I would like to add some friends into my Bettas Tank. What fish are good companions for the bettas?

Question

I have a three gallon tank and would like to give my fish some companions. What fish are compatiable with the Bettas. I know rule of thumb...nothing with too showy of fins.

Answer 1

Your problem isn't the Betta fish, male Bettas will live fine with lots of other types of fish. The problem is space. 3 Gallons isn't enough space to give your Betta fish any tank mates. Get a 10 gallon tank then come ask about tank mates and I can give you some good suggestions.

Answer 2

A three gallon tank isn't big enough for more fish. The rule of thumb, particularly for beginners, is an inch of fish (adult size) per gallon of water.

If you really want to have more fish, you should bump to a ten gallon tank. Then you could get away with adding maybe a small school of neon tetras and a couple cory cats. (Not all at once - CYCLE the tank first!) Plus you'd be able to add a heater, and your betta would thank you for that, since they like their water at least 78 degrees.

And yes, some bettas CAN be kept in a community. Much depends on the individual betta, though. Some won't tolerate other fish in their space. Others are fine with it. Bottom feeders like cory cats tend to do best because they stay to the bottom and bettas are more fond of the top part of the tank. Goldfish are a poor match, though, because they are cold water fish, while bettas are tropical fish. Be sure to research the fish before you try to put them together, to make sure they are suited to each other, to your water quality, and the size of the tank you're keeping.

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

In a three gallon tank you probably couldn't fit anything in there with him. There wouldn't be enough space for your betta to satisfy his territorial needs, and there's not enough water to dilute the waste that two fish put out.

If you got a 5 gallon, you might be able to keep him with three cory catfish, OR an African Dwarf Frog, OR a mystery snail, OR a couple of zebra danios. A small school of rasboras might also be possible.

With a 10 gallon tank your options are much less limited: you can have otos, white cloud mountain minnows, platys, mollies and various tetras.

Answer 5

I have successfully kept many male bettas in ten gallon tanks with tank mates
(btw: I don't consider it successful unless the fish die of natural causes, any fighting means that the tank was not a success in my eyes)
I've kept male bettas with African Dwarf Frogs:
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/fish/Frog_AfricanDwarf.pdf
I once kept a male betta in a ten gallon tank with a small school (3 or 4) short-fined pearl danios for four years until the betta passed on of old-age:
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/fish/Danio.pdf
right now I have a male betta in a tank with two mystery snails, and I'm considering adding a shrimp of some sort, most likely a couple ghost shrimp

nothing with too showy fins is not the only rule of thumb to consider:
you need to understand that bettas are very territorial and they don't want a tank mate, so if you do plan to give the betta a tank mate then the tank mate needs to follow these guidelines:
1- nothing with long or flowing fins
2- nothing aggressive and no fin-nipper species
3- nothing colorful
4- nothing larger than the betta
5- nothing small enough for the betta to swallow in three or less bites
6- must have similar tank needs as betta (temperature, low current filtration)
7- since bettas are top-dwellers you may want to get a bottom-dweller
8- be prepared to put plastic or real plants in the tank for the fish to hide in and claim as their territory (bettas needs space separate from tank mates, a plant is a good way to give your betta his own territory)
9- do not overcrowd the tank!

According to my Animal Planet's Aquarium Care of Bettas book, male betta tank mates should be "calm, peaceful, nonaggressive, nonterritorial species," some good tank mates for bettas (still reading out of the book) include cory cats, white clouds, and possibly a school of calm fish....from reading books, and learning from my own experiences, bettas are suppose to be active fish that search for food and guard their territory to be healthy. Because bettas kept in tanks are fed their meals and kept alone they don't need to search for food and they don't need to defend their territory so they just sit there being lazy and getting fat. A lazy, fat betta fish is obviously unhealthy and will die a premature death. One of the best ways to make your betta fish more active is to offer them a tank mate. A tank mate will give your betta something to follow around, and as long as the tank mate you pick follows all the above guidelines then a fight will not start. Because as long as you follow the guidelines, the fish you pick will not be aggressive and will not attack the betta, and bettas really are a "live-and-let-live" kind of fish (quote from the book), meaning they won't like having a tank mate but they won't attack unless under attack. The tank mate you pick would have to be the one to start the fight, and if the tank mate never starts a fight then neither will the betta. And while they will not fight, the betta will still feel need to stay on his toes watching the tank mate, and this can be great exercise for your betta!

the only exception to bettas not being the ones who start the fight is if you put two bettas together or if you put a betta and a close relative species (such as a gouramis) together...if you put the wrong combination of fish together then the betta will start a fight (so, obviously, don't put two bettas together)

because your tank is so small I think that some sort of snail may be the best kind of tank mate, unless you are willing to bump up the size of the tank, here is a link to snail care:
http://www.applesnail.net/content/care.php

hope this helps!!

Answer 6

a three gallon tank is little more than a measuring cup in the world of tropical fish. you could add a small plastic flower from the craft store that accentuates your betta's hues. If your insistent on another living thing, i'd purchase a small snail from the oet store. They come in an array of colors like corn yellow and beach pebble blue. black, creamy white or rather a beginner smoker's beginning yo yellow teeth. redwood....brown....but beware..these snails can grow. and grow and grow. they can become a hobby themselves. fascinating(@ least to me) they look almost exactly like the aliens in the coffee room in the movie "Men in Black". They're fast and full of antennae and during a tank change my favorite lil' blue one got lost. i figured i accidentally threw it away w/ the gravel or something...and well 3 mos. later i found what appeared to be his empty shell under my bed. i decided to just drop it in for decor when would you not even fathom.. ol blue was glidin' the glass an hour later. In summation, leave well enough alone or buy yourself no less than a 10 gallon tank. god luck. rebecca

Answer 7

umm..to tell you the truth. Betta fish are meant to live by them selfs because they will fight. Unless a female betta is giving birth, a betta and another fish can not be together. This even means a betta can't be in a tank with another betta. I used to have a betta and so did my cousin..we put out betta's tanks next to each other and they lost control..so remember that also!

Answer 8

nothing is good with male bettas. I tried it- my male betta killed 5 goldfish all 8inches or so long in one night. He beat them to death or pushed their gills above water and suffocated them. (guessed the first one from the bruises, and saw the second when he was killing the last fish).

Female bettas, on the other hand, usually get alone well with other fish.

Males and females can not go together even unless the male is making a "bubble nest"

Answer 9

I don't think anything can go in.

They shall fight, rawr..

I just bought a betta today ^^

I need a name for him

Answer 10

im pretty sure bettas are meant to be alone