. And a good rule of thumg to avoid overcrowding, allow inch of each fish equal one gallon of water. Good luck and I hope this was a little helpful.

Answer 6

I have male and female bettas in all my tanks. I've seen the males flare at new fish added to the tank but that was it no problem. If anything the other fish bug the betta. Once dominance is decided I have had more than one male in my 60 they just stay apart. Good Luck..><>:)

Answer 7

male betas will fight other males but should be fine in a tank with other tropical fish

Answer 8

Normally they will only attack another betta, be it male of female (except when breeding of course). That said, sometimes you can get an aggressive one that will attack other fish, but since a betta is rather small and slow moving they rarely do any serious harm.

MM

Answer 9

Generally they only show aggression towards their own species. In truth because of their long pretty tails and sluggishness it's usually the other fish that bother them. You might put them with platties, cherry barbs, larger neons and other non-fin nippers.

Answer 10

all beta fish attack any kind of fish.. you need to put it in a cute little fish bowl (have one myself)and put the nice fish in a big tank. Thats why beta fish come in the cute little cups from the store..they are a loner type of fish.