What kind of fish can be put in a tank with bettas?

Question

My folks have an aqurium shaped like a gold fish bowl(ya know the round ones). My male betta fish passed away from ick(yes it's a real diease) 4 years ago and I'd like to get another one, but one thing though. The instructions for the aqurium on the box said to have only one fish in it and then add on about a month later(I'm not sure though).

Anyway here's the question...what kind of fish are ok to put in an aquirum with bettas?

I remember seeing betta in a tank with some red fish(they were small and has a blue streak on their sides, I think they're called tetras) this was at petco, I've also seen a fish bowl with 2 bettas in it at a petco. I guess they were male and female.

The last betta I seemed a bit even-tempered he would fan out whenever he saw his reflection(we sometimrs put a mirror up to the vase we kept him in) but got bored after awhile.

When we got him he was in a plastic container, there were other bettas in plastic containers next to him, they seemed kind of ok with being near each other.

Answer 1

bettas are pretty much loner idk about other fish but i would strongly advise not putting two males together becasue they'll fight to the death

Answer 2

Bettas are not aggressive fish to anything that is not mistaken for another betta, they can not live with aggressive fish, they really can not defend themselves with all those fins, and they are slowish fish that may not be able to compete for food with very active fish. How big is your tank? bala sharks need to be in schools of 6 and get to ten inches each, a minimum of 150 gallons is required. If your tank is at least ten gallons, cherry barbs are an option, A more peacefull fish like dwarf, micro, or harlequin rasbora, is a safer option. Bettas only attack fish that they mistake for rival bettas, so no long finned, bright colored fish, and no fin nippy fish, no very active fish that would upset the more laid back betta, and no other anabantoids " gaurami, paradise fish" In a 20 gallon some tetras, not the smallest species, or the largest ones, could work.

Answer 3

male bettas will fight to the death, and unless you want to try and breed them, males and females should not be housed together, as they also will fight.
Male bettas are fine on their own and in bowl, but most other fish cant live in a bowl, they need a filter.
Bettas in the wild are solitary, and most people keep them by themselves. A male Betta can make a good community fish provided it is not kept with other Bettas, many Gouarmis, or any fish with long flowing fins, such as fancy guppies. These fish may get attacked by the Betta. Also avoid very fast moving fish such as Danios, as these fish may intimidate the slow-moving Betta and make it hide all the time. Good companions are most medium sized Tetras, Platys, Swordtails and some of the smaller peaceful Barbs such as Cherry Barbs or Gold Barbs.

Goldfish are a no-no. They dirty the water up too much and it can kill the betta. A goldfish really shouldnt be housed in a bowl.

Answer 4

I hope your bowl has a filter on it and some way to keep warm because adding tropical fish such as the neon tetras (small red and blue fish) need clean and warm water. If you are set on having other fish in with your betta go with small fast fish that dont have long fins. so no guppies, goldfish, mollies, etc. Neons, whiteclouds and few other small tetras are fine to put with bettas but dont forget about the filtration and try not to overcrowd your tank. as for cleaning the algea the only thing i would use are snails, many people will tell you they breed in the tank but iv had 4 snails for almost a year and never had any babies. often people mistake parasite snails as baby mystery snails but the two have very different shells and adult sizes. For more interesting things in your tank you can try african dwarf frogs just make sure they have something to hide under so they can get away from the betta if they need to. These are many of the options available to go with bettas. If you have any questions feel free to msg me.

Answer 5

Well, if you only have a bowl, I totally don't recommend getting any other fish. It is possible you can get some ghost shrimps for it or some snail.

If you want, you can get a 10 gallon tank with all the stuff that it need and then you can have some diffent species of fish such as white clouds mountain minnow, harlequin rasboras and maybe some bronze cories for the bottom. Also, I am assuming people while right down the 1 inch per gallon rule, that is totaly crap. I agree with it in some ways but not all of it.

Answer 6

As has been said, avoid fish with long fins as the Betta will attack them because they look similar to another Betta. Also, avoid any nippy fish like Tiger Barbs or aggressive fish like Cichlids and Rainbow Sharks as they will attack the Betta. Bettas don't care about colors, just about fin length. If Bettas find other fish to be "threats" to their territory, they will attack them.

The blue and red fish was Neon Tetra, which is a good choice with Bettas as they are peaceful, small finned fish. If you have a fish bowl, you don't have room for anything else. If you have a filtered and heated tank (that is at least 5 gallons), then I would begin to consider small, docile fish like Minnows or Neons. Anything less than 5 gallons offers very little swimming space and causes rapid spikes in toxic chemicals. Email me if you have any questions.

