Companion fish for betta?

Question

in your opinions which fish do you feel would be the best companion fishes for a betta in a 10 or 15 gallon tank. i am trying to research the thing thoroughly and would like your opinions.

Answer 1

First of all, not a goldfish lol

I would join a few others in suggesting any number of smaller, peaceful tetras. Of course, cory cats can't be left off the list either! Most typical livebearers are also good tank mates for bettas. It idea is to stick with small fish at won't bother your betta. Gold barbs and checkerboard barbs are also a good bet.

MM

Answer 2

Yup, Bettas can most certainly be kept with other fish. not to confuse the issue for you, but many people hear a rumour and then run with it like fact. Betta's are, in fact, only aggressive to each other. Every now and then you get an aggressive betta, but it's not the norm.

To keep tankmates:

Avoid fish known for nipping, including most barbs, serpae and black widow tetras - the long finned and slow moving betta is an easy target for them.

Avoid fish with flashy fins, or those that look similar to the betta, as they could draw aggression from the betta

Avoid territorial fish like cichlids, many gouramis, and chinese algae eaters or fights can occur and the betta would probably lose.

Do remember to plant the tank, with either fake or real plants. This is important because bettas and the fish that tend to do well with them are most at home in this setup. Not only will your betta use the plants for security, but since the line of sight is blocked from one end of the tank to the other, he'll spend more time roaming around and exploring. Bettas like closed spaces. Many make the mistake of thinking this means we should stuff them into a bowl, but it really means put them in a proper tank with plants to close the space up.

I currently keep a 15 gallon tank with a betta, cardinals, and corydora catfish - three years running and everything is doing great.

Answer 3

Betta's normally do not require a companion to be healthy. The risk with Betta's is that if they are passive they usually get nipped at, on the other hand if you have one that is aggressive it can go on the attack mode. If you want to add some fish I would recommend you add 3 to 4 Cory cats. I have had them in with Betta's and have had no problems. One thing to remember is fish like people can have different temperaments and should be handled as individuals. Example, I raise angels. In most cases they are calm and a bit ski dish. However I have a male that is so aggressive that he killed two other angels and goes after anything else in the tank. Good Luck...

Answer 4

It is very good that you are doin a lot of research before buying your fish like so many people do. Also, I like the fact you are going to be getting a betta. The betta will really LOVE the filtered and heated tank. Trust me, I have 5 bettas in 2+ tanks, all heated except the 2 gallon, it has a light above it that warms the water for summer and I have a heater for him during winter. I am assuming by betta you mean a male. If so, you CANT keep them with any of the following:
-Fin Nippers(like barbs and serpae tetras)
-Aggressive Fish (like Lake Victoria cichlids)
-Fish With Long Fins (like guppies or long finned blue zebra danios)
-Fish From The Same Family (like other bettas, gouramis, paradise fish)
-Coldwater fish (goldfish, koi, etc)
So basically any other fish are fine as long as they are not one of the above. Here are some examples:
-platies
-mollies
-swordtails
-corydoras catfish
-otocinclus
-african dwarf frog
-ghost shrimp
-neon tetras
-lemon tetras
-small plecos (zebra and pretty peckotolia)
-cardinal tetras
-black neons
Hope This Helps!!!!

Also, introduce the other fish first. Let them adjust for a week or two, THEN put the betta in the tank.

Answer 5

I have a few Betta's and I have them housed with neon tetra's, swordtails, platies, dwarf rainbows, corydoras, bleeding heart tetras, and a kissing fish. Just make sure you buy a species that is peaceful and is not a fin nipper. Also try to stay away from fish that have large fins.

EDIT** MagicMan and Kylie Anne can also give you some good advice on Betta's. Please do not listen to the people saying they are killers....I have never once had a Betta attack another fish. Usually when this happens they are placed in a tank with a species that are not peaceful which is the owner's fault for not researching them.

Answer 6

Males do not EVER get lonely They are solitary fish, often it stresses bettas to be with tank mates as they are always feeling the need to defend their territory. however... if you must get a tank mate, then it is possible to get some. How big is the tank? if its at least a 5 gallon you could go for a group of ottos to keep algea in check Shrimp are a good choice, i have also heard that white cloud minnows are possible as they are not overly active and have drab colors (bettas dont like tank mates with flashy colors) good luck ;) edit: guppies are a terrible idea as the betta will attack their long colorful fins thinking they are competition.

Answer 7

OK, I have to chime in. Betta's are only aggressive towards OTHER Betta's. (I'm sure there is the rare Betta that is aggressive towards all fish) They may nip the fins of other fish that resemble Betta's such as guppies or angelfish. Otherwise you can put any community fish with a Betta in a tank. These include tetras, mollies (but possibly not lyrtail mollies) platys are great, as well as swordtails. I would avoid semi-aggressive fish such as barbs because male Betta's are slow swimmers due to their tails and the barbs may nip at them. Any Betta's that we sell that we don't have room for in the small cups we, we put one in each community tank. They get along well, trust me. Oh, and I wouldn't use fancy goldfish because of the tail again plus they are poopy fish and the increase in ammonia levels would not be good for the Betta.

Answer 8

no goldfish - goldfish are cold water fish and only one would fit comfortably in a 10-15gallon, they also produce too much waste for a betta to handle and need strong fitlers.

no aggressive fish - bettas AREN'T aggressive to other fish (normally, of course, just like any other fish, sometimes you'll come across and overly aggressive one). putting a betta with aggressive fish would be disastrous, betta's long fins make him an easy target.

good tank mates-
danios
tetras
cory cats
rasboras
moon/platies
mollies
and SOMETIMES barbs (when you get them look for hte mellow ones, not the sick sitting on the bottom ones, but don't pick ones that are chasing others, those are usually okay)

of course shrimp and apple/mystery snails are good too
if it were my tank I'd probably do something like this:
4 pearl danios - http://z.about.com/d/freshaquarium/1/8/1/F/fw0068.jpg
3 cory cats
4 cherry barbs - http://www.timstropicals.com/Inventory/Barb/CherryBarb2_small.jpg
1 blue mystery snail - http://badmanstropicalfish.com/mb_pictures/debbs/apple/juvie_blue.jpg
and your betta

Answer 9

There are a few great Betta sites that can help:

http://www.bettatalk.com/
and
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art19029.asp

It's very sad to see a Betta being tortured by his tank mates. That's a horrible death. It's a great thing that you're doing your homework!
Goos luck!

Answer 10

I had a snail with mt Betta - they got along fine and the snail kept the bowl fairly clean.