Soop Nazi

EDIT: Most sharks (Rainbow, Red Tailed, Iridescent, Bala, and Coumbian) are completely unacceptable tankmates for Bettas as they are either aggressive, hyper, or monster fish (up to 4 feet long). The smallest are the Rainbow and Red Tailed (at 6 inches long) but are both very aggressive. Most Loaches are also quite active and if not kept in the proper shoal (except Kuhlis and maybe Dwarf Chain Loaches), they will lash out at the Betta and attack its fins. Kuhli and Chain Loaches are both unacceptable for anything less than 10 gallons though.

Answer 7

Can I keep other fish with my Bettas?

Well the answer is complicated, a nice big maybe

1st lets see what you have;
a 5g tank or larger 10-20g being ideal?
1 betta male or female?
A desire to have an amazing home for your betta and other fish?

The tank:
The tank itself should contain 1 or more caves as space allows, plenty of plants, fabric or real. A smooth substrate, fine gravel or sand. A Filter, light and a heater. The filter should be adjusted so the water current is minimal.

I have bettas in various community tanks. I have had only 1 that was not going to be friends with his tank mates and so he lives alone.

So the list of critters I have with my bettas;
Danios, Rasboras, Black Neon tetras, wild guppies, African dwarf frogs, Cherry Shrimp*, Ghost Shrimp*, Cory cats, Zebra loaches.

Things I would never keep in with a betta;
Gouramis, Angelfish, goldfish, most tetras, tiger barbs, cichlids, crabs or crayfish, anything bigger than a betta, anything thats a fin nipper.

Always research any fish before putting it in your aquarium.

In my experience you need to watch the other fish for picking on the betta than the betta picking on the other fish.

When introducing new fish to a bettas tank, let them float for about a half hour, long enough for the betta to investigate them and get bored. Bettas are very curious and will follow and examine new tank mates very closely. Try checking your bettas fish aggression with a colorful and very fast male wild(feeder) guppy, if he kills it you know he is not suitable for a community tank. Odds are he will play chase with it and never actually hurt it. Out of the many bettas I have owned only 1 killed the guppy, she was very determined.

The next thing you need is a backup tank, all prepped and ready to be home. Be ready to move the betta to it if things go bad. Sometimes bettas will just let other fish bully them, sad but true. Remove betta immediately if this happens to him or he could be bullied to death. It is easier to catch and move a betta than other fish.

Remember each betta will react differently to tank mates. Be observant and careful and things will go your way. The larger the tank the less likely your betta will go ballistic on his new friends.

Also remember that no matter how big your tank is, do not place 2 male bettas in it or keep a male with females.

So now that your an educated betta keeper, when people tell you that bettas kill any other fish you can laugh in their faces and tell them they are full of betta myth BS.

Heres some vids of my 20g tank with Vash the Betta
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4TUmWSiHhs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4fbTPhlvRA

*Some bettas see shrimp as dinner and will eat them, same for snails.

Answer 8

Well, a fish bowl may not really be big enough to house anymore critters. In my 5 gal. I used to have cory's all the time for years with betas, they work very well with them, I have also had ghost shrimp. I have heard dwarf frogs & cloud fish (have no clue what a cloud fish is...) also works good with them.

Answer 9

Well, a betta is just a community fish as other tropical ones

You can put them with lot's of others, BUT you need the right size tank for it

Which needs to have a filter and a heater and a min of 5 gallons that you would be able to put other fish with him

The temp is suppose to be around 76-82 degrees, for a betta really to be happy

don't use a mirror, it only stresses them out

only feed them twice a day with 3 pellets each and replace the pellets twice a week with blood worms

What i also do, is fasting mine for a whole day to prevent constipation

in a 5 gallon you can put him with up to 4 neon tetras or 4 rasboras

DO NOT put him in a vase or a bowl, that's just plain cruel

read up here on proper care and habitat for a betta
http://www.fishlesscycling.com/articles/caring_for_bettas.html

The only fish you can't put a betta are as example male guppies and serpae tetras, which have both long fins

also a no no is female/male or male/male,

However you could put at least 3 females in a 10 gallon tank




Hope that helps
Good luck


EB

Answer 10

Any fish except agressives, Cichlids, and another male betta. The ones you saw at PetCo were most likely 2 female bettas, a male will fight with a female, and he will kill her.

Tetras are best, plecos will keep the bowl free of algae, goldfish are good too - but very messy.

Answer 11

Bettas are pretty happy just being by themselves. You cannot put them in with anything colorful as they will go after it thinking it's one of them.

The only exception are loaches and sharks. Good luck